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German Sierra, founding father of Pana Meals Truck in Santa Cruz, California, by no means imagined his yearning for a childhood consolation meals would lead him to construct a thriving enterprise with a loyal following and the excellence of Yelp’s Prime 100 Meals Vans.
“My brother and I got here to the USA in 2016 [from Venezuela],” he says. “There weren’t any arepas. We really eat arepas each day in Venezuela, so we wanted them. My brother was like, ‘Hey, why do not we make some arepas and take them to the streets, and possibly individuals will purchase them?'”
Armed with foil-wrapped arepas and home made Venezuelan juices, the brothers arrange exterior a grocery store. They did not promote a single one. A police officer stopped them, asking for a allow they did not know they wanted. As a substitute of giving up, Sierra gave the meals away and stored trying to find a manner ahead.
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“Generally there’s slightly miscommunication between entities. Generally the well being division will [have] totally different guidelines than the town,” Sierra says, describing the challenges he confronted attempting to get his enterprise off the bottom. “There are particular locations to park. You can’t park in every single place as a result of there’s gonna be competitors with eating places.”
As a enterprise with one core providing, Sierra needed to promote the worth of arepas to clients who had by no means heard of them.
“It was onerous to start with — and [is] nonetheless onerous — to persuade individuals why we do not have different dishes,” Sierra says. “We needed to deal with arepas [so] there isn’t a confusion of what we promote, and it is memorable.”
Small changes, like itemizing arepas as “hen” or “beef” on the menu, helped introduce the dish to American diners and scale back confusion with out shedding cultural authenticity. “When clients come, they need 30-second selections — no half an hour determining the menu and what to get,” Sierra says.
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As phrase unfold, Sierra centered on making connections with clients, pairing schooling concerning the meals with free samples to encourage repeat visits. Early on, he acknowledged that a wonderful buyer expertise made individuals extra seemingly to decide on Pana over one other restaurant.
“I did not wanna be simply within the meals truck enterprise,” he says. “I wish to be within the heart-warming enterprise, as a result of the meals makes your coronary heart heat. That is the emotion I wish to create each time.”
Now celebrating six years in enterprise, Pana continues to develop whereas staying true to its roots. In 2025, Sierra and his spouse, Gabriella Ramirez, opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz. “It wasn’t an in a single day success, and we’re nonetheless rising and bettering,” Sierra says. “We’re only a child, and there is a lot that we will change and enhance.”
For Sierra, each arepa is an opportunity to share a bit of dwelling, and to construct what he calls “an arepa empire, one arepa at a time.”
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After turning a yearning for arepas into one in all Yelp’s Prime 100 Meals Vans of 2025 and opening a brick-and-mortar, Sierra’s recommendation for present and future enterprise house owners is evident:
- Begin small however keep constant. Break overwhelming challenges into smaller steps and decide to exhibiting up to your clients each day.
- Adapt to your viewers whereas staying genuine. Buyer schooling may help your viewers perceive new choices and develop goodwill in your neighborhood.
- Lead with generosity. Heat service and significant interactions matter simply as a lot as what’s on the menu. Prospects return not just for taste, but in addition for connection.
- Take into consideration the large image. For Sierra, promoting arepas was by no means nearly meals — it was about creating heart-warming experiences. Any platform, whether or not it is a meals truck or restaurant, could be a automobile to share your mission.
- Play the lengthy recreation. Constructing one thing significant takes time, endurance and fervour. If your small business is not a direct success, analysis the steps you will have to take to attain smaller objectives that get you nearer to your imaginative and prescient.
Watch the episode above to listen to straight from German Sierra, and subscribe to Behind the Assessment for extra from new enterprise house owners and reviewers each Wednesday.
Editorial contributions by Jiah Choe and Kristi Lindahl
