Cruz was also a journalist and magazine publisher.
Before entering the restaurant business, Cruz was a reporter for the Manila Times and the Philippine Herald.
In the 1960s, he joined the staff of a Hong Kong-based magazine.
The venture proved successful and helped revitalize the Malate area, other restaurants and cafes opening in the vicinity in the midst of the Adriatico's success.
Cruz expanded his restaurant business with the opening of several other restaurants within Metro Manila through the LJC Restaurant Group.
At the time of his death in 2008, Cruz had opened fourteen restaurants in the Philippines.
Several of his restaurants featured Filipino and Kapampangan cuisine.
In the late 1980s, Cruz published Metro Magazine, a city guide/political/lifestyle magazine inspired by New York Magazine and Vanity Fair.