Elvi’s Kitchen started about 39 years ago with a ‘hole in the wall’ takeout window and Doña Elvia’s fondness of the kitchen. “I have always loved to cook,” said Doña Elvia. “After cooking for myself, family and friends I decided to open a small takeout restaurant.” Doña Elvia explained that she loved to cook all sorts of foods and desserts. She also cooked to help in fundraisers and special community events.

This small take-out window which she operated underneath her house was known as Elvi’s Burger Isle. The burger isle had a small menu of burgers and fries and frescos. Doña Elvia cooked and managed the kitchen with the help of her husband and three other employees. For about five years, the Burger Isle prepared delicious, finger-licking burgers until Doña Elvia decided to add more food to their menu. Her first addition to the menu was the tasty Belizean rice and beans and gradually she started cooking more local dishes.

By now, she had built two palapas underneath the now long-standing flamboyant tree located adjacent to her house. “The Burger Isle was doing good,” said Doña Elvia. “I liked what I was doing and decided to expand the place. Now people could stop and have a bite to eat underneath the beautiful tree.” Soon after Doña Elvia changed the name of her business to Elvi’s Kitchen.

The place had slowly grown from a takeout window into a restaurant. The takeout window was closed and the entire area underneath the flamboyant tree was enclosed. Today, Elvi’s Kitchen has been registered as a restaurant for more than twenty years and Doña Elvia explained that a lot of changes have occurred.