Cuban Restaurant to Open at Old Fuddruckers Spot

Fuddruckers stood on Route 4 for more than two decades, providing many diners with a convenient place to have a meal before seeing a movie at the Cineplex Odeon theater next door.

The theater closed in 2007, and now the owners of the building on Route 4 plan to offer something completely different: the biggest Cuban restaurant in Bergen County.

Steve Cox and Larry Foster believe their new restaurant, Dos Cubanos, will fill a growing need in the area when it opens. The Latino population in Bergen County grew from 91,377 to 145,281 from 2000 to 2010, according to Census data.

Cox and Foster hope to capitalize on that trend.

"The Cuban food, it tends not to be the most expensive food out there, and still good quality," Foster said.

The two visited Cuban restaurants in North Bergen and Union City before deciding to open Dos Cubanos. The menu mixes traditional Cuban cuisine, like Churrascao steak and red snapper, and American fare like burgers.

Dos Cubanos will be accessible to people who love Cuban food and those who are looking for something more familiar, Foster said.

"We have different dishes that really can meet the appetites of all our different customers," he said.

Cox and Foster also wanted to ensure that the menu is affordable for most customers. The Churrascao, at $18.99, is the most expensive item on the menu.

A family of four should be able to dine at Dos Cubanos for about $100, Foster said.

They also won't have to wait that long to get a table, Foster said. At 300 seats, Dos Cubanos should be the biggest Cuban restaurant in the county.

While they abandoned the Fuddruckers concept, Cox and Foster still believe they can be successful on Route 4.

"Paramus is a great area," Foster said. "It's a great retail area and it drives a lot of people into the area."

The two decided to close Fuddruckers after the movie theater, which drove plenty of customers to the restaurant, shut its doors. Fuddruckers also faced growing competition from a number of new fast-casual burger restaurants, like Bobby's Burger Palace and Bucu.

Foster said there is no set date for the opening of Dos Cubanos, but it should be any day now.

"It's been about four months that we've been working on the project and we're anticipating the excitement of finally being able to open the doors to the guests," Foster said.

Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Myles Ma at Myles.Ma@patch.com, or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.