Popular online food business finally finds Wichita storefront, and it’s right on Douglas
They’ve been building a following ever since the start of the pandemic, when Carolina Brandan was laid off from her job and decided to pursue her dream of opening an Argentinian empanada restaurant.
Now, Brandan and her husband, Chad Freeman, are about to inch even closer to that dream. After a long search for a space where they could sell their empanadas — which are flaky meat pies popular in Brandan’s native country of Argentina — they’ve finally found one.
Later this month, their 2-year-old company — Argentina’s Empanadas — will become “roommates” with Schane Gross’ Anchor Meat Market at 1113 E. Douglas. That business operates in the space adjacent to Gross’ longtime bar and restaurant, The Anchor.
Freeman said that the two businesses will share the space, and Argentina’s Empanadas will finally be able to sell their 12 varieties of empanadas to people on the spot from 11 to 7 p.m. six days a week. Up until now, they’ve been able to sell them only to customers who pre-order.
They’ll get some room in the display case at the meat market, Freeman said, and they’ll add their business logo to the door. In addition to their empanadas, they’ll also sell Argentinian pastries made and sold by their friend Paola Mentis, who owns the new home bakery Konkeh Artisan Alfajor Pastries.
Though the meat market doesn’t have any sit-down space for dine-in, people can linger and eat their fresh empanadas at a stand-up counter, Freeman said. Or they can buy them by the dozen and take them home to enjoy.
“It won’t just be our space, but it will be a shared front-of-the-house thing where you can find us in there and also find the meat market in there as well,” he said.
Two years later...
The couple, who sell empanadas stuffed with fillings like beef, chicken, caramelized onions, smoked ham and more, started their business at home in the spring of 2020 but quickly learned they needed a commercial kitchen to legally operate.
Last April, they were among several start-up businesses that signed up to rent time and work out of Reverie Coffee Roaster’s commercial kitchen, which at the time wasn’t being used. Empanada fans would order the savory pastries in advance then pick them up at Reverie on designated days.
Reverie’s owner Andrew Gough, though, has reclaimed the kitchen for his own pastry program, and Argentina’s Empanadas ended its tenure there at the start of March. The owners put a pause on production while looking for a space, and the deal with Gross presented itself.
Though the setup isn’t exactly what they envisioned when they started, Freeman said, it will allow them to get going and eventually expand to more locations.
They also love the space, which reminded Brandan a bit of home.
“The Meat Market’s ambiance fits very well with what you would find in a market in Buenos Aires,” Freeman said. “The architecture, the old crown moldings... that’s very Buenos Aires.”
The couple hopes to have Argentina’s Empanadas open in the space around April 15, and once they’re established, they plan to add three more filling options, which would bring their total selection to 15 flavors.
Brandan moved to Wichita from Argentina in 2017, when she married Freeman. She lost her job in human resources at a local flight school when the pandemic started and decided to focus her attention on starting an empanada business. The couple has marketed the business extensively on social media ever since and has built up a solid following.
I’ll let you know when the couple settles on a definite opening day, but in the meantime, people can follow their Facebook and Instagram accounts for updates.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 3:36 PM.
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