Cuban eatery hopes for a little help from its friends

FORT COLLINS — Frank and Rosa Jimenez just wanted to bring something different — cuisine with a Caribbean rhythm — to Fort Collins diners when they opened Babalu’s Cuban Cafe.

But the hits just kept on coming — mechanical issues that put their food truck out of commission, delays in getting government approval, COVID-19 restrictions, disputes with a building owner, and finally the big one: stage 4 colon cancer that sidelined “Chef Rosa.”

“If you know the story, you know Rosa and her husband, Frank, have given all of their time, energy and resources to build Babalu’s Cuban Cafe, the only Caribbean…