Our History

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It all started in 1957, when Don Juan Vera-Martínez, an expert and impassioned gamecock breeder, started the Gallera Loma Bonita, a cockfight arena in the town of Yauco. There, he decides to open the restaurant where the famous "Can-Can" pork chops first appeared. In 1958, a good friend and regular client, Rodulfo, came by with a special request. He asked Don Juan to "cut a pork chop, but don't trim the fat around it, then deep fry it." From that moment on, he started frying pork chops for his cockfighting buddies. One day they were served a huge pork chop with the fried rind around it, that brought to mind the can-can underskirt women wore in the 50's, a garment that, if starched, made a noise when the wearer walked. The name was coined and the rest is history.

By 1959 Don Juan bought the property where the Restaurant is today, on the "guardarraya" (demarcation line) between Yauco and Guayanilla, thus the Restaurant's name. It first opened on July 3, 1959, in a tiny, old country house. From its humble beginnings, it has always gathered recognition for its local dishes. It took nearly eight years to perfect the recipe for the renowned pork chop, which allows him to serve a large number of clients.

Several years later Don Juan planted the rubber tree that envelops the new structure, which was inaugurated on December 5, 1993, only a few steps away from where the original house once stood.

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The Can-Can pork chop became so famous that it's been copied all around the island, yet no one equals Don Juan's. The business has always been a family effort, starting with Doña Dora, who still helps in its management after retiring as a social worker in 1980. Today, it's run by the second generation, her daughter Doralisa. Her other siblings Anabis and Juan also lend a hand.

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Our Logo

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It was created by Architect Ramón Ramos Algarín. 

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The tree is the center of our Restaurant and was planted by our father, Don Juan Vera Martinez in 1964.  The roots represent the community that supported us from the beginning and that continues to do so through this day. The trunk symbolizes Don Juan Vera Martínez-RIP that with his wife, Doña Dora Gonzalez de Vera founded the business.  The wood and zinc house remind us of the Restaurant’s original building.  The year 1959 represents the date when we opened this location.  In the bottom, the green leaves and the little red circles represent the coffee leaves and beans, symbol of Yauco city, from where all of our family originated.