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It started seven years ago as a cafeteria, but failed to materialize the idea of being one. my third placethis colorful and eclectic drinking space craft beers, listening to music, eating salchipapas and wings, currently has 20 locations throughout Lima and a new one in Tacna. César Montoya, creator and general manager, tells us how the concept changed and what he currently offers.
“I never thought I would have a business of this type,” reflects Montoya. It all started when she fell in love. His now wife had a cafeteria in the Asociación de Artistas Aficionados (AAA), there he met her and they thought about creating a place for them, adults looking for a quiet space: “We were inspired by a place in Bonilla, Miraflores, that we I loved it, it was vintage. It never worked out for us because we didn’t have the right suppliers”. So, they used their own decoration: wooden doors instead of tables, lamps of different styles, plants, decorated with wood, heavy garden chairs. “We were born wanting to be a cafeteria and over time we realized that for the proposal we wanted we lacked a lot of learning.”
The place that best materializes his original idea is that of the Carabaya jirón. Although Mi Tercer Lugar was born in a small space in the Camaná jirón, some time ago it moved to this new, much larger place, full of murals, neon signs and a lot of life. It is a high-ceilinged house with a second floor for musical performances. Only a few weeks ago they had a recital with Mar de Copas and Marcello Motta, and they are preparing new presentations for the weekends.
How did they trade coffee for craft beer? “One day we found a craft beer festival in Barranco, it was one of the first festivals and it was full of people. That was the first time I drank craft beer. I coordinated a delivery of beers to the local and that’s how we began to fill up with suppliers. The first month we sold 24 bottles and now we are billing almost 7,000 cases a month of our own line of beers. We never thought of having our own brands or working with so many people”, César Montoya tells us happily about the growth of his brand, especially in the recent years of the pandemic. As of 2019 they began to bet on franchises.
Own craft beers represent 60% of sales and guest beers, 40%. “We design the beer and Mohammed Reza, a beer expert, creates the beer recipe for us according to the standard that we want to give it.” At the moment, they offer four of their own well-defined lines to their liking: Prove it, imbecile, Daughters of the great fruit, Pride and the erotic line, whose names and bets are born from popular culture, trends and the mischievous humor of their customers. The styles are different in each line, they are light, robust, fruity like mango, custard apple and prickly pear, and more daring like Coco King from the Pride line with coconut and chocolate. And soon the Happy Marriage line will be on sale.
Salchipapas power and assorted wings
The corporate chef, Dany de Souza, details that his menu has a variety of sausages, hamburgers and wings, all prepared to accompany the afternoon or evening beer. Among the best sellers are the XXL salchipapa, with chorizo and frankfurter, yellow potato tumay and 6 wings with a house marinade. The next favorite is the XL salchipapa and the wings in any of its versions: “We have buffalo, BBQ, teriyaki, honey mustard and MTL, our house sauce that is sweet, very nice, all the sauces are ideal to accompany the beers ”. By popular demand, they are making 5 more types of sauces for their successful wings.
Its food menu also offers 10 types of hamburgers such as the 69 with a crispy brisket and La Carnosa, which are two hamburgers on brioche bun. On the other hand, they have toasted onions, which is a fried potato bed with fried onion on top, and Nachos Machos with ground beef on top, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, and avocado. And some tapas with duck: “They are like a muchame of duck marinated in fine herbs. Some go with natural cream cheese and the others with tomato sauce, oil and basil. Both options with toasted bread with butter”, detail the chef.
It also announces that this Carabaya venue is getting ready to offer à la carte dishes to serve at lunch such as lomo saltado, milanesas or huancaína, so its doors will open from noon.
When we asked César Montoya how he would define Mi Tercer Lugar, he replied: “If we talk in terms of marketing, I have to call it a bar; but, actually, I prefer to call it My third place, a mixed theme that people can’t quite define what it is. A bar in our style”.
- My Third Place is located in the Center of Lima, Magdalena, San Borja, Pueblo Libre, Miraflores, Comas, Los Olivos has three locations, San Luis, Higuereta, Caminos del Inca, La Molina, Lince and more. The places that offer lunch open at 12 noon; the rest, at 4 pm
- It has more than 41 types of beers served since the draft
- Agenda: on Friday, September 9, they will offer the Emo Fest and on Saturday, September 10, La Nueva Invasión will be presented
- Each store has its own Instagram account:
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Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.