When Jorge Rivera first opened his cloud kitchen, Primos, he sourced ingredients from his grandmother in Puerto Rico. Rivera, who was born and raised in Puerto Rico until he was 10, moved first to Florida and later to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he served as a military police officer.
“One of the first things I did when I moved to Kansas was look for Puerto Rican restaurants,” he says. One of his favorites was KCK’s now-closed Caribe Blue. When Caribe Blue closed shop, it left Rivera with a void—but he also saw an opportunity. He became keenly aware that the KC market was lacking in the Caribbean-style cuisine he loved.
After his military stint was up, Rivera faced a choice: move elsewhere or stay in Kansas. Taking a leap of faith, he decided to stay put and open a cloud kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen, Primos, at the Crossroads Food Stop (1600 Campbell St., KCMO). “Primo means cousin in Spanish,” Rivera says. “We have a very strong family environment in our space.”
Since Primos opened on Cinco de Mayo earlier this year, Rivera has established reliable suppliers to bring authentic Puerto Rican cuisine to Kansas City (thank you for your help, Grandma!). The menu spans traditional Caribbean fare like empanadillas, fried plantains and pincho de pollo, a spiced chicken skewer. But Rivera’s flagship dish is the Boribowl, inspired by the Puerto Rican term “Boricua.” “It’s a word that Puerto Ricans use to refer to themselves with pride,” Rivera says.
The bowl, which Rivera says was semi-inspired by Chipotle to appeal to choosy heartlanders, features flavorful pork marinated for 24 hours in a secret sauce that Rivera keeps close to his chest. It’s then boiled for tenderness and pan-fried to order. Get it over the mofongo, a savory dish made from smashed fried plantains flavored with cilantro, garlic butter and chicken broth. “This is our heritage in a bowl,” Rivera says. primoskc.com
