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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 High 100 Meals Vans.
“My brother and I got here to america in 2016 [from Venezuela],” he says. “There weren’t any arepas. We really eat arepas on daily basis in Venezuela, so we would have liked them. My brother was like, ‘Hey, why do not we make some arepas and take them to the streets, and possibly folks will purchase them?'”
Armed with foil-wrapped arepas and home made Venezuelan juices, the brothers arrange outdoors 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 saved trying to find a approach ahead.
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“Generally there’s a bit miscommunication between entities. Generally the well being division will [have] completely different guidelines than town,” Sierra says, describing the challenges he confronted making an attempt to get his enterprise off the bottom. “There are particular locations to park. You can not park all over the 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 prospects who had by no means heard of them.
“It was exhausting to start with — and [is] nonetheless exhausting — to persuade folks why we do not have different dishes,” Sierra says. “We wished to give attention to arepas [so] there is no such thing as 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 prospects 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 prospects, pairing training concerning the meals with free samples to encourage repeat visits. Early on, he acknowledged that a wonderful buyer expertise made folks extra doubtless 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 enhancing,” 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 house, 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 considered one of Yelp’s High 100 Meals Vans of 2025 and opening a brick-and-mortar, Sierra’s recommendation for present and future enterprise house owners is obvious:
- Begin small however keep constant. Break overwhelming challenges into smaller steps and decide to exhibiting up on your prospects on daily basis.
- Adapt to your viewers whereas staying genuine. Buyer training might help your viewers perceive new choices and develop goodwill in your group.
- Lead with generosity. Heat service and significant interactions matter simply as a lot as what’s on the menu. Clients 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, is usually a car to share your mission.
- Play the lengthy recreation. Constructing one thing significant takes time, endurance and fervour. If your corporation is not a right away success, analysis the steps you will must take to realize smaller objectives that get you nearer to your imaginative and prescient.
Watch the episode above to listen to instantly 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
