OUR STORY
Necessity drives innovation; it urges the mind to look for solutions, for alternatives, and to overcome difficulties.
EMPANADUS is the effort of parents, Ruth and Ricardo, and four siblings, Eric, Leslie, Alan, and Kevin. In the year 2010, Leslie decided to put a booth of vintage clothes at the Chicago Antique Market in an attempt to raise money to pay for tuition. She bought vintage clothes at thrift stores and re-purposed them into "vintage made modern" pieces, while the rest of us helped her to prepare the booth, label the products, and price the items.
The first day of the market, even though people would come and look at the skirts and dresses Leslie was selling, we had a hard time distinguishing ourselves from other vendors and didn't make much money. That Saturday evening after the market, Eric decided to prepare empanadas to offer the following day, so that whoever would purchase a skirt or a dress, would get one free empanada and a taste of our diverse Argentine culinary culture. Sales were significantly better!
Naturally, the following market we set up a booth of empanadas and that's how the business started. We have big plans for it,
and hopefully with time, consistent quality, tasty food, and word of mouth, we will see our efforts pay off.