A little bit of Cuba: At the lush Cayo Coco Rum Bar, patrons are ‘transported’ to colorful 1940s Havana

Cuba is celebrated for its rich, vibrant and ethnically diverse culture, but one of the island nation’s most colorful eras came in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, when it was flooded with American tourists drawn by gorgeous beaches, lavish entertainment and legal gambling.

There was plenty of social unrest in Cuba in those decades prior to the Fidel Castro-led Communist revolution. However, it was also a time of vibrant artistic expression, including food and drink, according to Andrew Collins and Josh Schaff, who recently opened Cayo Coco Rum Bar & Restaurante, a Cuban-themed bar and eatery, downtown.

The men wanted their new establishment — it opened in July at Founders Station on First Avenue North — to capture the feel of that unique, elegant period. Cayo Coco features a lush interior with a Cuban feel and a menu that offers the rich flavors of the Caribbean.

Collins and Schaff wanted to offer something special at Cayo Coco. “My philosophy is if you’re going to do something downtown, do it right,” Collins said. “There’s ways you can do a restaurant cheap, but we wanted to be the place to go to.”

The goal was to give patrons of Cayo Coco a unique experience.

“I wanted to have people say, ‘Man, there’s a beautiful place in downtown Birmingham. And when you’re there, you don’t feel like you’re in Birmingham. You feel like you’re in the Caribbean or Cuba,’” Collins said.

This is not the first time Collins has played a key role in an important food or beverage venue downtown. He operated Lyric Hot Dogs & Grill on Third Avenue North, which was founded by his Greek immigrant father, for 42 years.

In 2013, he opened Collins Bar on Second Avenue North, where he is credited with helping to introduce craft cocktails to Birmingham. Schaff, who serves as general manager at Collins Bar, was “instrumental” in making it a success, Collins said.

The two men began talking about opening a bar that would feature rum-based craft cocktails, a new concept for Birmingham, and decided that a Cuban or South American feel would be perfect.

Collins came up with the name after reading about the Cuban island of Cayo Coco, a popular vacation destination with some of the world’s most beautiful white-sand beaches.

He also has a personal connection to the legendary pre-Castro Havana. His mother and father went on their honeymoon there in 1938 or 1939. “That was when it was booming,” Collins said. “Tourists were all going down there. They had the gambling.”

Anna and Jeremy Erdreich of Metropolitan LLC in Birmingham worked on the interior plans and furniture choices for Cayo Coco, and Anna Erdreich did the decorating. “They came up with some great colors,” Collins said.

The outside patio at Cayo Coco Outside features Alabama-grown palm trees, and the bar and dining room feature lots of elegant brass, including the bar itself. And on one wall, there is a large photo of Collins’ parents on their honeymoon.

The bar serves a variety of cocktails, as well as wine and beer, but rum is the centerpiece. Cayo Coco opened with 60 rums and is already up to 100 rums, according to Schaff.

The bar does not serve overly sweet, heavily adorned tropical drinks like those in a tiki bar, according to Schaff. Instead, Cayo Coco opts for simple elegance, he said. For example, they serve a Cuban version of the popular mojito, one that has much less sugar than the style served in Miami.

“A Cuban mojito is very simple,” Schaff said. “It’s spearmint. It’s sugar. It’s lime. There’s a lot of rum. You gently toss it back and forth with some soda, and that’s it.”

Enjoying beverages should be “all about being refreshed,” Schaff said. “So a customer drinking one and thinking, ‘That’s a very sweet drink. I need to switch to a beer now,’ we don’t want that happening.”

To accompany these cocktails, chef Haller Magee has created a menu that blends Latin flavors with Southern influences. The meats include fish, chicken, flank steak and “a lot of pork,” Magee said.

The popular sandwiches, including a Cuban sandwich, are served with yucca fries and plantain chips.

There are small plates, including Mofongo Balls, which are made from braised pork belly, spicy sofrito and avocado puree. “That’s a solid dish,” Magee said. But there are also filling ham and cheese croquettes.

“We do tamales in house,” he said. “We make them every day. We use banana leaves.”

Magee described his culinary philosophy for Cayo Coco. “Keep things simple, straightforward, don’t go crazy, but be assertive with your flavors,” he said.

There is a dessert menu with rich treats such as rum cake, flan, churros and Cuban coffee.

Given his family history, Collins was asked if he was curious to see Cuba himself. “I’d like to go to Cayo Coco and see what it’s like,” he said. “But I think it’s hard to get to for an American.”

In the meantime, Collins and his patrons can enjoy the little piece of Cuba he and Schaff have created. It’s like you’ve been “transported” when you eat or drink there, Schaff said. “You forget you are at home and instantly become on vacation.”