Ortanique Closes: ‘It’s Been a Great Freakin’ Ride’
Just a couple of weeks after celebrating the restaurant’s 21st anniversary on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables, Cindy Hutson and partner Delius Shirley announced they were closing Ortanique on the Mile. “Thanks everyone,” reads the chalkboard hanging in the colorful entrance next to Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre. “We will miss you. Gone but not forgotten.”
Covid-19 was the final push off the cliff, says Shirley. After closing in March, gearing up to do takeout, then adjusting to limited dining outside in the summer heat while trying to pay expenses and rent, they decided to call it a day. “The numbers didn’t make sense,” he says.
For Hutson, a chef with no formal training whose “Cuisine of the Sun” draws upon her extensive travels and food history, Ortanique was not their only restaurant over the years – Norma’s on the Beach on Lincoln Road, and Zest in downtown Miami, plus projects in the Caribbean were in their portfolio.
But Ortanique was their baby, the place they called home. It was a family business, with Hutson as head chef, daughter Ashley as general manager and Shirley as partner. Known for eclectic dishes like breadfruit tacos, jerk chicken penne and lavish use of tropical ingredients – rum, mango, papaya – the restaurant was a dining destination for locals and visitors and and a favorite for special occasions.
“We helped bring recognition and diversity to Miracle Mile both locally and internationally,” Hutson said in a social media post. “Along with raising our own family, Justin, Christian and Ashley, we met your families, friends and celebrated your life’s milestones with you.”
“We’ve seen a lot,” says Shirley. “We’ll miss it the most – the friendship.”
Before the pandemic, the couple says business was coming back from the effects of the Miracle Mile streetscape project, which widened the sidewalks and revamped on-street parking to make the longtime shopping and dining street more pedestrian-friendly. Construction delays slowed business traffic – “we had a bulldozer parked in front of us for 2 1/2 months during the holidays,” says Hutson.
When the pandemic forced major business changes in early March, Shirley says he knew things were going to be “devastating.” While they set up a takeout model, they knew their sales would take a hit, and they told their landlord – the city of Coral Gables – that they wouldn’t make the rent. “The city took a hard stance,’ says Shirley. “No negotiating. No compassion.”
Hutson and Shirley say they enjoyed a rare Saturday night dinner at home this past weekend. But there’s more work to do. They’re consulting at the 35,000-sq-ft Cervecería La Tropical in Wynwood, a craft brewery with a full kitchen and bar plus beer garden, slated to open by the end of the year. They’ll continue to do cooking classes and catering.
After 21 years, it’s time for them to move on and start a new chapter. “We can always make a comeback,” says Shirley.
