El Negocio 2
📍 Address: 45 W Main St, Fredonia, NY 14063, United States
📞 Phone: +1 716-467-5704
🌐 Website: https://www.facebook.com/p/El-Negocio-100083379098763/
★★★★★
Rating:4.7
At El Negocio 2 in Fredonia, Joel Rivera’s connection to cooking began at home. His mother and grandmother taught him to cook when he was 12 years old. Today, he operates the Fredonia restaurant as part of a family effort under the El Negocio name, which belongs to his mother.
At 45 West Main Street in Fredonia, Rivera brings that cooking background to El Negocio 2 LLC.
From the Family Kitchen to El Negocio
Rivera, 25, came to the United States about 11 years ago. As he grew older, he continued cooking for family, coworkers, and other students at school. Eventually, preparing food for the people around him led to the decision to open a business.
El Negocio began in 2022 with a kitchen leased inside a bar. About six months later, they leased a space in Fredonia, followed by a move to Dunkirk.
The business has occupied as many as five different locations over the past several years. Rivera explained that they had to move for various reasons. Each change brought more experience with the licenses, paperwork, and other requirements involved in running a restaurant.
Having gone through those processes several times, he says he has learned a great deal. The current Fredonia location, he explained, is working well for them.
A Name Remembered From Childhood
El Negocio means “The Business” in Spanish. As a child, Rivera often heard his family talk about building a business of their own.
Those conversations stayed with him. When it came time to name the restaurant, he chose El Negocio, carrying that childhood memory into the business he was creating.
Puerto Rican Cooking, Starting With Homemade Sofrito
Rivera describes the food at El Negocio as 100 percent authentic Puerto Rican cooking. One preparation he emphasizes is the sofrito, which they make from scratch.
For Rivera, homemade sofrito is a foundation of the food’s fresh, Puerto Rican flavor, continuing the cooking traditions he learned from his mother and grandmother.
The menu includes pernil, or roasted pork; carne frita; bistec encebollado; and carne guisada. Chicken and shrimp appear in several preparations, including garlic and criolla sauce. Side choices include mofongo, tostones, sweet plantains, rice, and beans.
The pictured pernil dinner features roasted pork with yellow rice. Jugo de parcha, or passion fruit juice, is also served at the restaurant.
Puerto Rico Throughout the Dining Room
The restaurant’s connection to Puerto Rico also appears throughout the dining room. A decorative map of the island hangs above red cushioned benches, while Puerto Rican flag artwork and wooden pilones bring smaller details to the walls and tables.
Wooden tables and chairs line both sides of the room. Near the entrance, hanging flowers and tropical greenery frame the front window. Geometric lights stretch across the reflective ceiling, giving the space a distinctive overhead pattern.
Another Location Planned for Dunkirk
Rivera and his mother are working together to open El Negocio 1 at 436 Central Avenue in Dunkirk. His mother owns that business and the El Negocio brand. Plans for the new restaurant include serving alcohol under a liquor license.
The upcoming location continues the family’s work building El Negocio, while Rivera operates El Negocio 2 LLC in Fredonia.
Location & Hours
El Negocio 2
45 West Main Street
Fredonia, NY 14063
Phone: 716-467-5704
Facebook: El Negocio 2
Hours
Wednesday–Thursday: 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Friday–Sunday: 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
Monday–Tuesday: Closed
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