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South Wedge restaurant Ponce es Ponce pays homage to 25 de Enero, the day a fire named El Polvorín raged through the barrio segundo in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1899. Red and black wooden houses, the colors of the Puerto Rican firefighter squadron that fought that fire, adorn a wall.
Shandele Garcia, who owns Ponce es Ponce, wanted to do more than just bring Borinquen culture to the South Wedge. She wanted to encapsulate her hometown of Ponce, serving Puerto Rican food with a Ponceño flair.
The dining establishment attempts to transport patrons into the culture of Ponce. Ponce es Ponce is a capsule of that city—from the portraits of famous Borinquen legends to the vejigante masks hanging on the walls.
On the menu, some items are listed under different names: what’s known as empanadillas to Ponceños is known as pastelillos to the rest of the island.
“Ponce culture offers a little more variety than what you know in other parts of the island, just like in other parts of the island, there are other varieties not in Ponce,” Garcia says. “Ponce culture is richer in its food.”
The name of the restaurant calls back to a well-known saying on the island: “Ponce es Ponce y lo demas es parking,” meaning ‘Ponce is Ponce and the rest (of the island) is just Ponceño parking.’
The restaurant offers Borinquen cuisine, including empanadillas, mofongo, sancocho, cocido de patatas, and above all, sandwiches—all traditional cuisine, recipes Garcia made with her mother.
Garcia has been cooking for 25 years. While born in Rochester, she grew up in Puerto Rico. From the age of four, she spent her time in Ponce until Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017.
She came to visit family in Rochester when the hurricane devastated Puerto Rico.
“I lost absolutely everything in Maria. I decided to stay here because there weren’t any opportunities to continue working. Puerto Rico was being rebuilt, so I decided to stay here,” says Garcia. “And here we are, seven years later.”
The kitchen has always been a part of her life, and so has working in health care. She juggles her work at the restaurant with her job as a home health aide.
Garcia describes her restaurant journey as a family affair; she works at the restaurant with her three children and brother.
One of her sons, Gerard Rivera, spends his mornings helping out as a line prep cook before leaving for his second job in the evening.
“My goal is to fulfill her goal. When she gets where she wants to get, I’ll feel satisfied because this isn’t really my vision,” says Rivera, gesturing to his mom. “It’s hers.”
Garcia’s vision was to bring a little Ponceño culture out of the North Clinton area to the other parts of the city.
“In downtown, there isn’t a Latin connection. I said, ‘Let’s do it over there, where it’s less saturated,’” she says. “‘Let’s see how we can find an opportunity.’ And here we are. This place gave us the opportunity.”
On the weekends, the space—at 699 South Clinton Ave., near Gregory Street—is transformed by musical events with performances by Latino artists and DJs. The plan is to expand hosting more events like domino nights, fostering a space to socialize and enjoy Latino culture.
“Thanks to God, I’ve had very positive support from the public and the local Latino community, not just the Puerto Rican community,” Garcia says. “I feel very grateful for everything up until now, and I hope it can be so much more, obviously. I feel very blessed.”
The community has come out in support, mostly through word of mouth and the social media following cultivated by her youngest son, Jasper.
“I hope that many people come to support me, to support a local business,” Garcia says. “We’re here to serve the best we can with our hearts in the community.”
Emmely Eli Texcucano is a member of the Oasis Project’s second cohort.
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