We had the good fortune of connecting with Belen De la Cruz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Belen, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
From my own experience, a business usually starts with an idea, a dream, a vision or simply by accident…In our case, its a little of everything, may be the vision of one of the partners, the experience of the other one and the opportunity that was presented to me once I relocated from Argentina, I started giving cooking classes to locals, featuring empanadas and wine, with funny aprons, most of all as a hobby, and with the goal of sharing the Argentinean culture thru our traditional flavors. After more than 400 participants – the comment was always the same… “it’s fun to cook them…” but where can we buy them?

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our first challenge was and still is, “teaching our customers about our product”. Empanadas can be found all over Latin America, but they come in different flavors, different doughs, and even different methods of cooking them. We offer typical Argentinean flavors, oven baked, (not fried) like beef, corn, and ham & cheese. We live in a diverse community with different choices and needs, reason why our menu also includes vegetarian and gluten free options with a total of 13 different flavor to choose from. Our philosophy is to provide the customer a pleasant experience from the moment they enter our store, for that reason, we put a lot of attention in every detail, from the design point of view to create a friendly and cozy environment .

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The first thing I would suggest it would be to visit Atlanta during spring or fall. the colors are amazing! I would start with my own neighborhood and take them for lunch at Avalon Shops, Following morning I would suggest Lake lanier or a pic-nic at Stone Mountain. Next day head to the city for a visit to Coca Cola Museum – Centennial Park – Aquarium – CNN . Atlanta has a wide variety of different cultural and sports activities. you can spend the day remembering Martin Luther king, or enjoying the botanical garden, or cheer for the Hawks, Falcons or Braves.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To successfully develop a business, you need the contribution of different parts, for that reason, the shoutout should go in equal amounts to, our AMAZING, Team, Customers, Extended community, Partners, Suppliers, Family and Friends.

Website: https://belendelacruz.com/

Instagram: belendelacruz_empanadas

Facebook: belendelacruz

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