Breast cancer survivor moves from Bronx, opens Dominican restaurant in Jamestown (2024)

Michael HastingsStaff reporter

A veteran N.Y. restaurateur has opened a restaurant in Jamestown, serving traditional dishes from her native Dominican Republic.

Cocina de Mama opened in the last week of April at 1002 Gardner Hill Drive, near the intersection of Gate City Boulevard and Guilford College Road in Jamestown.

Owner Juana Feliz ran a Dominican restaurant in the Bronx, N.Y., for about a dozen years.

After surviving breast cancer, she decided to move to Florida in 2018, initially to rest. “The New York hustle and bustle was too much,” said her son Brian Feliz. But she found the climate too hot. Eventually, she wanted to start working again, but in a better climate. “A friend told her about North Carolina, and it had four seasons, so we started to look up here,” Brian said.

One day they were driving down Gate City Boulevard to the Publix and looked across the street. “I said, ‘Look, Brian, there’s my restaurant,’” Juana said, when she saw this space.

Cocina de Mama (Mama’s Kitchen) serves home-style Dominican dishes daily. Breakfast is served each morning until 11 a.m. Then a combined lunch and dinner menu takes over.

It’s a family business, where Juana does a lot of the cooking, and Brian manages the front of the house. The Felizes recently hired their fourth employee, and hope to hire more.

Cocina de Mama does offer dine-in table service. It has about 40 seats, and there’s a combined air hockey/pool table in back. Juana Feliz said she wants to get an ABC permit soon so she can serve alcohol.

Dominican cuisine incorporates elements of Spanish, African, Cuban, Puerto Rican and other influences. It uses a lot of rice, beans, chicken, pork, cassava (yuca) and plantains.

Cocina de Mama serves many traditional dishes, with a sprinkling of American or fusion dishes.

The breakfast menu includes a mangu platter ($13), considered the national breakfast of the Dominican Republic. It consists of mashed plantains, served with salami, eggs and fried cheese.

Other breakfast plates include yuca and mashed potatoes, as well as waffles and French toast.

Sandwiches include a Cubano, steak, bacon and cheese, and a chimi. The latter is a Dominican-style burger with an oval beef patty with Dominican seasonings. It comes topped with chopped cabbage and a sauce that combines ketchup, mayo, lime, garlic and other seasonings.

Pastelitos, or empanadas ($2.50) are available with cheese, ham and cheese, chicken or pizza fillings. Other appetizers include potato balls and chicken wings.

One of the most popular items is mofongo – originally from Puerto Rico but popular among Dominicans, too. Mofongo is a mound of mashed green plantains typically seasoned with garlic, broth and olive oil. At Cocina de Mama, mofongo plates are available with a variety of meats, including chicken, chicharron (pork cracklings), pork, sausage and shrimp. Mofongo plates start at $14 and include beans and salad.

Other plates include chicken stewed with peppers, fried pork chops topped with lightly pickled onions, and chunks of boneless fried chicken.

One of the most popular traditional dishes is sanchoco ($8 small, $16 large), a meat stew that can have a variety of meats, but that Brian said his mother makes with beef and ham.

Cocina de Mama also serves flan and tres leches cake, plus lemonade, passionfruit juice and morir sonando, a classic cold drink of orange juice, evaporated milk and sugar – a kind of orange creamsicle in a glass.

“Everything is homemade. Everything is fresh,” Brian said.

One wall of the dining room features a large mural painting of Juana’s mother and Brian’s grandmother, Anna Santos.

Juana said she cooked alongside her mother for many years and learned a lot from her. “But she told me I taught her a few things, too,” she said with a laugh.

Santos along with Juana’s sister and brother, Elizabeth and Jose Peralta, still run El Rinconcito del Sabor Dominicano, in the Bronx, N.Y., that Juana ran for more than 10 years and still owns.

“She’s cooking there and she’s almost 70,” Juan said of her mother.

“You should see her, she’s really good.