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WayPoint Barranquilla Centro

Description of the Historic Center of Barranquilla

The Historic Center of Barranquilla is a vibrant and culturally rich area that reflects the evolution of the city from its beginnings as a commercial port to its modernization. This area is notable for its republican and neoclassical style architecture, with buildings dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The streets are full of life, with markets, shops, restaurants and squares that tell the story of the city's economic and social development.

Why should you visit it?

1. *Cultural Heritage*: Exploring the Historic Center gives you a deep insight into the history and culture of Barranquilla. Here you can see how the city has grown and evolved over the years.

2. *Architecture*: The area is a delight for architecture lovers, with its historic buildings and well-preserved monuments that showcase a mix of architectural styles.

3. *Local Life*: The area is full of activity, with traditional markets, local shops and restaurants that offer an authentic Barranquilla experience.

4. *Events and Festivities*: It is a key point during the Barranquilla Carnival, one of the most important festivals in Colombia, where you can enjoy parades, music and traditional dances.

Fun facts

1. *The Customs Building*: Built in 1919, this building is a symbol of Barranquilla's commercial boom and currently houses the Pilot Library of the Caribbean and the Historical Archive of the Atlantic.

2. *First Port City in Colombia*: Barranquilla was one of the first port cities in the country, and its Historic Center played a crucial role in national maritime trade.

3. *María Reina Metropolitan Cathedral*: Built in 1932, this cathedral is one of the largest in Colombia and features impressive Gothic architecture.

4. *The Museum of the Caribbean*: Located in the Historic Center, this museum is essential to understand the history, culture and biodiversity of the Colombian Caribbean.




Featured Places

1. *Plaza de San Nicolás*: This square is one of the most emblematic points of the Historic Center, with the Church of San Nicolás de Tolentino as the centerpiece, an architectural jewel of the neo-Gothic style.

2. *Paseo Bolívar*: One of the main avenues, full of shops, cafes and historic buildings. It is ideal for walking and enjoying the local atmosphere.

3. *Caribbean Museum*: Offers exhibitions on the history, culture and biodiversity of the Colombian Caribbean region. It is an essential visit to understand the cultural richness of the area.

4. *Amira de la Rosa Theater*: An important cultural center that hosts various artistic and cultural activities, from theater to music and dance.

5. *Caribbean Cultural Park*: A space that includes the Caribbean Museum and other cultural centers, offering a wide range of activities and exhibitions.

6. *Coltabaco Building*: A historic building that reflects the industrial architecture of the early 20th century and is now a cultural and events center.






















                                              WayPoint Arquitectura

?	Periodo Republicano
?	Banco Comercial de Barranquilla. Carrera 41, calle 33.
?	Banco Dugand. Calle 32, carrera 43.
?	Edificio Faillace. Calle 32, carrera 42.
?	Antigua Aduana. Vía 40 # 36-135.
?	Intendencia Fluvial. Vía 40, carrera 46.
?	Estación Montoya. Antigua Aduana.
?	Museo del Atlántico. Calle 35, carrera 39.
?	Edificio Mogollón. Calle 32-carrera 43.
?	Edificio Beitjala. Calle 32-carrera 43.
?	Edificio La Napolitana. carrera 41, calle 35.
?	Edificio Nico. Carrera 43, calle 39 esquina suroccidental.
?	Edificio Alfonso De Caro. Calle 32, carrera 45 esquina suroccidental. 
?	Hotel Victoria. Calle 35, carreras 43 y 44. 
?	Banco Alemán Antioqueño, posteriormente Comercial Antioqueño. Paseo de Bolívar, carreras 43 y 44, acera oriental.
?	Primera sede del Banco de la República. Calle 32, carrera 42D.
?	Antigua casa de Paul Grosser. Calle 53 # 50-57.
?	Hotel Majestic. Carrera 53 # 54-25.
?	Antigua casa de la familia Muvdi. Carrera 53 # 61-73.
?	Museo Romántico. Carrera 54 # 59-199. 
?	Comfamiliar - antigua casa de Enrique Álvarez Correa. Carrera 54 # 59-167.
?	Casa Fonseca Quintero. Calle 66 # 50-05.
?	Triple A - antigua casa Yidi. Carrera 58 # 67-09.
?	Villa Petra o Casa Blanco. Calle 67 # 54-35.
?	Casa Blanco. Calle 67 # 54-55.
?	Colfondos. Carrera 54 # 66-112.
?	La Perla. Calle 68 # 53-56.
?	Casa De la Rosa-Corporación Autónoma Regional del Atlántico. Calle 66 # 54-43.
?	Museo Bolivariano (Universidad Simón Bolívar). Calle 68 # 53-56.
?	Bellas Artes. Calle 68, carreras 53 y 54.
?	Casa familia Salzedo (o Rosado). Calle 66, carrera 54 esquina sur.
?	Villa Emilia. Carrera 54 # 68-231
?	Hotel El Prado. Carreras 54 y 55, calles 70 y 72.
?	Colegio Lourdes. Calle 70, carrera 49.
?	Casa Parra García. Carrera 53 # 72-93.
?	Villa D'Arte. Carrera 54 # 74-79.
?	Casa Leiva Beltrán, antigua residencia de Olinto Blanco. Carrera 58 # 72-165.
?	Casa Fernández o Mendoza Amarís o Villa Ema. Carrera 58 # 68-27.
?	Casa Emiliani. Carrera 59 # 59-144.

