“It’s just like a crazy space,” says director of hospitality Andreas Pejovic. “It kind of evolves four times in the same service,” from a wholesome family restaurant at the start of the evening to a bustling cocktail bar by the end of the night.
Spanish for “party,” Farra has an understated elegance at first glance, but once dinner service picks up, the showmanship is unmistakable. Warm lighting, rhythmic tunes and delicious aromas envelop the space, which includes a lounge area, a long communal table, traditional dining room seating and a bright bar in the corner designed to mimic the aesthetics of a sound booth at a concert venue.
Co-founders Antonio Gomez and his wife, Andrea, began dating in 2018 after bonding over a shared love of dance — he is from Madrid and comes from a family of renowned flamenco dancers, while she is Nicaraguan-Cuban, hails from Miami and grew up with an appreciation for salsa.
Both Pejovic and executive chef Cesar Lugaro, who is Puerto Rican and previously worked at Barcelona Wine Bar, are also majority partners in the concept. Antonio deliberately designed a profit-sharing model so that the team, which also includes sous chef John Pate, front-of-house captain Lucien Hybel and bar leader Omar Sulaiman, are all personally invested, literally, in their work.
Farra's executive team (left to right): Andreas Pejovic, Cesar Lugaro, Andrea Gomez and Antonio Gomez.
Chris Marhevka
The fast friends spent the subsequent year working together, and by May 2022, the concept of Farra had begun to form.
Chef Lugaro originally staged at Corrida, which is how he connected with Antonio, who instantly knew that a Puerto Rican chef with a passion for Spanish cuisine was the right fit for Farra. “I thought I was going in for one job, got that job, and then I walked out with an offer to be a partner here,” Lugaro recalls. “It was a crazy coincidence moment of destiny.”
After just six weeks in business, the team says Farra’s already had guests coming back multiple times per week, bringing along new friends each visit. Lugaro recalls a longtime Lyons resident who was in awe of the transformation of the space, which has housed everything from a gym to a post office.
Other business owners in Lyons have been supportive, too. Erin Wittbeck of Moxie Bread Co., which moved from its location on Main Street in Lyons to one half of the 442 High Street space earlier this year, connected Antonio with Moxie's then-manager, Scott Broadbent, who in turn connected him to the building’s landlords, helping Farra secure a lease just as the space hit the market.
Chef Theo Adley, the owner of Marigold, a fine-dining restaurant that opened in Lyons in the summer of 2022, offered Antonio a temporary position from May to July of this year so he could get a sense of the local culture.
“I think, whatever happens here for the next ten to fifteen years, everything will come back in a way to Theo,” Pejovic notes. “People will talk about him as the start for a lot of things.”
Collaboration is a cornerstone at Farra, and the results are mouthwatering. Some notable standouts are the costillas — pork short ribs with an apple fennel slaw — and the eye-catching mahi-mahi with a whimsical celery-beet purée and piquillo coulis.
"I've put my foot down a lot,” Lugaro says of creating the menu, though he adds that he always feels empowered by Antonio. “He just asks me if I’m able to do something” — like if tajadas with frijoles negros (fried plantains with black beans) can find a home on the menu.
Despite the chef’s initial reluctance to add such a humble dish to the lineup, Antonio put his own foot down, so Lugaro tweaked the composition, and the result is a hit. “I think when two people put their feet down, it’s called dancing,” Pejovic says, laughing.
Farra’s extensive drink menu was thoughtfully curated by Pejovic, who focused on using mostly Latin American and Spanish spirits, with only a couple of stateside products. There’s a bubbly rosé from Portugal and a crisp white wine from Spain alongside a Mexican ale and a lager from Nicaragua. Specialty cocktails include the popular La Flamenca, a take on a pisco sour.
Andrea, who is the director of entertainment for the restaurant, believes dance is the “heritage of humanity” that weaves through all cultures. “Live music and performance is a staple to any party,” she says, “so we want you to feel that whenever you come here, you’re going to have a good time. You’re going to, hopefully, dance.”
The team wants to integrate even more music in the future, with plans to potentially add a stage. Andrea and Antonio also run a nonprofit, BOCO Flamenco, which is dedicated to bringing flamenco to local communities. In March, it will host Latin Grammy winner Rycardo Moreno at Farra as a part of the BOCO Spring Festival. Antonio says that along with more formal, organized events, guests can expect casual musical lineups moving forward.
Farra recently launched a paella happy hour from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Antonio explains that in Spain, paella is really a daytime offering because it is time-consuming to make and unsuitable for late-night dinner service, but Lugaro really wanted to be able to offer it.
Now guests can enjoy a $5 glass of wine and a $5 plate of paella, which is cooked, Farra style, by Lugaro on the restaurant’s sunny patio.
The team members all agree that Lyons is on the “come-up,” and they are thrilled for Farra to share in that journey.
“We’re coming from different parts of the world, and we are able to connect multiple bridges,” Antonio concludes. “Cultural, language, ways of serving, ways of gathering, food, music — everything is interconnected.“
