Women in business: Eve Aronoff Fernandez – Frita Batidos

In honor of Women’s History Month, The Michigan Daily’s business beat spent the month speaking with women business owners throughout Ann Arbor about their journey, their connection to the community and their legacy. Read the other stories here.

Floor-to-ceiling glass panels and a stark white interior beckon Main Street passersby into the Cuban-inspired burger and “batido” joint, Frita Batidos, owned by Eve Aronoff Fernandez. The indoor picnic tables, reminiscent of a cozy backyard gathering, are often completely filled with patrons indulging in Cuban comfort food, including the signature frita burgers and batidos milkshakes the restaurant is named after.

Aronoff Fernandez opened Frita Batidos in Ann Arbor in 2010, and a secondary location in Detroit nine years later. But before she crafted the best burger in the city, Aronoff learned about cooking from her Jewish mother in New York. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Aronoff Fernandez said her passion for cooking stems from a long line of Jewish mothers who instilled the importance of nurturing through food in her.

Aronoff Fernandez’s roots are firmly planted in her Jewish heritage. The daughter of two native New Yorkers, her accent is a blend of sharp, New York lingo with the warmth of the Midwestern dialect. Aronoff Fernandez nostalgically recalled spending time immersed in Miami Cuban culture as a child and enjoying sumptuous family feasts.

“My grandma used to travel from Miami with ice packs and coolers full of stuffed cabbage and brisket,” Aronoff Fernandez said. “My mom just made food that was very simple, real and amazing, even if it was just homemade spaghetti that started out with a recipe and ended up with something very different. Other times, we (would) drive from Michigan to New York (and) even if we arrived at midnight, we (would) always have this huge spread on the table.” 

The women in Aronoff Fernandez’s family did more than teach her how to follow a recipe, she said. She told The Daily that her mother and grandmothers gave her the grit, intuition and passion needed to succeed in the male-dominated restaurant industry as a female chef.

“(There was) a lot of warmth and conviviality and my grandmothers and mom were some of my role models that influenced my own culinary philosophy,” Aronoff Fernandez said. “It’s super important to create a community and keep things very personal and caring no matter how busy or how much we’re growing … (my) focus (is) on taking care of people … I don’t know if (those are) feminine or nurturing qualities, but they influenced me nonetheless.”  

Aronoff Fernandez drew inspiration not only from her female relatives but also from her global experiences, having explored spice markets in Israel as a kid, studied comparative literature in Boston and attended the acclaimed culinary school Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Armed with a diverse set of culinary influences and experiences, Aronoff Fernandez returned to Michigan and opened her first restaurant, eve, in 2003. Located in Kerrytown and later moving to The Bell Tower Hotel, the menu featured American food with a variety of international influences.

Over the next few years, Aronoff Fernandez was invited to a James Beard Foundation event in New York, wrote her first cookbook, “Eve: Contemporary Cuisine Methode Traditionnelle” and appeared as a contestant on cooking show Top Chef. Throughout her journey, Aronoff Fernandez said her family remained her constant support system, with her mother occasionally lending a hand in her restaurant kitchen. 

“(My mom) used to come in and spend the day making seasonal jam for us during the growing season,” Aronoff Fernandez said. “(We used it) throughout the year in everything from our desserts to appetizers to our Jamtini (our martini infused with homemade Damson plum jam).” 

Despite its success, Aronoff Fernandez closed eve at the beginning of 2011 after becoming injured while volunteering in Honduras.

“I had more issues as a business person with men always thinking they had more experience and knew better and interrupting and talking over you,” Aronoff Fernandez said. “Those were challenges that were very eye opening because I hadn’t encountered that for most of my adult life. You really have to love doing it. I think it’s so worth it if you love it because it is so challenging.” 

But by that point, Aronoff Fernandez had already opened Frita Batidos in Ann Arbor. After coming a long way on her culinary journey Aronoff Fernandez shared some advice with The Daily that she hopes to pass on to aspiring business women and chefs throughout Ann Arbor and around the country. 

“Being open-minded and listening to others (has served me well), but (also) listen to your intuition and what feels right to you because people may not always understand or appreciate what you are envisioning at every step along the way,” Aronoff Fernandez said. “If it really feels right, then it probably makes sense for you, and there’s a good chance they will appreciate it later.” 

Daily Staff Reporter Emma Spring can be reached at sprinemm@umich.edu.