Restaurant news: New empanada enterprises abound in Lee, Collier counties

It’s time to talk about empanadas. 

Specifically: Little Argentina in Fort Myers, which opened June 22, and Casa del Loro in Naples, which opened July 5.

Let’s get to it. 

Little Argentina folds love in

Lorena Grancelli and her husband, Enzo Fernandez, came to Fort Myers nine months ago. Now, their empanada shop just turned a month old. 

Fernandez does most of the cooking, with Grancelli floating between front of house and back.

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“We wake up and we’re cooking all day long,” she said. 

But they’re not complaining. Fernandez and Grancelli came here to give their son and daughter a better life, an opportunity, and tears spring to Grancelli’s eyes when she talks about them. 

“They’ll be able to study and maybe go to college and do lots of things they cannot do in Argentina,” Grancelli said. “I feel like, as if this country has given us a second chance in life, you know, or something like that. It’s so big.” 

And the welcome, she said, is warm: Little Argentina has dished out more than 3,000 empanadas in the first month out of their South Fort Myers storefront. 

At that very same storefront, which seats 24, smiling empanada illustrations — not unlike a sunrise — welcome guests in, where they can order a variety of flavors such as beef, chicken, kale and pepperoni, among others. 

Beyond empanadas, Little Argentina dishes desserts including pasta frola and chocotorta. They sell yerba mate and prepackaged sweets on a small shelf near the register: little slices of their old home.  

Grancelli grins when she talks about the positive feedback from customers.

“We want to give them something that is fresh, that is high quality, made from scratch,” she said. “We want to share with people here a little portion of Argentina so they know about another food, another dessert, and get to know another country.” 

And here, Grancelli, Fernandez and their children feel welcome. 

“Here, we breathe freedom,” Grancelli said. 

(Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday at 8646 Gladiolus Drive, Fort Myers; 239-288-5459)

Casa del Loro tantalizes with trolley treats

If you’ve spotted the bright blue trolley car in South Naples, near Lely Resort, you’ve seen where Alejo and Samantha Veiga sell out of empanadas every day since they opened July 5. 

Alejo Veiga sells them under the umbrella — Casa del Loro — his mom, Marta Veiga, started in Playa del Carmen, Mexico 10 years ago as a catering company. Alejo's parents are both Argentenian, though he was born in Mexico. He spent time in Mexico and Argentina, he said, before he moved to San Francisco 15 years ago.

More recently, the duo moved to Naples eight months ago, secured the trolley five months ago, and, in addition to the trolley (and before it opened) sold his goods at the Third Street South Farmer’s Market. 

“Ever since we’ve opened, we’ve been killing it. We sell out every day,” Alejo said. “We haven’t made it to our closing time.” 

He stands 6-foot-4 and spends his fair share of time ducking in the space they built out of the 36-foot-long, 12-foot-wide transportation vessel. They sell seven varieties of empanadas, choripan sandwiches and salads out of the eatery painted in the colors of the Argentinian flag.

Not every menu item is available every day, though: Casa del Loro sources its produce from Mondragon Farm out of Arcadia, and they pick up whatever they find that they love daily. 

“We keep on cooking until we’re done cooking whatever produce we have and we’re done selling,” Alejo said. “What we’re trying to accomplish here is do little, but do it right." 

The Veigas' efforts are driven by passion, Alejo said, and he’s grateful for the warm welcome Naples has given them. 

“We’ve been doing it for 15 years and it’s kind of the only thing that makes me happy,” he said. “We like seeing smiles on people’s faces when they try our food.”

(Open 12 p.m.-7 p.m. daily at 11572 Tamiami Trail E., Naples; 239-326-1110) 

Andrew Atkins writes about food and features for the Naples Daily News. Contact him via email at andrew.atkins@naplesnews.com. To support work like Andrew's, please consider subscribing: https://cm.naplesnews.com/specialoffer/