Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ann Allen.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my culinary career in my 30’s when I lived in a sleepy little lake town in New Hampshire. My husband, Peter, and I opened the Lakeshore Deli in the early 1990’s where I began to develop my cooking style and where I fell in love with serving good food to my community. People would come from all over for the deli’s legendary German potato salad, a secret recipe that was passed on through generations of Lakeshore Deli owners.
After Peter and I moved to California, I began to work on a recipe website after the 2008 market crash. I wanted to show people that it was easy to eat well without emptying their pockets, and I began to call myself The Frugal Chef. I grew up in Bolivia and was raised in a society where we cook every day. The Frugal Chef’s mission is to cook easy things while saving money. It is easy to do this by organizing oneself with a solid shopping list and planning ahead.
From there, you can create healthy and delicious meals every day of the week. Through The Frugal Chef, I have become a popular online personality who offers insight, tips, and humor on budget-friendly, healthy eating. Millions of viewers visit my website and tune into my YouTube videos for easy-to-follow recipes explained in my signature spunky style.
Peter and I left California with the kids in 2010 and started a journey that took us all over the world, including Bolivia, Vanuatu, and Guam. I have traveled extensively throughout South America, the South Pacific, Asia, and the States, experiencing the unique and exciting flavors and traditions found in these areas. When you live in a lot of different countries, you make a lot of friends and eat a lot of real, local foods.
Because of this great experience, I am not afraid to try new things. I kept my eye on the immense variety of culinary traditions around me and tried to soak them in as best as I could to the enjoyment of my family and my followers on The Frugal Chef. I know what works and I’m bringing these flavors to Arepa TX. Now, with North Texas as my home, my team and I have created Arepa TX as a modern twist on traditional arepa dishes.
The menu is a perfect reflection of my culinary inspirations, bringing together various textures, sauces, flavors, and spices from diverse regions around the world.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This has definitely not been a smooth road. We have created a completely new concept with a product that most people don’t know. Once we decided we wanted to start an Arepa restaurant – arepas are sandwiches made in a handmade corn pocket and are native to Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador – my biggest challenge was to create a menu that was unique and yet approachable.
For example, one of our biggest sellers is our chopped, smoked brisket with chimichurri sauce, avocados, and shoestring plantains. I wanted to include a lot of the worldly flavors I have been able to experience. The result is a complete fusion menu that people seem to really love once they give it a try.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am the executive chef at Arepa TX and I have a wonderful team that allows me to express my food in a delicious manner. Our food is healthy and fresh, yet we do not compromise on flavor. Most of our product is gluten free and we have a large variety of vegetarian and vegan options on our menu.
However, if you are a meat eater we have the best meat sandwiches around! We also have a finger-licking-good menu for kids – who, by the way, have their very own and cool area in the back dining room.
My daughter-in-law is my partner and without her, I would have never been able to create what we created. There is no other restaurant like us, we are the first arepa restaurant of our kind in North Texas. We also make handmade custard popsicles which I believe no one else does.
What were you like growing up?
I was a tomboy and a leader as a child, always getting my younger siblings and friends in trouble. I have always been a happy and energetic person and food has always been a very important part of my life.
As a child, I would make up recipes and force my brothers and sisters to eat them. It didn’t always end well. I have always had an interest in traveling and learning new things.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5940 Royal Lane Dallas TX 7523
- Website: www.arepatx.com
- Phone: 214-396-8866
- Email: sales@arepatx.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/arepatex
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/arepatex
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/arepa-tx-dallas
Image Credit:
Katherine Harp – http://mydallasobsession.com/
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