?	Periodos Transición y Moderno 
?	Art déco, Streamline moderne y Bauhaus  
?	Hotel Roxy. Paseo de Bolívar, carrera 45 esquina suroriental.
?	Edificio Muvdi - Calle Real Shopping Center. Paseo de Bolívar, carrera 43.
?	Edificio Scadta - Avianca. Paseo de Bolívar, carrera 45 esquina suroccidental.
?	Edificio Ruiz Quijano. Carrera 45, calle 43 esquina noroccidental.
?	Teatro Rex. Carrera 45, calle 37 esquina noroccidental.
?	Teatro Colón. Carrera 45, calle 44 esquina nororiental.
?	Edificio García. Calle 47, carrera 45 esquina suroccidental.
?	Edificio Hané. Carrera 45, calle 47.
?	Edificio Emiliani. Calle 37, carrera 45.
?	Edificio calle 37, carrera 43.
?	Edificio Barcel. Carrera 41 con calle 35, esquina suroriental. 
?	Edificio Lacorazza. Calle 35, carreras 43 y 44. 
?	Corredor carrera 42, calles 30 y 31.
?	Movimiento Moderno o Arquitectura racionalista
?	Edificio Nacional. Carrera 45, calles 38 y 40.
?	Edificio Alcaldía actual, antiguo Banco de la República. Paseo de Bolívar, carrera 43.
?	Edificio Alcaldía Vieja. Calle 38, carrera 45.
?	Centro de Servicios Judiciales, antiguo Telecom. Calle 40, carrera 44.
?	Torre Manzur, antigua Caja Agraria. Carrera 45, calle 33 (1965).
?	Gobernación del Atlántico. Calle 40  # 45-46.
?	Edificio Banco Cafetero. Carrera 44 # 45-43. 
?	Edificio Fedecafé. Carrera 46, calle 34.
?	Edificio Sena Comercial. Carrera 43 # 42-40.
?	Sinagoga Bet-El. Calle 87 # 42G-46 (1964).
?	Casa Roque Yidi (Carrera 52 # 84-131, 1967).
?	Casa Lajud (Carrera 52 # 80-160, 1958).
?	Edificio Picasso (Calle 76 con carrera 52, esquina suroccidental).
?	Edificio El Bongo (Calle 79B # 42-540, 1960).
?	Casa Hugo Marino (Carrera 51B # 79-75, 1957).
?	Residencia Moisés Sredni (Carrera 56 # 80-201, 1960).
?	Residencia Nicolás Rosanía (Carrera 56 # 70-145, 1960).
?	Residencia Alberto Azout (Carrera 55 # 79-107, 1956).
?	Edificio Eliécer Velasco. Carrera 42 # 78-96, 1964.
?	Edificio Carbó. Calle 70 # 53-19.
?	Edificio El Prado. Calle 75 ?	# 54-80. 
?	Casa Jaar. Carrera 51B, calle 79. 
?	Sinagoga Bet-El. Calle 87 ?	# 42G-46. 
?	Antiguo Club Alemán. Calle 79B # 42-650.
?	Edificio Mualin. Carrera 44-Calle Murillo, esquina suroriental.
?	Casa Meira Delmar. Carrera 60 # 72-139.
?	Periodos Más reciente y Actual
?	Casa El hongo. Carrera 54, calle 66.
?	Casa Los Picapiedra. calle 83B, carrera 42E esquina.
?	Casa La guerra de las galaxias. Carrera 58, calle 84.
?	Casa El barco.
?	Capilla del Liceo Cervantes. Carrera 51B # 87-99. 
?	Edificio Colpatria. Carrera 44, calle 37.
?	Edificio Mualín. Calle 45, carrera 44 esquina suroriental.
?	Asamblea del departamento del Atlántico. Calle 40 # 45-46.
?	Torre Banco Popular. Calle 44 # 38-11.
?	Torre Banco Central Hipotecario. Paseo de Bolívar, carrera 43.
?	Torre Banco Industrial Colombiano. Carrera 44, calle 37 esquina suroccidental.
?	Torre Banco de Bogotá. Carrera 44, paseo de Bolívar, esquina suroccidental.
?	Torre Centro Ejecutivo I. Carrera 54 # 72-80.
?	Edificio El Girasol. Calle 80 # 51B-01.
?	Teatro Amira de la Rosa. Carrera 54 # 52-258.
?	Torre Banco de Occidente. Carrera 52 # 74-76.
?	Torre The Icon. Calle 78 # 57-35.
?	Torre Mirage 57. Calle 81 # 57-30.
?	Torre Grattacielo. Carrera 58 # 81-35.
?	Solara Towers. Carrera 57 # 79-319.
?	Torre Luxe. Carrera 56, calle 80.


