Café Pamplona

Down a short flight of exterior stairs, past a patio with tables, customers entered the café's subterranean interior.

The once austere decor included bright yellow lights which made the thickly-plastered walls glow under low ceilings, and a black and white checked floor.

Shortly after the café opened Yanguas and her Cuban chef Juana Rodríguez began preparing and serving food.

As business grew Yanguas began to hire only men, in accord with the usual Spanish practice of having a single-sex staff, until 1999.

[citation needed] The café attracted both bohemians and academics from both nearby Harvard University and the greater Cambridge community.

[5] [6][7][8][9][10] The small mural on a wall in the cafe was painted fresco-style directly on site, by local artist Conger Metcalf,[11] a friend of the owner.