A new Cuban restaurant is coming to Clarkesville’s downtown square, and the name might seem familiar among food connoisseurs across North Georgia.
Husband and wife Alberto Rodriguez and Alicia Sosa, owners of The Hush Cuban Kitchen and Bar in Clayton, now plan to bring their unique taste of Cuban cuisine to Habersham County early next year.
Meet the owners
In 2019, Rodriguez and Sosa opened The Hush in Clayton with a vision. Together, combining their unique skill sets – his in culinary arts and hers in business – have since filled a void for Latin American-style dishes in Rabun County.
Rodriguez brings an impressive 28 years of experience as a five-star chef. Throughout his career, he’s worked at prestigious restaurants across the southeast U.S. – including stints at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood and the Seminole Casino in Coconut Creek (Florida), as well as executive sous chef roles at notable venues like Highlands Country Club in North Carolina.
All of it, combined, serves as a wealth of knowledge that shaped his expertise and sharpened his culinary craft.
Sosa, who Rodriguez described as “the brains” of their success, has spent years building her business acumen, particularly through management positions that have sharpened her ability to run The Hush’s operations. Her entrepreneurial eye was pivotal in navigating the challenges of maintaining a newly-opened restaurant amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hush in Clayton
The initial days of The Hush location in Clayton were not easy, according to the couple.
Opening just before the pandemic hit, the restaurant first launched as a BBQ joint in hopes of matching the taste of the local community. But when the pandemic forced businesses nationwide to adapt, Rodriguez and Sosa found themselves at a crossroads.
There were times when Rodriguez considered aborting the idea of a restaurant entirely. But, he said, Sosa’s determination kept him going.
“As long as one person is coming through that door, we’re keeping these doors open,” she told him.
And with that commitment, they pushed forward and The Hush reinvented itself.
“My dad always said: ‘If you want to sell potatoes, sell the best potato in town,’” Sosa said. “If you want to do something, do it right.”
Upon reopening, the couple redefined the direction of the restaurant and decided to embrace home-style Cuban food – a change more or less solidified by a popular Cuban sandwich that quickly became a customer favorite since the early days of The Hush.
And the shift to Latin-American cuisine eventually resonated with locals and even food enthusiasts from beyond Clayton.
The Hush expands to Clarkesville
In February, The Hush will open another location in Clarkesville (at 1456 Washington Street) in the pink building situated across from the old courthouse on the square – where the new 4,000-square-foot space will offer a seating capacity of up to 60 people in its first phase, with plans for outdoor seating in phase II.
There, Rodriguez and Sosa aim to bring the same authentic Cuban flavors to Habersham County. The menu likely will consist of traditional Cuban recipes – but with a more modern presentation. And nearly all ingredients (rice, beans and fresh-cut vegetables) will be prepared and served fresh on a daily basis.
“We didn’t want to do any pretentious food,” Rodriguez said. “We wanted to do more humble, honest food. We want to offer something that we can execute every day with the same consistency for customers.”
Alongside fresh food, The Hush also will offer an extensive selection of cocktails, beer and wines, with the sangrias and mojitos standing out as favorites among regular patrons at the location in Clayton.
Why ‘The Hush’
While Rodriguez and Sosa envisioned the restaurant as a place known for hushpuppies in the beginning, they decided to keep the name despite the menu shift. Now, the name represents both the restaurant’s evolution and a nod to their beginnings.
Despite Rodriguez’s extensive experience as a chef, the couple’s vision for the menu is “home-style.” Not luxury, excessive, overpriced or high-end dishes. At The Hush, dishes are served to include staples of a Cuban cookbook – while also rich in flavor.
“At the end of the day, the mentality is the same,” Rodriguez said. “We want something that will exceed your expectations by not offering you too much. When you go to a Cuban restaurant, you’re not expecting a five-star type of food. But, believe me, when you step into that door and eat, we deliver an experience you were not expecting.”
‘The backbone’ of the chef
Rodriguez credits his wife and business partner for much of the restaurant’s success. For Sosa, her background at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Florida – where she worked and managed a team of 80 people for 10 years – has been a crucial element in bringing that success. And if you ask Rodriguez, she is, after all, “the backbone” of the operation.
“This is all because of her,” he said. “I follow, and she leads now. I have the most experience (in cooking) that you could have. But what she has, I’ll never have: Patience and determination…I couldn’t be what I am if it wasn’t for her.”
As a chef, Rodriguez’s career includes prestigious roles as Chef de Cuisine at NYY Steakhouse, where it was named Best North Broward Restaurant by SouthFlorida.com. He has also worked in top locations across Puerto Rico, Nevis, St. Croix, and the U.S., including high-end resorts like Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
Heath Gayton, the owner of that building in Clarkesville, said he’s waited to find an ideal tenant to lease that space for some time. And when he spoke to Rodriguez and Sosa, he knew he’d found the right ones.
“I think that’s a great spot for (The Hush),” Gayton said. “Clarkesville is changing by the day…that space is really going to transform. We wanted something great for that building, and now, I think it’s the perfect time for that.”
Rodriguez and Sosa hope to see doors open before Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14.
