Our fantastical sail boat takes its name from Genuíno Madruga, an Azorean sailor from Faial and the first Portuguese person to sail solo around the world twice. His own boat was named “Hemingway,” in homage to Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea ( a story Madruga has said shaped his sailing ambition). That same spirit of ocean going reinvention inspired the company to name this concept after him. Given the connection to Ernest and license to travel the world, we use the name as a symbol of exploration as we navigate through our story-driven menus and event atmospheres the way sailors once did by boat.

The name also carries the proverb “Al que madruga, Dios le ayuda” (“God helps those who rise early”). Our visual and symbolic language draws on three intertwined influences: Shriner’s Children, sister/brotherhood, and nautical tradition; while our flavors float within Floribbean and Portuguese cuisines. Inspired by the southern parts of both Florida and New England, this is where we decided to anchor the “home port” menu when Madruga isn’t “traveling.”

The guiding tagline, “…Be A Gastro Pirate…,” reflects the ethos of culinary exploration and discovery.