Who Makes Marathon's Cuban Sandwiches and Cafecito Now

In 2011, Kenia Montes De Oca took a job at Juice Paradise on Overseas Highway. Back then she described her role as "a cashier, waitress, hostess – whatever had to be done." Fifteen years later her name is on the place. It's now Paradise Cuban Restaurant at 2603 Overseas Highway, with new signs, a remodeled interior and a longer menu.

Her story isn't unusual on this island. Look at who runs Marathon's Cuban kitchens and the same thing keeps showing up. Someone starts at a coffee counter, a fast-food fryer or a register. They learn the trade, then buy the business or open one down the road. The changes of the past year, from a landmark bar building turning Cuban to a café winning its first reader awards, all fit that path. If you want to know where to order a Cuban Mix tonight, it helps to know who's making it.

Paradise Cuban: From the register to the deed

Keys Weekly first interviewed Montes De Oca in May 2019, when she was the "right hand" to the owners. When the paper sat down with her again in June 2026, she owned the place. Natural juices, Cuban coffee, sandwiches and a full breakfast are the core of the menu. It also has things you won't find at a classic ventanita, like all-day mimosas, oysters, burritos and quesadillas.

The biggest change is the family-style meat boards. They come piled with surf-and-turf, seafood or meat, and wine or beer is included. She got the idea scrolling her phone:

"One day, a year ago, I saw these on TikTok. I said 'One day, I'm going to make things like that.' And I have it now."

She says she wants Paradise to feel like Social Fridays in Miami, a spot where people meet at the end of the week for drinks and maybe a dance. The patio now has lights, glossy natural wood tables and outdoor TVs. Family made the remodel possible, too. Her husband Dagoberto is a commercial fisherman and brings in fresh seafood every day. A family connection to Lstar Electric next door meant electricians were always close by.

As of that June profile, Paradise was open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

El Siboney Overseas: A Key West family moves into a Marathon landmark

The biggest change on this list happened in a building many of us know by another name. In January 2025, Overseas Pub and Grill closed when its staff left for the new Marathon Grill and Ale House. The empty building was later sold, and in November 2025 it reopened as El Siboney Overseas. The address is 3574 Overseas Highway.

Key West regulars know the name. According to Gerson Batista, his brother Julio de la Cruz bought the original El Siboney at 900 Catherine St. from the Martin family in 2004. The family also runs a second location at 5501 5th Ave. on Stock Island.

Their story follows the same path as Kenia's. De la Cruz worked for years at the International House of Pancakes in Key West before he bought the IHOP in Marathon. Batista started cooking in 2000 at Wendy's. The family is originally from the Dominican Republic and has been in the Keys since 1999. Batista says in a Keys News report that Dominican cooking has "some of the same basics" as Cuban food. He sums up how they run things in two sentences: "After you have a good product, it's all about getting good people. The menu is plain and simple."

Here's what to know before you order:

• The Cuban Mix comes dressed. El Siboney adds lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. A purist's Cuban sticks to Cuban bread, butter, yellow mustard, roast pork, glazed ham, Swiss and dill pickles. Batista says the Mix is a big hit anyway.
• Call ahead for the paella. The Paella Valenciana is made fresh, so call at least an hour before you arrive.
• Other favorites include the roast pork, the Siboney strip steak and the house sangria.
• Ordering: call 305-517-6274 or order online through the El Siboney website.

La Niña: Where this path started on the west end

Long before 2025, La Niña showed how a small counter can grow. Vicente Colon came to the Keys from Cuba and opened a coffee stand on Marathon's west end. When Keys Weekly covered him in August 2019, that stand had outgrown its space. Colon opened La Niña 2 in mid-town on Aug. 23, 2019, in the former Plaza Grill space. His daughter Isbely ran the front of the house and his son Javier cooked. "My whole family works here," he said then. "My daughter, my son, my aunts and cousins."

The 2019 menu called it "A Little Piece of Cuba in the Keys." It listed huevos con chuleta and croquetas con jamon for breakfast, and Cuban, Cuban Mix and Midnight sandwiches at lunch. A shiny espresso machine sat on the counter next to a bright orange juicer. The coffee was Café La Rica, which the restaurant said was the official coffee of the Miami Marlins. The original La Niña is at 1571 Overseas Highway. Keys Weekly readers named it Best Cuban Sandwich in the 2024 Best of Marathon awards.

Those details come from older coverage, so call ahead for current hours before you go.

LJ's Cafe: Two first-time wins in one night

At the 2025 Best of Marathon awards, the Cuban sandwich title went to a new name. LJ's Cafe won Best Cup of Coffee and Best Cuban Sandwich, and both were first-ever wins for the café. LJ's is a Cuban breakfast-and-lunch spot at 10694 Overseas Highway, run by Luis Gonzalez Sr. and his family. It's known for Cuban sandwiches and moros rice.

Those two awards back up the pattern. In this town's reader poll, a family-run counter took both the coffee and Cuban sandwich categories from the established names in a single year. The coffee crown has moved again since. At the 2026 awards at Hawks Cay, Georgie's Coffee Shop on Grassy Key won Best Cup of Coffee.

Seashell Coffee Marathon: The newest counter

The newest spot is also the smallest. Seashell Coffee Marathon opened at 11399 Overseas Highway, Unit 6. Visit Florida Keys called it "newly unveiled" in a Sept. 29, 2026 release. The menu covers coffee, lattes, matcha and boba, plus pastries, empanadas, muffins, yuca bites and Key lime cake. The phone number is 305-294-2917.

The building is busy. Suite 1 at the same address is Lalo's Bar & Restaurant, owned by Eduardo Sanchez and Yarima Yera, which held its grand opening on Jan. 21, 2026. Lalo's is known for its sushi. Between the two businesses, that one address picked up a new coffee counter and a new restaurant in 2026.

Quick reference, west end to east

Addresses on Overseas Highway get higher as you drive east through Marathon. Here's the full list in that order.

Hours change more often than menus here, so call any of these before you drive over. Paradise's hours above are from June 2026.

When friends and family visit, the first question is always where to eat. My answer is usually a Cuban counter on Overseas Highway with a story behind it. If you have a favorite Marathon cafecito stop I didn't include, or you want to talk about where in the Middle Keys you'd like to live day to day, I'd love to hear from you. Let's Connect with Kelly Randin.