Flavor Fission

By day, she’s a career chemist working in Alcami’s pharmaceutical labs. By evening and weekends, it’s a different story: YEIVELIS BATISTA-RAMOS brings a taste of Puerto Rico to the greater Wilmington area at her family restaurant, Bori Cafe. 

She and her husband, HECTOR ESCOBALES, “always wanted to open a coffee shop and bring Puerto Rican culture to the area,” she says. 

They opened Bori Cafe in Hampstead in June 2024. The couple and their son moved to Hampstead eleven years ago from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico – a small town in the central midwestern part of the island – after relocating for her position at Alcami in Wilmington. Batista-Ramos, who holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Florida International University, has worked as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry throughout her career. 

But her work at Alcami – where she is a senior supervisor of the company’s analytical lab – is only half of her professional story. Batista-Ramos, her husband, and their business partners, LUIS VARGAS and ITZIA MALDONADO, own and operate the WilmiRicans food truck in addition to the restaurant.  

“When we moved here eleven years ago, we didn’t see a lot of our food here,” Batista-Ramos says. “That was one of the hardest parts of getting settled here.” 

Bori Cafe is a fusion cafe and coffee shop serving breakfast, brunch, and lunch. The cafe’s name comes from the Spanish word “Boricua,” which means a person of Puerto Rican descent.    

The restaurant serves authentic Puerto Rican coffee that comes directly from the Puerto Rican mountains. The cafe also specializes in Cuban, pastrami, and ham-cheese-and-egg sandwiches, while drink specialties include a Nutella frappe and virgin piña coladas.   

WilmiRicans food truck is known for its tripleta sandwich featuring three meats, papas locas (loaded fries), and beef empanadas. During the week, WilmiRicans frequently visits various locations around the area. On the weekends, the food truck can be found on-site at Bori Cafe, allowing patrons to choose between the food truck’s cuisine or the cafe’s menu. 

The team behind Bori Cafe and WilmiRicans believes that food is a powerful way to connect people, says Batista-Ramos, adding that the businesses have brought the local Puerto Rican community together. Bori Cafe’s location in Hampstead draws Puerto Rican military members from the bases in Jacksonville and the surrounding area. “We had no idea there were so many Puerto Ricans living in Wilmington until we opened the cafe,” she says. 

Puerto Rican food played a big role in Batista-Ramos’ life growing up, and she has often yearned for her grandmother’s cooking. As a result, she says she is happy to pass that tradition along to her son, LUIS DARRELL ESCOBALES, who works alongside his parents in the family business. “I did not want my son to go through the same experience like I did, where he will miss the Puerto Rican food,” she says. Luis Darrell does a little of everything for the business, from training new employees to serving as a coffee barista to cooking and running the food truck.  

Bori Cafe also offers specialty crepes, including Nutella, cookie dough, and strawberry flavors. “We can make them sweet or savory and customize them any way that you want,” Batista-Ramos says.  

She is known for her crepe recipe, which she says she invented eighteen years ago when she was pregnant with her son and had a craving for crepes. She’s refined her recipe over the years and brought it to Bori Cafe.  

When she is not working in the lab, Batista-Ramos works in the cafe most weekends. She sometimes cooks in the cafe’s kitchen – particularly making her specialty crepes.  

Explaining that she “loves brunch,” Batista-Ramos says it was her idea to serve brunch in the form of crepes, waffles, pancakes, and eggs all day. She continues to give input to the menu, including seasonal offerings such as specialty fall coffee drinks. 

In the future, Batista-Ramos envisions expanding the business with a new centralized location in Wilmington. “I would love to bring Bori Cafe and WilmiRicans together,” she says, “in one location.” 

To view more of photographer Daria Amato’s work, go to dariaphoto.com

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