After serving St. Augustine for more than 19 years, Chef Norberto Jaramillo has decided to close the doors of La Cocina International at 530 A1A Beach Blvd.
The longtime restaurant within the Castillo Resort Hotel has decided it was time for a change and is looking for a new location for his beloved restaurant, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal. There is no exact location or details regarding the move. Still, Jaramillo tells the business journal that they plan to stay in St. Augustine, but something closer to downtown and with a parking lot. Jaramillo also operates two other area restaurants: De Leon Latin Cocina and La Cocina Bistro and Catering.
“We are always looking to grow and to look forward to all the things, and it got to a point where the hotel or the location was sort of a barrier to what we wanted to do,” Jaramillo tells the Business Journal. “They actually have great plans for what they want to do. They’re redoing the entire place, but I decided that I didn’t want to stay because I wanted to do something a little bit different. I wanted a little more space to create, some outside space. We could have done that at that location, but it was time to change.”
Chef Norberto Jaramillo and his wife Cristina opened the restaurant to celebrate their Colombian roots with World Cuisine infused with Latin American flavors. La Cocina International offers a variety of breakfast options in the morning, ranging from breakfast burritos to French toast, a handful of sides and beverages, and dinner from 5 pm to 9 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. Customers can expect multiple courses and a variety of delicious meat, such as peri peri chicken, beef short ribs, and plenty of fish, including Chilean seabass and honey-glazed salmon.
