MIAMI (WSVN) - A South Florida staple is celebrating a major milestone.
Versailles, in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, is celebrating its 50th anniversary on Wednesday.
“When I was a small kid and my father opened that originally, it was a place we’d go after the movies, after the dances, after the parties,” said Felipe Valls Jr.
It also became a meeting place for the exiled Cuban community, where people could go and talk about politics, especially Fidel Castro, or simply just catch up with old friends.
“The people make it so special,” said Felipe Valls Sr., who opened Versailles. “People who go to see and be seen and to say hello to people and to have dinner, I mean, those people and those clients make Versailles what it is.”
“It feels like home,” said Versailles patron Caridad Borges. “Anytime you come here it just feels like you’re walking in your house.”
From the emotional saga that was Elián González to the triumph of the Florida Marlins winning a World Series, Versailles has been the backdrop for it all. However, it was always Castro who sparked the most heated debates.
“The authenticity of the Cuban food, the being there so many years, the having it be part of your life as you’re growing up, a place where you always go when something breaks and you think of Cuba and you think of the people here in Miami, you think of where else to go but Versailles,” said Valls Jr.
Those who created the restaurant and those who keep it alive both said there is simply no other place like it.
“I consider Versailles a landmark,” said Versailles patron Sergio Canales. “It’s where all the Cubans originally come over here and discuss business and politics and et cetera, et cetera. It’s the place to hang out.”
The iconic restaurant, famous for its green vinyl chairs and cafecito window, is throwing an anniversary event.
The event will be hosted by the three generations of the Valls family, who founded and run the restaurant.
Starting Wednesday afternoon, Versailles is rolling back all their menu items to what they used to charge in 1971.
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