After launching in the St. Roch Market in 2017, Empanola has expanded significantly, and the empanada company is looking to scale up its production capacity with a new kitchen facility at 2931 Broadway St. The opening of two franchise locations in Biloxi, Miss. last year is an indication of just how fast the company has expanded, and the new kitchen is a hint that the owners are looking to continue expanding the brand. Previously home to CTN Grocery & Deli, the Broadway Street location set to open soon will not serve customers directly; only indirectly through wholesale and Empanola restaurant locations. Co-owner Jimena Urrutia recently told What Now New Orleans that her company brought in two top-of-the-line machines for the new kitchen; a dough-making machine from Italy and an empanada machine from Argentina.
Urrutia and the rest of the ownership group behind Empanola came to New Orleans from South America and noticed a niche for empanadas in a city dominated by gumbo and po-boys. As a way to bridge the gap between cuisines, Empanola has featured empanadas with New Orleans-inspired ingredients. Two of the biggest sellers are the crawfish etouffee — made with the vegetable trinity and Louisiana crawfish — and a chicken-and-sausage gumbo empanada. There are currently two New Orleans locations; one on Freret Street and one on Magazine. The creation of a new production kitchen suggests there might be more to come.
