05-19-2024 Harford Magazine - Flipbook - Page 12
G O O D E AT S
BY MICHELLE DEAL-ZIMMERMAN Harford Magazine
John and Gladys Springsteel opened 410 Empanadas on North Washington Street in Havre de Grace in early 2024, after growing their customer base with a popular
food truck for six years. PHOTOS BY AMY DAVIS
Filling a dream
Couple takes a bit of success at family-run 410 Empanadas in Havre de Grace
Hot dogs. That’s what Gladys and John Springsteel were
thinking about when the Aberdeen couple decided to go into
the food truck business.
In New Jersey, where they’re from, food trucks and carts
selling hot dogs and a drink are popular and successful.
“We know people that have opened up food trucks selling
nothing but hot dogs and soda,” Gladys said. “They have been
able to pay their mortgages, put their kids through college,
marry a couple of kids.”
“It’s big money in Jersey, but I know by doing my homework, that wasn’t the case here in Maryland.”
Instead, the Springsteels turned to something even more
familiar to their family: empanadas.
Their restaurant 410 Empanadas opened in January in
Havre de Grace after years of operating as a food truck. The
couple now runs both a brick-and-mortar sit-down and a
mobile truck.
Gladys, who is Peruvian and Cuban, has long made pas-
12
| Summer 2024 | harfordmagazine.com
Lunchtime crowd at 410 Empanadas in Havre de Grace.
