Quintin and María Teresa Larios returned to cooking on September 7, 2022, at Royd’s, a western-themed roadside attraction in Miami’s Redland farming district. The legendary Cuban restaurateurs, who founded Casa Larios and later partnered with Emilio and Gloria Estefan to open Larios on the Beach had retired multiple times after business setbacks and COVID-19 infections forced them out of kitchens they once ruled.
Key Takeaways
- Quintin and María Teresa Larios returned to cooking on September 7, 2022, at Royd’s, a western-themed roadside attraction in Miami’s Redland farming district, after retiring multiple times due to business setbacks and COVID-19.
- Developer Royd Lemus, who grew up as a Casa Larios customer, built the venue on his ornamental plant nursery and recruited the couple to cook Cuban food from a bus outfitted with a stainless steel kitchen.
- Quintin Larios, 93 years old, works alongside two longtime cooks who have been with him for 12 and 30 years, maintaining the same recipes and kitchen rhythm that built the Larios reputation.
- The Larios couple founded Casa Larios and later partnered with Emilio and Gloria Estefan to open Larios on the Beach, establishing a benchmark for Cuban cuisine in Miami before forced retirements.
Their comeback isn’t happening on South Beach or in a polished Coral Gables dining room. Instead, 93-year-old Quintin cooks his signature vaca frita and ox tail from a bus outfitted with a stainless steel kitchen, parked behind swinging saloon doors on Krome Avenue. María Teresa spends each day calling old friends and customers to alert them of the return, according to the Miami Herald. The revival shows that Miami’s appetite for authentic Cuban cuisine tied to legendary names can survive even dramatic location and format shifts.
What Brought the Larios Couple Out of Retirement?
Developer Royd Lemus grew up eating fresh ham croquetas at Casa Larios with his mother, becoming more than a regular customer. The family formed an extended kinship with the Larios clan. After learning the couple had retired once their previous restaurant, La Fragua, was sold in 2021 following pandemic losses, Lemus visited them at home with plans for a new venture.
Lemus owns Gateway Tree Farm, an ornamental plant nursery on Krome Avenue in the Redland. In October 2019, he drew up plans to build a western-themed roadside attraction on a front acre of the nursery property. The concept, nicknamed ‘The Gateway,’ was designed to catch agri-tourists heading to the Everglades and the Keys. But the food component remained unsettled until he thought of the Larios couple.
‘Who better than the kings of Cuban food?’ Lemus told the Miami Herald. He pitched a vision of three food buses: one for fresh fruit shakes and desserts, a second for sandwiches, and a third for hearty Cuban cuisine. Quintin and María Teresa agreed immediately. ‘He showed us all these plans and we said, whatever you need, we’re in,’ Quintin recalled.
How Does Royd’s Fit Into Miami’s Cuban Dining Scene?
The Larios name carries weight in Miami’s Cuban restaurant history. Casa Larios set the standard for Cuban food in the city for years, and the partnership with the Estefans elevated the couple’s profile. Their cooking became synonymous with authenticity, a benchmark for the diaspora’s culinary identity.
After business mistakes doomed their original restaurants, the couple cooked at La Fragua, a family member’s restaurant, and turned it into a hit. But the pandemic crushed sales, the restaurant was sold, and both Quintin and María Teresa contracted COVID. They retired again, seemingly for good.
Royd’s represents a third act few restaurateurs get. The venue’s location, far from the urban corridors where the Larios brand was built, tests whether their reputation can transplant to an entirely different context. The western-town facade, complete with a mechanical bull and planned petting zoo, is a jarring backdrop for ox tail and arroz con frijoles. ‘I like to say this is the Southernmost western town in the United States,’ María Teresa said. ‘But with arroz and frijoles negros.’
Who Is Cooking Alongside Quintin Larios?
Quintin works in the kitchen with two longtime cooks, Sergio Aguilar and Angel Ricardo. Aguilar has worked with the Larios couple for more than 30 years, while Ricardo has been on the line for 12 years. After Quintin called Aguilar to join him at the new spot, Aguilar left his job in Texas the same month.
