Welcome to LA AREPA!
We specialize in Typical Venezuelan Street Food. We pride ourselves on serving authentic cuisine with traditional flavors and recipes. We have been preparing these foods for many years back home and we are excited to share with you a little piece of Venezuela right here in beautiful Portland Oregon!
My parents Antonio Gutierrez and Elsy Rodriguez opened La Arepa in SE Portland back in July 2010 with the support of a local organization and the whole family. Venezuelan food was not represented in Portland, plenty of international foods were available but not Venezuelan. Missing home they decided to bring part of Venezuelan roots to Portland thanks to the gift of taste that our family always have had, so we knew how to bring the real flavor to this city. My dad cooked every type of food back home, and our house in Venezuela was always visited by friends, family members and neighbors to enjoy his dishes, they still dream about it and now Portland has it.
Me and my husband decided in 2016, on a magical and special leap year of February 29th 2016 to open La Arepa’s second cart. Our number of customers increases every year and our need to show them about our roots increases even more. As food cart owners, we purposefully chose pods well known for their positive connection with their community, an important factor for us because we support our community here and in Venezuela. We admire how Oregonians get together and how strong they are during difficult times, like during the current pandemic and the fires where we were supported by the community and they also got our back.
We have supported organizations who help our people back home, like Venezuela’s Voice in Oregon, to get access to medicine and food. Here in Portland we have worked with Multnomah County and other restaurants to deliver food to shelters, also supporting firefighters during the wildfire using our platform to let people know about the supplies needed to help them, and we also donated supplies as well. We were active participants on all the Bake to End Hunger events organized by Partners for a Hunger-free Oregon. We believe that food is a human right every person in the world must have, that is why feeding people is our passion.
We recently opened inside The Zed where we serve Cachapas, Pepitos, and more Venezuelan deliciousness. We also are expanding the Catering side of the business. Now you can order from us when you have a special event at home, office or outdoors
La Arepa will take you to Venezuela on every bite. Authentic & flavorful Venezuelan food that taste like homemade food!