05-19-2024 Harford Magazine - Flipbook - Page 13
try-wrapped and filled hand pies for family,
friends and coworkers.
When her husband’s company had their
Thanksgiving potluck, she would bring beef
empanadas and watch as they were quickly
devoured.
“I was barely walking into the door with
them and they were gone,” she said.
A friend suggested she consider selling
the empanadas. Gladys kept that in the back
of her mind as she continued her career in
the marine industry in Baltimore and as her
husband eventually stayed home to raise their
three sons — including twins, working odd jobs
when he could.
It was sometime in 2017, Gladys said, when
her husband proposed opening a food business
and the couple landed on that familiar idea.
They used their savings to buy a trailer and
John worked to convert it into a kitchen.
The food truck didn’t immediately take off,
Gladys said, leading to some scrambling to revamp the menu and a few sleepless nights, too.
They got a break when the city of Aberdeen
invited 410 Empanadas to join its weekly farmers market leading to more exposure and more
invitations to attend events.
Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck,
shutting down everything. But it was a blessing
in disguise for the struggling business.
From left, Apple Pie dessert empanada, and
Chicken Parm and Spicy Puerto Rican empanadas
at 410 Empanadas.
Communities that had locked-down residents were asking food trucks to come to their
developments to deliver food. 410 Empanadas
was able to open an online ordering system,
where customers could place and pay for
orders ahead of time.
“We were booking every week, one development per week, because that’s all we can handle because by the time we got there, we were
already sold out,” Gladys said, adding that often
they were feeding an entire family instead of
just one or two people since most places only
invited one food truck at a time.
The couple continued the delivery to local
neighborhoods into 2023, as well as booking
a full slate of events, including The Trifecta
Food Truck & Music Festival at the Timonium
fairgrounds, which bills itself as the largest
good truck festival in Maryland.
“It was a huge turnaround for us,” Gladys
said.
As their business blossomed, the couple
decided to open the 410 Empanadas restaurant
in Havre de Grace, taking another chance on
success.
The menu includes more than 30 kinds
of empanadas, including the original beef,
pepperoni pizza, chicken farm, buffalo chicken
and John’s favorite, Korean BBQ beef. The
restaurant also offers dessert empanadas in
apple, coconut custard and guava.
Gladys said she learned to make empanadas
by watching her mom, grandmother and aunt
in the kitchen. 410 Empanadas is also a family
affair, including one of the couple’s sons, Yahya,
and a nephew, Abdul, who run the food truck.
“I’m not a trained chef. I’ve never been to
culinary school,” she said. “When I leave work,
I come here and just put my headphones on
or my earbuds in and I listen to my music and
I just cook, cook, cook and it’s very relaxing
for me.”
410 Empanadas
109 N Washington St., Havre De Grace.
410empanadas.com
harfordmagazine.com | Summer 2024 |
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