El equipo
The people behind the counter.
JoeyGiuseppe "Joey" Gonzalez
General Manager & Partner
“A third-generation barman.”
Giuseppe Gonzalez is a Puerto Rican bartender, bar owner, and hospitality professional whose career has spanned more than three decades and some of the most influential cocktail bars in the United States.
A third-generation barman, Gonzalez worked behind the bar at New York institutions including Flatiron Lounge, Clover Club, and Pegu Club, working directly with influential figures including Julie Reiner, Sasha Petraske, and Audrey Saunders. He later became the owner of PKNY and Suffolk Arms and was named Best Bartender in America by the Nightclub & Bar Awards.
Gonzalez is best known for creating several modern cocktails that have become part of the contemporary cocktail canon, including The Infante and the Trinidad Sour. His work has been recognized internationally for combining classical technique with an irreverent, distinctly New York and Puerto Rican perspective.
Beyond bartending, Gonzalez has worked as an operator, consultant, educator, and developer of bar programs, with a particular focus on creating systems that allow ambitious hospitality concepts to be executed consistently at scale.
After decades working throughout New York, Las Vegas, and other major hospitality markets, Gonzalez returned to Puerto Rico, where his current work focuses on celebrating Puerto Rican drinking and dining culture while helping build the next generation of hospitality institutions on the island.
CandelaPablo "Candela" Rodriguez
Partner
“He built the nights of Old San Juan.”
Pablo Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican hospitality entrepreneur, cultural curator, and music producer whose work has helped shape the nightlife, music, and arts landscape of Old San Juan for more than three decades.
He is the founder of several influential bars and restaurants, including Don Pablo, Rumba, Alo Bistro, Candela, Bodega Chic, Santisimo, Singular, El Champi, and La Factoria. His Papa Jac cocktail was born at Don Pablo more than 35 years ago and is the official drink of SanSe.
Rodriguez is also the founder of independent music labels Tenet Records and Candela Recordings, as well as Finyl Vinyl, one of Puerto Rico's pioneering independent specialty record stores. His work in music continues through Factoria Discos.
His involvement in the arts dates back to 1991 with Don Pablo Cafe Galeria. He later co-founded the Carlos Irizarry Gallery at Candela, which presented internationally recognized artists including Swoon, Shepard Fairey, Lee Quiñones, Jose Parla, Os Gemeos, Dzine, and Doze Green.
Rodriguez also created and produced multidisciplinary events that brought together independent music, visual art, and live performance in Puerto Rico, helping establish a cultural model that continues to influence the island's creative scene. Today, the music, atmosphere, and artwork of La Factoria reflect that legacy and Rodriguez's decades-long contribution to the cultural identity of Old San Juan.
Both of them are also behind the neighboring project, Don Pablo.