Mark Antonation
Audio By Carbonatix
The corner of South Broadway and Louisiana Avenue took a hit after a fire broke out at closed ice cream shop La Chupaflor on February 24, 2020. The fire damage was limited to the store, but smoke and water caused Maria Empanada, Palenque Mezcaleria and Adelitas Cocina y Cantina to close.
Adelitas and Palenque were able to reopen quickly and were both back in business by February 27, but Maria Empanada, which shares a wall with La Chupaflor, took longer because of smoke from the fire. But the Argentinian cafe is ready for business today (Wednesday, March 11), so it will be business as usual beginning at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast empanadas and espresso drinks.
Fans of the Argentinian pastries didn’t have far to go during the temporary closure, since Maria Empanada also runs a smaller version of the shop inside Broadway Market at 950 Broadway, though the selection there is limited. The company also runs empanada shops at 1700 Platte Street, 2501 Dallas Street (inside Stanley Marketplace) and at 8000 East Belleview Avenue in the Denver Tech Center.
The South Broadway Maria Empanada was the first full-sized cafe for founder Lorena Cantarovici, which she opened in 2014 after running a tiny bakery in Lakewood for three years.
