By AMANDA FARINOS

Juan Cruz is an animated guy. Sit at the counter of his Stuart restaurant, the casual Aloha Cafe, and he will chat you up with all sorts of stories, keeping you company while you watch him cook.

Three years after finishing culinary school, Cruz was surprised by a letter from Hawaii, and learned he had a half-brother who’d been searching for Cruz for years. The families met in Hawaii, and the brothers became close friends.

That trip, and Cruz’s experiences with his long-lost brother, inspired him to open the cafe, a place where he serves breakfast and lunch dishes with influences from Hawaii and Kentucky, where Cruz was raised.

Here you can have biscuits and gravy or fried rice for breakfast, or experience something of a Southern/island fusion with the Loko Moko ($7): a mound of rice and hamburger patties topped with fried eggs and sausage gravy.

The Machaka ($5) is a burrito stuffed with eggs and savory roasted beef, accompanied by beans and a wonderful rice dotted with hot peppers. Fresh tomatillo sauce and salsa took this breakfast dish from good to a belly-warming awesome.

The pancakes, topped with homemade mango syrup, were originally dreamed up as a way to showcase mangoes from Cruz’s brother’s yard — now, the sticky syrup is made from local fruit.

While we were eating, Cruz couldn’t resist sharing a sample of his Kelaguen salad, a Guamanian chicken salad made with coconut and lime juice. We scooped it up with tortilla chips, as he told us about the first time he tasted the stuff, and how he sometimes gives it away, knowing those customers will come back for more once they’ve tasted it.

Overflowing with positive energy, Cruz couldn’t have picked a better name for his cafe. Aloha captures his friendly spirit, and the feeling behind his stories.

For more information about the Aloha Cafe, go here.