Locally owned Silver Ring Cafe celebrates 25 years at its location in the Riverview Shopping Center this month. Dana Neville Burdzilauskas, a Tampa native with deep roots in the community, has owned and operated the cafe for more than 32 years. She is a married mother of three adult children and a delightfully proud grandmother of three grandchildren, with a fourth due in October.
Primarily known for its authentic Cuban sandwiches, Silver Ring Cafe serves other fresh deli sandwiches, along with homemade soups, black beans and daily specials. “We partner with Earl Bush out of Ruskin, who hand rolls what I believe are some of the best devil crabs anywhere,” Burdzilauskas said. “He personally delivers them to us twice a week.”
She starts any given day with an early morning trip to Ybor City to pick up fresh Cuban bread, and then makes daily runs for produce and supplies, “before arriving at the cafe around 8 a.m. to begin prepping sandwiches, soups, beans and getting ready for the lunch rush,” she said.
Many people who come in for a Cuban sandwich wind up becoming regulars. “I think people can feel when a place has history, heart, consistency and genuine appreciation for its customers,” Burdzilauskas said. “That has always been important to me.”…