Hola OLA: entrepreneur chef Douglas Rodriguez is set to open another South Florida restaurant but his eye is on expanding his culinary empire worldwide

South Florida CEO, March, 2005 by Barbara Perkins

Does South Florida really need another high-end steak house? Ask superstar chef Douglas Rodriguez and his answer is an unequivocal "yes."

The Miami native, and his long-time friend and business partner Edward Lieberman, recently plunked down $4.5 million for their second local restaurant venture in a year. Dubbed OLA Steak, it is a 300-seat shrine to popular high-protein diets like Atkins, and it represents the third location in what the partners hope will be a hit franchise.

"We believe the world is ready to explore Nuevo Latina at all levels," Lieberman says. "We're going to hunker down here and open up some things in Coral Gables and Miami Beach. In the high-end restaurant business you need multiple locations."

Rodriguez developed the name OLA, which is an acronym for "Of Latin America," Lieberman says. The two are capitalizing on the name, which had its debut in 2003 when the partners launched OLA New York in Manhattan. OLA Miami opened last year on Biscayne Boulevard, and OLA Steak, Coral Gables in the Village of Merrick Park, is set to open its doors to the public this month.

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"We are going to be a Latin American steak house and specialize in cuts from Latin America," Lieberman says. "It's a completely new definition. You won't find a baked potato or creamed spinach here." For now, he says the partners will focus on OLA Steak, which he projects will book revenue of $4 million this year. Longrange plans call for OLA to expand globally to London, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Before any expansion can occur, Rodriguez and his business partner will have to prove that Miami can sustain another high-end steak house.

Rodriguez is no stranger to Miami, or to success. The 39-year old chef rose to fame by fusing Latin American standards with dishes and flavors from other parts of the globe. "You can't go anywhere in Latin America and get a foie gras and fig empanada, you can't get a hamache ceviche with blood orange or a roasted chestnut soup with morel mushrooms there. It's not really Cuban and it's not Puerto Rican. It is taking in all of the Latin American countries," he explains.

His first restaurant, Yuca, opened in Coral Gables during the 1980s, and drew crowds of patrons who came to sample its Cuban-inspired fare. Rodriguez became a celebrity as Latin American-influenced food became more popular nationwide. By 1994, he had left Miami for New York. "When you're young, you're fearless, and if you want to make it big in the restaurant business that is where you go. I had no fear." Rodriguez says. "I said, if I fail in New York I'll come back to Miami and the people here will still like me."

Soon after arriving, he opened the Latin American-themed Patria restaurant, and it received critical praise from The New Yorker, Gourmet and The New York Times, which anointed Rodriguez the father of "Nuevo Latino" cuisine. A succession of lucrative Gotham hot spots followed, including ceviche bar Chicama and tapas bar Pipa. Rodriguez eventually opened outposts in Arizona and Philadelphia, and continues to have a financial stake in them. He has since cashed out of his New York establishments.

The divestiture had a negative impact on overall sales at his restaurants, which booked $12 million of revenue in 2004, a drop of approximately $2 million to $3 million compared to the previous year, Rodriguez says.

Will Rodriguez and Lieberman find success again in South Florida?

Jack Hayes, southeast bureau editor of Nations Restaurant News, says it's likely. "There is an American fascination with gold, diamonds and meat," Hayes says. "With his skills and personality I'm sure Doug will be able to romance the menu. He'll infuse it with a variety of meats and cuts to make it his own kind of place."

For his part, Rodriguez says he is too busy keeping an eye on renovations in the new restaurant and penning his fifth cookbook to worry. He prefers to spend his free time at his stove. "That's what I enjoy doing the most--cooking down in the trenches. I do it at least three nights a week."

"I don't think I'd be as famous as I am if I were to have been cooking a different style of cuisine," Rodriguez says. "Latin food had been untouched and undiscovered."