The Special, Industrial and Port District of Barranquilla is one of the few Latin American cities that did not emerge from a settlement with colonial urban growth based on the central plaza that directs (in the case of Colombia) the streets and careers perpendicularly, but rather grew as a merchant port city. Thanks to its powerful economic growth, it did not go unnoticed by the interest of the architects of the time to capture its contribution to the modern urban landscape. Below we bring together 7 modern works that we consider outstanding, that have survived and adapted over time.
Edificio García / Manuel Carrerá
Dirección: Esquina Calle 47 con Carrera 45
 
This building by the Cuban architect remains almost intact today as its owners have preserved it with appreciation, maintaining its unique charm compared to the buildings of the time that they explored volumetrically with some Art Deco influence.
Edificio Nacional, Centro Cívico / Leopoldo Rother
 
 
Catedral Metropolitana. Image © José David Villalobos [wikipedia] bajo licencia [CC BY-SA 3.0]
Catedral Metropolitana María Reina / Angelo Mazzoni
Fecha: 1955
Dirección: Manzana entre calles 53 y 54, y carreras 45 y 46
 
Casa Lajud / Roberto Acosta Madiedo
 
Edificio El Bongo. Image vía Archivo RAMP
Fecha: 1958
Dirección: Cra 52 no 80-160
Extract from the official report: This home, located on the northeast corner of Carrera 52 and Calle 82, in the Alto Prado sector, and designed by the brothers Carlos and César Lajud, has the particularity of housing two family units at different levels. Designed on two floors, the first, with the largest constructed area, is intended for a family of several members, and the second, more compact, for a single inhabitant. Consequently, one is structured as a traditional residence and the other as an apartment that share, in different ways, the spaciousness of the outdoor spaces.
 
Edificio Caja Agraria. Image © Santiago Baraya
Edificio El Bongo / Roberto Acosta Madiedo
Fecha: 1960
Dirección: Calle 79b no 42 - 540
 
Extract from the official report: The Bongó Building – due to the metal figure attached to the façade – is one of several low-rise buildings that Acosta Madiedo developed but which has characteristics that differentiate it from the others. Located on a party lot, the first thing that catches your attention is its isolation from the street, to which no window directly faces. The closed side planes and the imposing void that houses the front staircase occupy the entire façade. The relationship of the first of the apartments with the exterior is mediated by the void that protects it from the activity of the street and covers it with an extensive shadow barely interrupted by the light that filters through the hole provided in the roof to supply it controlled manner.
Barranquilla, a city whose youth has made it witness changes in all its structures, especially commercial ones, awakens nostalgia in its people when they tour the neighborhoods that, through their architecture, defined the inhabitants who migrated at various stages of their development.
In its neoclassical, modern and post-modern style buildings, the multicultural influence from distant countries can be seen, such as the most rustic creations that found a place in the city with a warm climate whose breeze gave it the pseudonym “la Arenosa”.
Alfonso Fuenmayor described a few years ago “the old houses with their old patios (...), their old plum trees, their old mangoes with a penetrating aroma, their acacias with radical buds, their almond trees with calm shadows (...) the pompous ceibas (...) that provide a deceptive sensation of eternity and the oaks that wait a whole year to contribute with their purple or yellow flowering to the splendor of Christmas. That landscape is to inspire.”
The city has always been a reason to evoke narratives linked to its vast diversity.


