WHO: Debbie Benedit, pronounced (ben-uh-dee).
WHAT: Havana's official grand reopening rescheduled.
WHEN: Nov 16, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. (NOTE NEW DATE due to county health inspection delay).
WHERE: Crossroads Village, 3979 Buford Highway, Atlanta, Ga.
Map link: http://tinyurl.com/ylopvzg
Interview, photo and broadcast opportunities Nov. 16 between 9 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.

ATLANTA, Ga. October 28, 2009 – The newly-inked tattoo depicting a daisy blossom on the inside of Debbie Benedit’s right wrist carries with it a succinct inscription: Carpe Diem.

Latin translation: Seize the day.

Benedit will do just that on November 16 when her Havana restaurant officially reopens in the Crossroads Village shopping center at 3979 Buford Highway at Clairmont Road.

“I’m just looking forward to getting back to doing what I do best,” Benedit said.” “It’s all I know. Havana’s not a job to me – it’s my life.”

That life – one from a landmark restaurant she’s cultivated for 33 consecutive years – was cut down by fire last year when the original space burned in the early morning hours of October 6.

The hardscrabble restaurant’s pale yellow façade and maroon-and-white marquis, “HAVANA RESTAURANT”, was a beloved landmark for generations of Atlantans who since 1976 rounded the corner from North Druid Hills Road and a couple blocks south on Buford Highway to get the best Cuban sandwich anywhere.

And a short-lived sister sandwich shop in downtown Canton, Ga., only fanned rumors that Benedit was out of the restaurant business for good.

But since then, Benedit’s family and friends have rallied around her. And with that moral and in-kind support from Crossroads Village property management, Benedit has secured a gleaming new 1600-square-foot space that will seat 65 lunch and dinner patrons indoors Monday through Sunday.

Also new is the singular attribute “Havana” title and the restaurant’s stand-alone logo; designed and donated for commercial use by a Georgia State University marketing major and long-time Havana fan whose assignment was to redesign a restaurant logo for his final grade, Benedit said.

But while Benedit has pursued new spaces, she’s bringing back some familiar faces, she said.

Eddie Benedit Jr., who has literally grown up in the restaurant, is scheduled to return to help mom full-time; in addition to the original support staff who have worked along side the Benedits for more than 15 years.

As for the regular menu items, Benedit said she’s keeping it simple, with signature Cuban and grilled sandwiches, arroz con pollo and fried plantains as front-runners – all priced from around $6 for lunch portions to $10 for dinner. The regular menu is followed by an expanded catering selection.

“I’m just looking really forward to seeing all of our friends again,” Benedit said.

“Because we don’t have customers at Havana,” she added.

“We have friends.”

Media contact:
Charlie “Poncho” Wilson
Byline credit: CC Wilson III
Big Ring Media
Email: charlie@bigringatl.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/poncho.wilson?ref=name
Please submit requests in writing to charlie@bigringatl.com

See attached PDF file for current Havana menu.