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Lorena Cantarovici Email
CEO and Founder . Maria Empanada
Denver, CO
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Maria Empanada, a Denver-based restaurant chain that in only six years earned national recognition as the leading brand of artisan empanadas and developing an on-trend, differentiated and highly scalable craft casual food concept. Lorena Cantarovici is the force behind Maria Empanada. Lorena came to Denver from Argentina with $300 in her pocket, and not a word of English; convinced that everything could be accomplished through hard work and perseverance. Using generations-old family recipes, she started selling empanadas from her garage in 2011, mostly to friends and family. Those sales laid the groundwork for something much bigger: • Zagat has rated Maria Empanada as “One of the 12 Hottest New Bakeries in America.†• Lorena has become a celebrity chef in her own right. Maria Empanada was featured on The Food Network –Guy Fieri called her “the Queen of Empanadasâ€â€“ and has been interviewed in scores of local, national and international media. • Nation's Restaurant News, the country's leading industry magazine, named Maria Empanada as “One of 8 Breakout Brands for 2018.†• In 2017 Lorena traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive the U.S. Small Business Administration's Small Business of the Year Award for the State of Colorado. • The Government of Argentina has referred to her the “Ambassador of the Argentinian Empanada in the U.S.†• The chain won a Top 50 Colorado Companies to Watch Award. • Last November, Maria Empanada secured Series A funding from the Colorado Impact Fund. For Cantarovici the funds are not just an investment in her company but a validation of the empanada itself as a new category in fast casual dining. • Maria Empanada was selected as one of five “2018 Denver Gazelles,†the coveted award of the Denver Office of Economic Development and the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network ColoradoMaria Empanada Address
1298 S BroadwayDenver, CO
United States