Belo, a Brazilian eatery, will open at 48-06 Skillman Ave. in April.
Jan. 29, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
A Brazilian eatery will be opening on Skillman Avenue in the coming months, serving up a variety of dishes by-the-pound in a buffet-style setting.
Belo, the name of the upcoming restaurant, is set to open no later than April at 48-06 Skillman Ave., and is a joint venture by Alcove co-owner Jonathan Cordeiro and his father, Gilson Cordeiro, who has spent decades working in the restaurant business.
The restaurant takes after a concept seen widely in Brazilian restaurants, where patrons can choose from a range of foods in several stations and pay by its weight.
Belo will feature a barbecue station toward the back of the restaurant, where diners can choose meats like Picanha steak (sirloin cap), Brazilian-style skirt steak, pork sausages, and rotisserie chicken.
A separate hot plate area will mostly offer a variety of Brazilian dishes, like beef stew and seafood-based plates, along with rice and beans, rotated daily. Another station will focus on salads, fruits, and vegetables. Desserts and pastries will also be available.
The new restaurant will also offer a full-service bar and a selection of local craft beers. It will also be able to seat about 50 diners.
The Alcove co-owner said the upcoming restaurant is “a dream come true”, as it’s a chance to work with his father, who taught him everything he knows about the restaurant industry.
“He got me into this business without even knowing,” Jonathan said. “I tried to emulate my father so much—he has over 40 years of experience in this.”
Gilson, a native of Brazil’s Belo Horizonte (after which the new restaurant is named), owned a restaurant in the southeastern city many years ago, where Jonathan and his brothers would work over the summer. “You really don’t know how much you learn,” Jonathan said. “I owe it all to my dad.”
Jonathan added that the restaurant is also a place his dad can call his own after many years of helping others build their businesses, which includes the Copper Kettle on the corner of 51st Street and Skillman Avenue, where Jonathan also used to work.
The Cordeiros are currently fixing up the site’s interior, which used to be a thrift store, and are focusing on creating an identity for the restaurant independent from the Alcove, which is owned by Jonathan and his wife, Maria Posada.
“It’s very important for the place to have a personality,” Jonathan said. “A fun part for us is creating this new place and doing it in a way that is unique.”
The father-and-son duo are aiming for a mid to late April opening for Belo. The restaurant will likely open at 11 a.m. every day, and close at midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends.
