A trend of food trucks converting to brick-and-mortar restaurants has sprouted a colorful palette of delicacies across Gainesville, a large chunk coming from Venezuelan roots.
Some restaurants have grown alongside the Hispanic community, which makes up about 12% of Gainesville residents. Others are just now following in their footsteps by opening their businesses.
Beyond fulfilling the community’s cravings, Venezuelan restaurant owners have found themselves creating meaningful connections with their customers, which in return fuels their entrepreneurial spirit.
That’s how Arepa Burger, a Venezuelan food truck, came to life six years ago, and in August, its permanent location opened at Depot Village.
Owner Victor Hugo Suarez, a 63-year-old former veterinarian, decided to change course and invest in gastronomy after finding it difficult to secure a job in his field following his move from Maracaibo, Venezuela, to Gainesville.
From the day he first cranked his food truck's engine until now, he said he’s had positive feedback from the city. He believes it’s because his passion and love for serving and cooking his food bleed into his business.
“We don't do something for the sake of doing it,” Suarez said. “We put a lot of spirit and a lot of heart into what we prepare."
With a fixed location, he said he plans on improving the menu and enhancing his new place to create a more customer-friendly environment to increase his clientele, with the long-term goal of opening more restaurants around the city.
Arepa Burger is one of the many Venezuelan restaurants in Gainesville. La Maracucha, which specializes in the same cuisine, began its journey through a similar path.
Eros Puentes, the 37-year-old owner of La Maracucha, started his business accompanied by the uncertainty COVID-19 brought in March 2020.
However, the pandemic was not an obstacle for Puentes, as last year he had the opportunity to open a brick-and-mortar store located at 1023 W. University Ave.
Surprised by how receptive Gainesville residents and students were to the food, he expanded his menu. Another opportunity opened for him in May 2023 when he expanded his restaurant’s space.
“The welcoming of customers to us is something I have not seen in any other business I have owned before,” Puentes said.
Although he did not have the financial means to expand his business, he said he did not hesitate.
“We were presented with the opportunity, and we didn't have the money, but we still took it,” he said. “The problem will be solved later.”
Now he has his own space, and his next goal is to perfect the operations and services of the restaurant, as he believes it will benefit his employees and customers.
Confident in the quality of his food, Puentes said he is not concerned about competition from other Venezuelan restaurants in the city. Rather, he believes restaurants providing similar goods and services help him to be more creative and push him to provide better service.
“If the competition goes away, maybe we go down, too,” he said.
Andreina Cabello, a 40-year-old from Maracaibo, Venezuela, and the owner of the food truck Bowls Delicious Food moved to Gainesville three years ago with a clear goal in mind: to share the flavors of her country.
After moving to Gainesville, she found herself missing the food from her homeland. She said she wanted to fuse both her Colombian and Venezuelan heritage but add an American twist so more people could feel included. She found a way to serve her food in what she believes has become popular and innovative: in the form of bowls.
Cabello first started serving her food in a parking lot before moving to a permanent location on University Avenue.
Cabello said she is joyful with the city’s reaction to her business. She believes the originality of her dishes plays a big part in her success. Ever since she’s moved locations, the demand has skyrocketed.
“I used to throw food away in the two places I was before, and now I don't bring food home,” she said.
She gives a student discount and prioritizes working on game days, as she said she considers those to be the most successful days for the food truck. Her long-term goal is to own multiple food trucks across the city.
Co-founder of Bowls Delicious Food and Cabello’s stepfather, Charles Morris, does not speak Spanish, but he said he is amazed by how the majority of the support comes from Latinos.
“People from Colombia… they will just come here because they were from Colombia,” Morris said.
He said the process of opening the food truck was not easy, but the rewards outweighed the costs. He and Cabello received a warm welcome from the community, he said, and have brought people together through their food.
“Some people came and they didn't even realize they even know each other…they lived in the same city in Colombia,” Morris said.
Valeria Pinzon, a 22-year-old UF business and entrepreneurship senior, was one of those Colombian people who approached the food truck to connect with her community.
Pinzon said part of the food truck’s customers notice it thanks to the Colombian, Venezuelan and American flags decorating the truck. They call the attention of people who are from those countries, she said, in the same way she was drawn in.
“When they see the flag, they feel very recognized,” she said. “That is why many Colombians and Venezuelans come here.”
After tasting the food, she said she was amazed by the delicacy and decided to offer them help as they were just starting the business.
Currently, she works with Cabello and Morris to develop and expand their menu and social media pages.
She said she believes helping them has been a rewarding and purposeful experience, and she has declined any payment for her help.
She helps the food truck grow while she grows her entrepreneurial skills, with a goal to return to Colombia and help other start-up businesses.
Contact Isabela Reinoso at ireinoso@alligator.org. Follow her on X @isareinosod.
