Carúpano Kitchen, the mother-daughter-run Venezuelan sensation, is getting ready to open its first brick-and-mortar this fall. The Foodie Labs star has secured a location for a restaurant at 1040 4th Street North, and the team is anticipating a mid-November debut.
The restaurant is named for the small coastal town of Carúpano in Venezuela, where the family is from, and the regionally-inspired dishes have become fast favorites. The handmade, gluten-free arepas are the star of the menu, though the Carúpano team offers plenty more than that. Andrea Osorio (Carúpano’s founder) and her mother, Dian Cedeño, also make fantastic empanadas, soups from family recipes, tequenos, and other rotating specials.
The November opening will mark exactly one year since Carúpano debuted at Foodie Labs (515 22nd St S), where they quickly became something of a cult sensation. It’s also proof of concept for the business incubator that is designed to help budding chefs build a following and grow enough to open a full brick-and-mortar.
Indeed, Carúpano and Osorio have used the last year to experiment, gauge the tastes of guests, and fine-tune their offerings. By moving into a larger space, the restaurant will expand on its goal of serving all diets, creating what Osorio calls a place “where EVERYONE eats!” It’s a destination for the gluten-free, vegan, meat lovers, soup fiends, and those, like me, who just love any form of fried dough bursting with fillings and flavors…