New restaurant in Modesto’s Roseburg Square is the ‘cutest version’ of the building. See why
Do you crave lumpia when your friend wants a sandwich? Does your kid beg for a burger when you really want empanadas?
Modestans no longer have to make multiple stops to satisfy various cravings. A new restaurant in Roseburg Square serves meals with cultural influences including Spanish, Filipino, Italian, Latin American and American.
Cora at Roseburg Square held its grand opening Friday morning at the site that formerly housed The Divine Swine.
“I have seen this building as now three or four different restaurants and this is by far the cutest version of it,” said Trish Christensen, president and CEO of the Modesto Chamber of Commerce.
The Divine Swine isn’t gone completely, though. George Bertaina, his partner Alicia Zabala, Zabala’s aunt Gracey Wood and Gracey’s husband, Tad Wood, bought The Divine Swine recipes with the restaurant and eventually will start serving food from its menu.
Cora menu features family fusion items
A “soft opening” menu is currently being offered at Cora, but the restaurant later will have a “very extensive” menu that will change seasonally, Zabala said.
Items on the menu include pork lumpia (Filipino spring roll), risotto cakes, elote-style hush puppies, several salads, three sandwich options, a Greek galette and two empanada options, as well as choices for kids. Breakfast service will begin in the next few months.
Dessert options are an ube maritozzi (Italian cream bun with Filipino purple yam), a torta de Santiago (Spanish almond cake) and a chocolate trifle.
The restaurant also has a full bar with beer, wine and signature cocktails. The Purple Pain (Filipino rum, ube syrup, coconut, pineapple and lime) is the most popular cocktail, according to a post on Cora’s Facebook page.
Family and cultural backgrounds also inspire decor
Cora at Roseburg Square is named after Bertaina’s grandmother Paulina Corazon Delavaca-Ramirez, who was nicknamed Cora.
“Cora, my grandmother, had an uncanny ability to bring our giant family together with all of our different personalities,” Bertaina said. “That’s what we hope to bring to this community.”
When you first walk into the restaurant, you will be greeted by not only a host or hostess but a bright mural painted by FASM — aka Aaron Vickery.
FASM is “really good” at painting animals, Zabala said, so she started researching animals from the Philippines. She found the tamaraw, a small, endangered buffalo native to the island of Mindoro.
The tamaraw symbolizes prosperity, strength and integrity, Bertaina said, making it a perfect fit for the restaurant. Sunglasses were painted on one of the buffalo “to make it fun.”
Bertaina and Zabala also plan to decorate the restaurant with a portrait of Cora.
Cora at Roseburg square is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
