Valls, who based Versailles restaurant in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, died this previous Saturday at 89.
Over the course of half a century, Valls grew his enterprise. The entrepreneur began his profession trajectory in Miami importing espresso machines from Italy and Spain. He raised sufficient cash to buy a small restaurant in Little Havana known as Badia’s and offered it to open Versailles.
Valls’ restaurant holding firm, Valls Group, owns greater than 30 eating places together with the La Carreta chain, Casa Juancho, MesaMar, and Casa Cuba. But Valls will perpetually be greatest recognized for Versailles.
Through Versailles, Valls launched Miami to the ventanita, a walk-up window that serves espresso and sandwiches. That ventanita — and Versailles — has turn into greater than a restaurant. It has turn into the unofficial gathering place for Cuban-Americans to protest and have a good time.
When Barack Obama was re-elected for a second Presidential time period, there have been protests outdoors Versailles, with vehicles draped in “Fire Obama” banners.
And when Fidel Castro died on November 25, 2016, 1000’s flocked to Versailles to wave the Cuban flag, bang on pots, and toast the demise of the infamous dictator with a cafecito.
Versailles was additionally a required cease for politicians eager to woo Miami’s Cuban group. In 2016, Donald Trump and Rudy Guiliani stopped by, unannounced, for a cafecito and a photograph op.
Valls Sr. handed the enterprise into the palms of his son, Felipe Valls Jr., who’s the present CEO and president of Valls Group.
The elder Valls leaves behind his son Felipe Jr., daughters Leticia and Jeannette, and quite a few grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The household will host a visitation at Caballero Rivero Funeral Home (3344 SW Eighth St., Miami) on Wednesday, December 7, from 5 to 10 p.m. and Thursday, December 8, from 1 to 10 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the Valls household requests donations to be made to the Jackson Health Foundation.