La Mulata brings authentic Cuban cuisine to the south side

Trucking company owners Yasmin Lopez and Juan Jose Alejandrez bought Lansing’s old Elks lodge not for the building itself, but for the acre of empty space behind it.

By the time they learned the zoning code forbade them from parking their trucks there, they were stuck with the property. But the building had a kitchen, and their daughter Gabriella was studying to be a chef.

“We used the space for private events, but it was causing some problems, and this place is too nice to start wrecking,” the couple’s other daughter, Genesis, said. “So, my mother decided, ‘Since my daughter wants to become a chef, why not get her some experience?’”

Months of renovations later, Gabriella is the chef at La Mulata, a Cuban restaurant serving staples like empanadas and Cuban sandwiches, as well as fresh-squeezed orange juice and espresso drinks made with 517 Coffee Co. beans. Genesis is the barista and server, and Yasmin and Juan Jose deliver food and source ingredients, many of which are imported from Cuba or Florida. The restaurant had a soft opening on April 29 and is working toward an official grand opening.

Gabriella said authenticity is a priority, especially because her parents are Cuban immigrants.

“From my teachers, my chefs, I learned how to make bread, soups and salads,” Gabriella said. “But the Cuban food, I learned from my grandma.”

She makes her food fresh, the way she learned at home.

“We make most of our food from scratch,” she said. “Our congri (beans and rice), the fillings we put inside the empanadas, our orange juice and lemonade, we make all that from scratch because we don’t want to serve frozen stuff.”

The fresh orange juice was a must-have for Yasmin, who drank it while growing up in Cuba. The orange juicer she purchased is a staple at Cuban restaurants in Miami, where some of La Mulata’s ingredients are imported from.

Yasmin said she’s working to obtain a liquor license, but La Mulata will have a bar as soon as she can get it. In the meantime, customers can order standard espresso drinks, which Genesis learned to make in part via latte art classes at Foster Coffee Co.

The menu is still changing as well. Yasmin said the current menu is much larger than the original.

“We have a small kitchen because it was a bar,” she said, “so we started selling sandwiches, and our specialty was the Cuban sandwich. But then we started adding more Cuban cuisine and some Mexican dishes as well, and breakfast food.”

Juan Jose said he was frustrated with the zoning issue, but he’s grateful for the chance to bring Cuban culture to Lansing.

“I’m trying to integrate a little part of my culture into the community,” he said.

While the chance to be a chef is a dream come true for Gabriella, Genesis said she’s also excited to contribute. She’s wanted to assist with her parents’ business her whole life, and now she finally can.

“This is all out of love for our parents,” she said. “Now that we’re older, we can actually help out.”