 
The capital of the Atlantic in its beginnings was established as a seaport, a commercial exchange town and - because it was right in the center of Santa Marta and Cartagena - it opened its doors to citizens of all origins, which gave it a character of ethnic and cultural diversity. . In El Prado, one of the traditional neighborhoods of the city, the architecture of the houses and buildings is quite different from the neighboring colonized capitals such as Santa Marta or Cartagena, in Barranquilla a strong cultural mix is ??evident, the architectural design ranges from the Republican , to Art Deco, and even the influence of Arab immigrants is reflected. 
“One of the largest migrations was that of the Arabs; Some sources even indicate that these were the largest group of immigrants after the Spanish. Since 1880 people began to talk about Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese in Colombia. These were classified interchangeably as "Turks", when in reality, the first Arab immigrants fled precisely from the Ottoman Turkish Empire that had controlled the Middle East since the 16th century. After World War I, Arab immigrants would continue to arrive in the country due to various reasons, including political, social, and economic reasons. The contributions of its culture are major in medicine, science, linguistics, politics, and with artistic, architectural and culinary contributions,” says Odette Yidi David.
Barranquilla has two urban complexes declared assets of cultural interest: Centro Historico and Prado, Alto Prado and Bellavista, and a broader list of individual properties around the city. In the Prado, Alto Prado and Bellavista neighborhoods alone, there are 30 architectural properties that are categorized by the District at level 1 of conservation, as well as some monuments in public space.
Various buildings recognized for their architectural style are part of the select group, including: Gardens of Remembrance, a republican neoclassical style mansion built by Paul Groser; the Magestic Hotel, a house built in 1924 in a Versailles neoclassical style and an Arab interior patio that later became a Hotel; and The Emiliani House, built in 1930, with a peripheral terrace with balustrade and colonnade with Ionic-inspired capitals that support the slab roof, to name a few.

  
 
“We are a commercial and development benchmark. That same dynamism is reflected in its infrastructure, and in its diversity of styles. Although advice from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage is essential, since they are in charge of handling this issue in depth, the laws corresponding to the preservation of heritage are not implemented,” says John Álvarez, an architect from Barranquilla. So not even the nostalgia of being Caribbean has been enough to safeguard the heritage.
Interests in excessive growth have prevailed, on many occasions without making room for the restoration of properties that lost their structure to finally succumb to the sun and saltpeter.
As in the rest of the country, “Colombian industrial heritage throughout history has witnessed a process of undervaluation that has led to the degradation of structures and buildings representative of a time of boom and flourishing for some cities. In Barranquilla, after the transformation of the territory and the urban image, there are still some buildings of all architectural types that have been declared as assets of cultural interest - BIC - in the Heritage category
Architectural. However, there is no inventory of these facilities, their architectural and urban characteristics and their impact on new forms of work and changes in the social structure to value these buildings that at one point in the country's history were part of the of the modernization process of the city” expresses Yasmeidis Constante Figueroa in his studies on identification, characterization and valuation of the industrial architectural heritage of Barranquilla 1832 – 1930.
Currently, changes in Barranquilla include widening roads, channeling streams and accelerated urban growth. “The issue of roads and urban planning has favored and affected at the same time. In many cases there is not enough planning and this disadvantages the vast majority of the city's inhabitants, especially the southwestern, southeastern and metropolitan locations," points out architect John Álvarez.

                                              WayPoint Restaurantes

Manuel, Los Hijos de Sancho and Palo de Mango are three restaurants in Barranquilla that opened during the pandemic with an authentic and diverse concept. On the other hand, La casa de Doris is famous for serving traditional cuisine. In the city there are also more and more coffee-related options, such as La Casa en el Cielo.
The diners learned about the proposals of the chefs of these restaurants to understand their vision of the Atlantic capital as a gastronomic destination.

