TAMPA, Fla. — Javier Rodriguez appreciates every wing he serves up at Wing Boys because when he was a kid growing up in Cuba, they were never on the menu.
“We used to go a lot of the time and eat sugar and bread for dinner, like with sugar water,” said Javier.
He moved to Tampa with his mom and siblings at age seven, where he soon found his new favorite food.
“I just had a little fryer, and I had a bag with flour and I would mix the wings, season them and fry them,” said Javier.
When Javier met his wife Angelica, whose family is also from Cuba, they made a pact to open up their own restaurant.
“I could relate when he would tell me his struggle and his mother’s struggle and what it takes to make it in this melting pot of the United States,” said Angelica.
After a few years of experimenting in a test kitchen, they held the ribbon cutting at Citrus Park Mall for the first Wing Boys franchise store in April.
“As long as you have a dream and you have a vision, you get to a place that can give you those chances, you’re able to do it,” said Javier.
He added that they couldn’t have done it alone, crediting the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce Minority Empowerment Program.
“This allows them to come get some of the resources of the chamber, get to know people from the banking community, legal community," president and CEO Bob Rohrlack said. "People who may have been where they are now who said, ‘Hey, when I was there, I did this and that helped me.’ Getting that anecdotal partnering help from fellow members."
“It's just an incredible family of people coming together to help you and it is a life-changing event and that’s what happened for us,” said Javier.
Wing Boys is known for its more than 100 flavors of wings, but they may need to add one more: the sweet taste of the American Dream.
