Richard Gruica opened Fuego Fresh Latin in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Photo courtesy

Richard Gruica, a part-time Charlotte resident and chef, has opened a restaurant in Croatia, where he holds dual citizenship. As the owner of Captivating Croatia, a tour company focused on small, culinary-focused tours of the country, Gruica spends much of his year overseas immersed in Croatia’s hospitality sector. (I wrote a feature on a trip with Gruica for Charlotte magazine, you can read that here.) He also hosts a pop-up dinner series called Gypsy Table, which hosts events across Europe. With his latest venture, he’s becoming an even bigger part of his second home’s food culture. His first restaurant, Fuego Fresh Latin, opened to diners Thanksgiving week in Zagreb.

The original idea for the fast-casual restaurant in the Croatian capital was to be called Fuego Latin Street Food, but Gruica says calling everything street food is currently a Croatian trend. Thus, while his restaurant truly does serve street food, he made the decision to keep it out of the name. Gruica has long considered opening a restaurant in Croatia, and is a partner in a coffee bar next door to Fuego. When the copy shop next door to that concept closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, he thought the space might make a good home to an affordable, casual concept serving students and workers nearby. He decided to focus on Latin flavors, served as bowls and sandwiches, because he missed the cuisine each time he was on the road.

“When I come back to the U.S., I crave basically three things: good Asian food, good Latin food, and good barbecue,” Gruica says.

During time as a chef in Florida, Gruica cooked with a group of chefs known as the “Mango Gang,” the chefs who are credited with creating the fusion of cuisines — from Latin to Caribbean — South Florida is now known for. That experience has helped curate the Fuego Fresh Latin menu, where Latin dishes like empanadas are paired alongisde more traditional Croatian dishes reimagined with Latin flavors. One example is turning stuffed peppers into a croquette, potatoes filled with meat and rice as peppers would be in the traditional Balkan dish. Because Latin cuisine is so rare in Croatia, Gruica added these dishes to help the menu be more accessible to those unfamiliar with it.

“They love potatoes, they love protein.” Gruica says. “We’re just giving it to them in a different way.”

Even with the new restaurant in Zagreb, Gruica plans to continue traveling back and forth between Croatia and the United States, remaining over there through January to ensure the restaurant is running smoothly before making his trip back stateside. Once back in Charlotte, the chef brings some of Croatia’s cuisine with him, hosting pop-up events that highlight the nation’s wine and cheese offerings. As part of his Captivating Croatia tours, he often works with chefs to co-host the journey, and is working on creating partnerships with Charlotte chefs for future trips.