A decade ago, Manuel Mendoza decided to abandon a safe and predictable career as a business administrator to dedicate himself to what he had truly been passionate about since he was a child: cooking. 
Thus, in 2012 he set up Cocina 33, until like so many colleagues in the union, he was hit by the pandemic. He decided to move the restaurant to Montería, and then, in the midst of these crises, his new gastronomic proposal came out: Manuel.

?	MANUEL

This restaurant, located in the iconic El Prado neighborhood, has as its mantra the phrase “local ingredients, but global flavors.”
“Everything is valid at Manuel, we have realized that we can fuse our ingredients with different cuisines from around the world,” says Mendoza, who also explains that in his menu he rescues traditional Caribbean ingredients, such as millet crispeta, beans little devil and the purple corn tortilla.

They also have a fish “that is the star of our restaurant, not because of its preparation, but because of its subtlety. It is called amberjack, although it is also known as amberjack and almost no one used it.” 
In 2021, Mendoza was one of the five nominees for Best New Chef at Bogotá Madrid Fusión. He also started a series of dinners with international chefs at his restaurant.

In January 2022, he held the first with three renowned Peruvian chefs: Jorge Muñoz, from Astrid & Gastón; Jaime Pesaque, creator of Mayta, a restaurant that uses native products with cutting-edge techniques, and Francesca Ferreyros, creator of Baan, where she combines the flavors of Southeast Asia with ingredients from the Amazon jungle.
“Since we opened this restaurant we wanted to do new things. In the city, dinners of this style are usually held, but with local people or people from other parts of the country (…) So I dared to work with chefs of greater power and international stature. We hope to have 6 to 7 dinners a year of this style, because the people of Barranquilla want different things and the city is growing. Ten years ago it would have been unthinkable to do something similar,” says Mendoza.
Mendoza, who in 2019 opened a more popular rotisserie chicken offering called Chicken Ready, says that “the vast majority of restaurants were not open on a Monday or a Tuesday, or even on a Wednesday, a few years ago, but now every day is Like Fridays, very crowded.
Before we served people from Barranquilla, people from Cartagena, people from Samario or people from other places on the coast. We currently receive tourists from other areas of the country and also international ones,” although he recognizes that there are many aspects to improve for international gastronomic tourism in the city.
We need more diversity of restaurants in Barranquilla with proposals that foreigners like, but we are going little by little and learning as we go,” he says.

2. Sancho's children
José Barbosa is tall, skinny and has a hipster-style mustache. He speaks loudly and openly, he is not interested in pretending, but simply being. He is from Bogotá, he studied Social Communication at the University of La Sabana, but ended up seduced by cooking.
He lived for fourteen years in Europe, where he worked in various jobs and restaurants. In 2015, three years after returning to the country, he created El Chato with his partner Álvaro Clavijo (his friends call José 'el Chato' and that's where the name came from), a proposal in which they cook with avant-garde techniques and local ingredients, such as broad beans or chicken necks, uncommon at that time.
Also, before having his own proposal, he worked in other restaurants in Barranquilla. The first time was in 2016, when he advised the El Conquistador del Prado restaurant, which no longer exists today. He liked the city. Then the love for a “chatica” arose, he sold his part of El Chato, and between comings and goings, he finally decided to settle in 2017.
“Location is very important to me. Having the river, the sea, the mountains nearby, as well as all the stories that exist, is fantastic,” he confesses. 
During the pandemic he had many experiences. He got divorced, his father died, and an experience on a television program he recorded for Signal Colombia with victims of the armed conflict made him reflect on what is really important in life.
“Some chefs see cooking as a mere business, they don't delve into anything else and it is a valid vision. But I want to do things that make me feel proud, that are consistent with what I think.” And so he opened Los Hijos de Sancho in January 2021, a great shake-up for him and an option that he added to the restaurants in Barranquilla.
I am very excited to be in a place where I can create new things, although it becomes a more complex task. The first thing is to build the proposal from the ground. That's why I only use local ingredients and that makes my flavor palette very interesting, because I force myself to cook, for example, with barley, pigeon peas, purple corn or yams and create something really delicious."
Also try to use different meats. “The tomahawk is delicious from time to time, but it is not sustainable.” That is why it uses the viscera or considers other options for wild animals such as sheep, guartinaja or armadillo.
In addition, it strives to maintain an idea of ??food recycling at all levels. “If the onion comes with roots, I wash them, fry them and turn them into powder; all the ferments, sauces and vinegars come from here. And if I pick up, for example, a banana, I visualize ten different options.”
She makes all the charcuterie, bread, seasonal flower and fruit kombuchas, and sells her own gin, called Selva. “My goal is to also create a line of sandwiches in the restaurant, which I plan to call El HP de Sancho,” he explains. 
And that same idea is connected with the recycling that he has with himself. “I could have put the restaurant in a very bad place, but for me the important thing in a kitchen is the equipment and helping the kids who work with me grow and learn. For this reason, sometimes I think that the awards that make restaurants visible do not contribute much to the construction of the gastronomic world,” he says. 
Barbosa also believes that although several restaurants in Barranquilla have begun to pay more attention to technique and use local products, “I feel, sometimes, that it remains more of a commercial discourse that does not reach a happy conclusion.” term".

