With locations in Riverside, LaGrange and Homewood, EmpanadUS restaurant’s foundation is authentic Argentinian empanadas with an emphasis on scratch cooking. The flavors kaleidoscope out from there to include more than 20 options including veggie and even vegan and gluten-free choices.
“We started with traditional flavors and then we moved on to barbecue pork, bacon, pepperoni, sausage and so on. You find empanadas all across South America, Central America. Spain,” owner Kevin Schamber said. “So many countries have something similar, pierogi in Poland.”
Calzones in Italy. Gyoza in Japan. Samosa in India.
The Schamber family’s journey into their own dumpling heritage began in 2012 with reselling vintage clothes at the Randolph Street Market, you know, like most restaurants start.
“My sister, Leslie, was doing a flea market. On the first day she didn’t sell much,” Schamber said. “Then my brother, Eric, had the idea to make some empanadas for the next day. The deal was to offer customers who bought a piece of clothing, we would give them an empanada to try.”
They were a hit. The siblings kept bringing their creations to flea markets, farmers markets, festivals and events. Everywhere long lines formed to get the dough-swaddled flavors of Argentina. After a few years the Riversiders began to think about a restaurant. When the location at 7 E. Burlington St. became available, they decided to make the jump to brick and mortar.
“Huge learning curve! We didn’t have a commercial oven at first. Customers came in and we weren’t ready for that volume. I told them that our oven was coming soon, so we could increase production, but really, I was ordering it that day. We have just done our best to keep on moving forward since then,” said Schamber.
Argentina has a strong connection to Italian heritage. Some 62% of the country can trace an ancestor back to Italy.
“So that’s very much reflected in our cuisine,” Schamber said. “Caprese, for example, is a popular Argentine flavor…” and a featured empanada.
Another flavor, recently introduced, is saltaña made with juicy ribeye beef. An expanding choice of sauces starts with traditional chimichurri, gets hot with the fire-roasted jalapeño and habanero sauce, and throws a whole garden in the salsa criolla.
The restaurant’s name came out of an extended family brainstorming session. The “us” at the end stands for both USA and the efforts of the whole family to keep the project going.
The locations, festooned with colorful flags, also serve soups, sweet empanadas (apple & cinnamon, Nutella & banana), gelato (there’s that Italian echo again) and jars of chimichurri to go.
More than a decade in, the Schamber family still relies on the freshest ingredients and products made by hand, from the heart.
“We’re just grateful. Grateful to all the cities, Riverside, LaGrange, Homewood for having us all these years. Please keep coming back and enjoying the food that we put so much work into,” said Schamber.
Get in the know
Website: EmpanadUS.com
Address: 7 E Burlington St, Riverside
22 W Calendar Ct, La Grange
1943 Ridge Rd, Homewood