Evelyn Malave and David Ruiz, the owners of Goly and Eve's Puerto Rican Kitchen, are finally preparing to reopen their restaurant after a challenging year.
- Family-Run Restaurant Reopening: Evelyn Malave and David Ruiz, owners of Goly and Eve's Puerto Rican Kitchen in Kimberly, are preparing to reopen after a year-long closure due to a building code violation
- Forced to Shut Down: Last year, the city of Kimberly required the restaurant to temporarily close due to a lack of clear access to a restroom, necessitating extensive renovations
- Pursuing the American Dream: Both Malave and Ruiz, originally from Puerto Rico, are driven to bring Puerto Rican flavors to Kimberly, filling a cultural and culinary gap in the area.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Forced to close last year due to a building code violation, Evelyn Malave and David Ruiz spent the past year working out of a food truck in Green Bay to save money for the necessary renovations. Now, they’re aiming to reopen by Thanksgiving, hoping to bring the taste of Puerto Rico back to Kimberly.
Evelyn Malave, who moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico at age 17, spent 22 years working in medical care before deciding on a change. As a mother of seven, including a son with special needs, she felt the long hours were unsustainable.
“I couldn’t stay working 8 to 12 hours a day as a regular parent, so we decided to invest our money and open our own business,” Malave said.
Malave and her boyfriend Ruiz launched Goly and Eve's to fill a void.
"When we moved here, I went to look for Puerto Rican food, and it wasn’t anywhere," Ruiz explained. "Only in Milwaukee and Chicago, so I thought, why not be the first ones?”
Last year, the city of Kimberly shut down their restaurant due to a lack of clear access to a restroom, a violation that required extensive renovations. While their building was being updated, the family continued serving customers from their food truck, saving every dollar they could to fund the reopening.
Ruiz emphasized the determination it takes to achieve their goal: “If you come from your country to live out here and make a dream, you’ve got to work harder than where you come from.”
Malave and Ruiz say they look forward to welcoming customers back into their restaurant soon. They hope to provide an authentic Puerto Rican dining experience with dishes like pastelillos, Alcapurrias, and tostones with rice.
“Every bite of any of our food will take you back home,” Malave said.