3. Handle stick
Álex Quessep grew up in Sincelejo, capital of Sucre, within a Syrian-Lebanese family. He says, with that melodious accent, “that on the table at my house there were always quibbes, but also carimañolas; cheese nickname, but also shisbarak; sweet papaya, but also mamul.” 
All of these experiences gave rise to his proposal for Palo de Mango, the restaurant that opened in 2019 and which operated for eight months, before the pandemic. Then he had to close and try to survive with homes. “But there are restaurants that were not designed to do delivery. So the experience was very hard, although we managed to get through it,” he confesses. 
The flavors of the menu are inspired by the cultural plurality of the region, shaped by the legacy of the indigenous population and the influences brought by the mixing with Africans, Iberians, and Arabs from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine. Memory and avant-garde are present on the menu.
“Beyond the search for a name, of saying that I do fusion, my cooking is spontaneous and the result of those personal experiences. Obviously, exploration is also present, and that is where the word avant-garde comes in. As an architect, I learned to conceptualize, compose and decompose, and that has given an imprint to my kitchen as such,” he explains. 
In this space, located in a house declared the city's architectural heritage, two aspects also draw attention: a mango tree in the center of the patio, which gives its name to the place, and the tribute paid to the artisans of the region in every detail of the decoration.
“I grew up among mango trees in the Sucre savanna (…). This tree has a peculiarity: it always remains green, no matter if we are in rain or drought, it is a tree that brings together and congregates, a symbol of our Caribbean,” he says. And as for the artisans, he assures that since he was little he has valued their work.
For me it was essential that the restaurant was also in line with that discourse and that it could tell that we are a country of weavers.” 
Quessep has founded other restaurants in Barranquilla. He is the creator of Zaitún, a Colombian-Arabic bistro that opened in 2000, and more recently of Mi Caldero, a hidden kitchen that offers traditional Caribbean dishes at more affordable prices. For 22 years he has researched the cuisine of the Colombian Caribbean. He is bothered by using the expression “rescue of traditional ingredients”, so common these days.
“I am not against rescue as such, but from my experience and the community work I have done, the words that could work better are the recognition of traditional cuisines (…) For me there is a recognition and respect for that memory. And when that exists, obviously you allow that traditional cuisine to remain valid, you give it a place and a fundamental dignity,” he says. 
Regarding his vision of the restaurant offering in Barranquilla, Quessep is positive. He says that the city “has a tasty culinary offering, from its street food, with the shredded chicken chuzo or the soledeña botifarra, a very healthy and respectful sausage that we are trying to safeguard. We found a great diversity of products and a use of spices that is also accentuated.”
“This mixing has given rise to a new cuisine and the city is going through an important gastronomic moment, which has already been recognized. For me it is indisputable that it is a gastronomic destination both for Colombians and for people from abroad who visit us,” concludes Quessep.

4. Doris's house
Restaurants in Barranquilla with traditional cuisines play a fundamental role. So if you want to try a typical Caribbean food option, go to La casa de Doris.
“My proposal is a very coastal mix of flavors and attention to diners. I love that my clients feel at home, that they share authentic flavors around the table, such as my famous corn mazamorra or my sweet and sour tongue, which have brought me fame and a lot of satisfaction,” says Mrs. Doris Fandiño de González, the woman who He has been running the place for 37 years. 
He also adds that “traditional cuisines not only preserve the flavors, aromas and presentation of traditional food, but have become a starting point for new generations to decide to innovate, create their own versions and expand the wealth of coastal food.”
“I, for my part, am very jealous of the recipes, which I even inherited from my mother. I like things to taste like they have always tasted, and to offer that taste for authenticity in my restaurant,” concludes Fandiño.