‘Nene told me, you know I rely on you. And I love them like family,’ Aguilar said. ‘He is like my father. And I call her Mamá.’ Ricardo described their kitchen coordination as nearly telepathic. ‘We don’t even have to look at one another at this point,’ he said. ‘When the tickets start coming in, the food starts going out.’
The continuity of personnel signals that the Larios operation isn’t just a name licensing deal. The kitchen runs on the same muscle memory and recipes that built the couple’s reputation decades ago. Every day, Quintin and María Teresa carpool to work with another couple, eat lunch together at 3 p.m., and get picked up an hour later by Lemus, his wife, or the couple’s daughter Carmen. The rhythm is steady, almost domestic.
What Does This Comeback Mean for Miami’s Restaurant Legacy?
The return of the Larios couple to cooking underscores how deeply personal relationships shape Miami’s food economy. Lemus didn’t hire celebrity chefs or import a franchise. He resurrected a legacy because it mattered to him as a customer and, later, as a friend. That dynamic, common in Miami’s tightly woven Cuban community, can revive careers conventional business logic would have written off.
The Redland location also reflects ongoing shifts in how agri-tourism is reshaping the city’s southern agricultural belt. Lemus is betting that drivers heading to the Everglades and the Keys will stop for Cuban food served in a setting that mixes nostalgia with novelty. The planned horse-riding rink, petting zoo, and dog parks suggest a family-oriented destination rather than a fine-dining experience.
Whether the model works commercially remains to be seen. But the Larios name, even in an unlikely setting, draws attention and curiosity. Their daughter Carmen noted the couple’s renewed energy. ‘I’m super happy for them,’ she said. ‘This gets them out of the house and my dad loves what he does.’
Can a Legacy Survive Format and Location Shifts?
Quintin is 93 years old and working a kitchen line in a converted bus. María Teresa is on the phone daily, recruiting the old customer base to drive west on Quail Roost Drive, then south on Krome Avenue, past orchid farms and taco trucks. The pitch is audacious. Leave the city, find a Hollywood backlot western set, and eat the same Cuban food that once defined a South Beach institution.
The experiment tests whether culinary reputation is portable or place-bound. Many of Miami’s most celebrated restaurants rely on location as much as cuisine. A name that thrived in an urban, high-traffic corridor now depends on word of mouth and nostalgia to pull customers into farm country.
FAQs
Where Exactly Is Royd’s Located?
Royd’s is located in the Redland farming district on Krome Avenue in southern Miami-Dade County. Visitors drive west on Quail Roost Drive, then south on Krome Avenue, passing orchid farms and nurseries until they reach the western-themed venue built on part of Gateway Tree Farm.
What Happened to the Original Casa Larios Restaurant?
Business mistakes forced the closure of the original Casa Larios and the couple’s partnership with the Estefans at Larios on the Beach. The couple later cooked at La Fragua, a family member’s restaurant that became a hit, but the pandemic crushed it and it was sold in 2021.
What Kind of Food Does Royd’s Serve?
Royd’s serves traditional Cuban cuisine including vaca frita, ox tail, carne con papa, and oven-baked chicken. The menu features the same signature dishes Quintin Larios cooked at Casa Larios and Larios on the Beach, prepared by the same cooks who worked with him for decades.
What Other Attractions Does Royd’s Offer Besides Food?
Royd’s features a western town facade with swinging saloon doors and a mechanical bull. Developer Royd Lemus plans to add a horse-riding rink, petting zoo, and dog parks to attract agri-tourists heading to the Everglades and the Florida Keys.
How Old Is Quintin Larios and Is He Still Cooking Daily?
Quintin Larios is 93 years old and works daily in the kitchen at Royd’s. He and María Teresa carpool to work each day with another couple, have lunch together at 3 p.m., and are picked up an hour later by the Lemus family or their daughter Carmen.
For now, the Larios couple is cooking. The kitchen is running. And the mechanical bull is waiting beside the saloon doors. If Miami’s appetite for their food still holds, the western town in the Redland may become the unlikeliest chapter in a long culinary story.
