Acclaimed Cuban restaurant closing in Durham. Here’s when it’ll serve its final meal
A distinctive Durham restaurant will bid farewell this weekend two months after entering bankrupcty proceedings.
The upscale Cuban restaurant COPA will close Aug. 3 after service Saturday night.
The restaurant from married couple Roberto Copa Matos and Elizabeth Turnbull opened in 2018 as a fine dining follow-up to their beloved casual lunch spot Old Havana Sandwich Shop.
With COPA, the couple served a style of Cuban tapas heavily inspired and influenced by Spanish cuisine.
Why is COPA closing in downtown Durham?
Matos said they expected for COPA to remain open through the bankruptcy process, but a difficult July led to the decision to close. Last month, Matos said the restaurant saw sales drop by more than 80%, serving on some nights as few as 10 people for a restaurant expecting 150 diners.
“It was not enough to sustain operations the way we envisioned COPA,” Matos said in a phone interview. “That’s the main reason for the closing. It’s nothing else but that.”
Like many restaurants, COPA struggled through and after the height of the COVID pandemic, routinely forced to pivot a fine dining restaurant into makeshift outdoor seating and take-home options.
COPA fans raised nearly $30K
In the spring, a GoFundMe campaign raised nearly $30,000 to help a struggling COPA. The money was used to stave off foreclosure and initiate bankruptcy proceedings. Now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Matos expects they will sell COPA’s building to pay off debts related to the restaurant.
If there are funds left over, he said a future restaurant could be possible.
“I don’t know, that’s the main answer to the question,” Matos said of any eventual restaurant plans. “If there’s money left we can reconsider a new concept in the area.”
How long was COPA open in Durham?
COPA found critical and community success in its six years in Durham.
Former dining critic for The News & Observer, Greg Cox, awarded COPA four stars in a 2018 review. For Matos and Turnbull, success took other forms.
“When we opened ... we asked, ‘What was going to be our mission?,’” Matos said.
“We decided we would be in the business to cultivate relationships from soil to table. I think we have accomplished that in many ways, from the soil in our garden, to our relationships with local vendors and we’ve developed relationships with new guests.”
