Norma’s Cuban Sandwich Shop is offering a night out that can’t be missed.
The restaurant is presenting a monthly luxurious four-course dinner event called “Night at Norma’s.” There will be a grand total of four tables, which create an intimate and formal night on the town. Leo Mesquita, co-owner of Norma’s, said he wanted to offer a unique dining experience for his town.
“We have a very nice storefront, we’re closed at 5 and this is another way to bring people through the door,” Mesquita said. “We feel like Plant City is lacking in the formal kind of dinner scene. I want people to not have to drive to Tampa for a four-course dinner or anything like that. Plus, this helps bring more people downtown.”
Drawing people to downtown Plant City continues to be one of the top priorities of local businesses.
Mesquita said he continues to see an increase in attention and traffic in downtown. It was part of the reason they chose to open Norma’s in its current location on Collins Street in November.
While at first there were complaints about parking, he said as people began to frequent downtown, whether for restaurants or events, they soon realized all of the buildings were surrounded by spots, even though they lack one large lot.
This Friday will be the first of a monthly series of dinners at the shop. There are three sessions for the event. The first is at 4:30 p.m., the second at 6 p.m. and the third at 7:30 p.m. Though they just started advertising for the event a week ago, the two later sessions are already sold out.
Reservations are required for all of the “Night at Norma’s.” The menu will change each month and is hand selected by Chef Andy Nassar. This month, the menu featured items like festival salad, bruschetta, slow braised pork shanks and beignets for the cost of $35 a person.
Nassar picked the pork and pasta entrees because of his genuine love for the food, Mesquita said. He promised that though the menu would continue to evolve, it would always focus on foods Nassar thought highly of and loved to cook.
Mesquita said they were using this first event to test the market to see if it was something residents of Plant City wanted. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
If the response continues to grow, Mesquita said they will do their best to evolve the event to meet the desires of their customers. For future “Night at Norma’s” check out the restaurant’s Facebook page. Upcoming menus will be advertised there approximately two weeks before the event. To reserve a spot at the next event email info@normascuban.com.