5. The House in the Sky
Apart from the variety of restaurants in Barranquilla, little by little the city has opened up to other types of gastronomic experiences, such as having a good cup of coffee and learning a little more about the coffee culture. Places like El Diario, Fit Bar Café and Hedonista offer a variety of specialty coffees. 
La Casa en el Cielo is a small and beautiful place where you can live the experience of a private coffee tasting. Carlos Avendaño, their manager, says that they have been growing coffee in Antioquia for more than ten years, which is why they decided to open a cafe in Barranquilla, their hometown.
However, due to the pandemic, they had to reinvent themselves and create an experience center, where they hold tastings and barista courses.
6. STATIONE AMORE
This restaurant chain was born from a love story and already has a turnover of more than 100 billion pesos
In 2023 Storia D' Amore was the protagonist of 40,000 marriage proposals in its eight locations in the country. Juan Camilo Acosta and Alejandra Reyes are the husband and wife behind this successful chain, which already plans to expand to the United States and Spain.
Juan Camilo Acosta and Alejandra Reyes got married when he was 26 and she was 20 years old. They had been dating since they were teenagers, and most of the time they maintained their relationship from a distance, so their families were scandalized when they announced the decision. “They said that we were going to separate quickly and that we were making a mistake. But here we are, seven years later, with a brand that is the result of all the love we have for each other,” says Acosta in conversation with Forbes.
Together they founded Storia D' Amore, a restaurant chain that was born in their native Cali and that today has eight locations: three in Bogotá, four in Cali and one in Barranquilla. Since its launch, the chain has been a phenomenon on social networks, on Instagram alone it has more than 401,000 followers and during the last year 1.2 million people visited its headquarters throughout the country.
They have become the brand of love, the same one they defend. The figures prove it: in 2023, more than 40,000 marriage proposals were held in the Storia D' Amore restaurants; 50,000 couples anniversaries and 94,000 birthdays. For Acosta, this is because from the beginning they wanted to bring together in one place the best of Italian food with everything that that culture contains: romance, good food, friendship and closeness, he details.
“We started this project when she was about to graduate from college. She told me that she would like to set up a tea room with desserts, inspired by a personal taste for gastronomy that we had explored together on our trips to see each other when she was studying outside the country,” says Juan Camilo.
At that time he began his career in the family business, the fashion brand Studio F, which his father, Carlos Acosta, has led for years. In 2017 the tea room saw the light. She dedicated herself fully to managing it and he alternated his role within Studio F with the kitchen of his restaurant. His first store opened in the Galán neighborhood of Cali, that day, Acosta remembers, the lines filled the block thanks to his friends lining up to support the project.
They started with 35 employees that year, until their father put the idea of ??promoting the business nationally on the table. “He, with the vision he brought from Studio F, sat us down one day and told us why don't you propose to make this a chain of restaurants throughout the country? And we, in our innocence, said yes, in 10 years we hoped to have 100 points of sale. “That was clearly not the case.”
THE GROWTH OF THE BUSINESS
The idea of ??opening 100 points of sale changed, remembers Juan Camilo. “Now we are focused on growing without losing sight of what we have now: the service, the quality of the food, the customer experience in our restaurants.”
To achieve this, they have converted each point of sale into a production center. "Every day suppliers arrive with tomatoes, onions, cheeses, the team transforms products daily for sauces, pasta, etc."
When they opened their first location in Bogotá, in 2019, Juan Camilo resigned from his role within Studio F and became president of Amore Group, the group of which, in addition to Storia D' Amore, Cantina La 15, the chain, is also a member. of restaurants with Mexican essence from the Acosta family.

Currently, the brand employs 700 employees and plans to open new offices in Medellín, Cartagena and Bucaramanga. Internationally, they are looking to focus on opening in Miami and Spain. In 2023 it sold 114 billion pesos, 22% more than in 2022.

“Growing in a year that for many sectors was very critical tells us that Colombian consumers liked the concept. In 2024 we will have new openings, more cities, and a constant renewal of our menu to continue attracting more diners to enjoy a pleasant experience in our restaurants,” he says.

The couple agree that this has been the project that has shown them, and their friends and family, that love can achieve anything: even build million-dollar businesses.

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