by REBEKAH PIERCE
Sponsored by Visit Central Florida
It’s not just the mouthwatering ropa vieja or delectable vaca frita that make Nineteen61 such a remarkable and unique dining experience in downtown Lakeland, but the story behind the flavor.
That story began in 1961, when the parents of Marcos Fernandez, the owner and lead chef at Nineteen61, immigrated from Cuba (that year later served as the namesake for the iconic restaurant). And it’s not just the name of the restaurant that’s inspired by his upbringing, but the recipes.
“Ropa vieja was one of my least favorite dishes growing up,” he explains. “It never tasted great, too tomatoey, too olivey, but my parents loved it and made it all the time.” When he opened Nineteen61, he says, his goal was to “make food everyone wants to enjoy. If I can make ropa vieja that I can feel proud of and enjoy, then that’s my goal.”
Originally hoping to be a pilot in the Air Force, he found his dreams cut short when he discovered eyesight issues that would prohibit him from flying a plane. “I didn’t want to just join the Air Force and not fly,” he elaborates. “I’m an all-or-nothing person.”
He pivoted, pursuing a career in carpentry that introduced him to a retired Dutch chef who ignited his interest in the culinary arts. He began cooking for his family and friends, which, he explains, is the most gratifying thing you can do. But then, “I got frustrated because I didn’t know any more about food, and didn’t want to keep asking [the chef],” he says. So eventually, he decided to uproot and move himself to Denver, where his sister was living at the time. There, he put himself through culinary school and eventually moved to Boca Raton, where he met his wife.
After a brief career working as a chef in the corporate world and at a country club, he decided to finally pursue his dream of opening a restaurant.
“I didn’t have any money,” he admits. “Everything was secondhand, on consignment. I’m always indebted to my friends who [helped me] build the bar, the countertops.” The restaurant opened in December 2015 and relocated to its current location soon after. Fernandez’s business partner, Emerson Bamaca, joined Nineteen61 roughly one month after opening.
The restaurant started small, with just 50 seats. At the time, they were growing many of their own vegetables and partnering with local farmers who raised chickens. When he met some pig farmers, Marcos decided to take the farm-to-table scene up a notch, growing Guinea hogs that were later crossed with Mulefoots, then Ossabaw Island hogs. “We raised amazing, amazing hogs,” he said, explaining that at one time, he co-oped with breweries for spent mash to feed the pigs, free-roamed them on pea farms where they had access to fresh peas and acorns, and provided them with produce scraps from a local homeless shelter.
At the height of his farm-to-table endeavors, Marcos and his pork farming partners had more than 100 hogs on the ground and were credited for their efforts in helping to bring rare hog breeds back into the limelight.
Then, things started to change, and Marcos began to feel the pressures that so many farm-to-table entrepreneurs experience. His chicken farmer couldn’t keep up with the demand as Nineteen61 grew. His produce farmer went through a divorce and lost his farm. The hogs were sold in 2018.
Nevertheless, Marcos has risen above these challenges and remains a staunch supporter of the farm-to-table movement, though he admits that the system has significant challenges that need to be overcome. “To find [USDA-approved] butchers, it’s very hard,” he says but adds, “We didn’t abandon it completely. We still farm when we can. I always tip my hat, I love my farmers.”
In addition to continuing to make everything, including desserts and pastries, in-house, Fernandez remains committed to finding local suppliers whenever possible. “I’m using a couple of farms right now,” he said, and is trying to sustain the efforts. Currently, he’s exploring some options for local microgreens, as well as a beef program. “Anything fresh I can get my hands on is worth it.”