Chef and restaurant owner Inez Melendez makes Puerto Rican favorites from the heart at Chicago Empanada Mama
Chef and restaurant owner Inez Melendez opened Chicago Empanada Mama in West Town in 2023. Photo courtesy of Empanada Mama.
When restaurant owner and chef Inez Melendez says “there’s a lot of layers,” she isn’t talking about how to make her empanadas.
She’s talking about her life, and everything that’s led up to owning her own Puerto Rican restaurant in West Town.
“I was born in this neighborhood,” Melendez says, although nobody called it West Town back then, she adds. “I grew up in this neighborhood and I raised my kids in this neighborhood.”
Melendez opened Chicago Empanada Mama in the summer of 2023 after selling to-go orders for her handmade empanadas during the Covid pandemic.
The restaurant’s name is a nod to her mother, who Melendez calls the “ultimate inspiration,” both in her life and in her food.
“She lived a very short and tragic life,” Melendez says, “but my happiest memories with her are in the kitchen cooking. That was when she was the happiest, and that was the best time that we ever spent together.”
Melendez purchased the space on Chicago Avenue in 2022 when it was nothing but an open, vacant room and a cement floor. There was no plumbing, no electricity and certainly not a kitchen.
Empanada Mama’s eclectic interior is decorated with lush greenery, hanging lights and velvet chairs. Photo courtesy of Empanada Mama.
“It’s been a struggle straight out of the gate,” Melendez says. “But I believe in miracles, and it’s a miracle that we’re still open.”
The restaurant owner and chef—she’s still in the kitchen cooking four days a week—says that Empanada Mama has had to morph to keep up with the changing times.
One of those changes includes tapping Francis Caparosso, formerly of Latin American restaurant Brasero, for general manager.
“He’s one of the best things that’s happened to this restaurant,” Melendez says, singing the praise not just of Caparosso, but all of her staff, as well.
Melendez runs a cooking class inside the kitchen at Chicago Empanada Mama. Photo courtesy of Empanada Mama.
Melendez first opened with dreams of being a cafe where people would come early in the morning for coffee and snacks.
From the beginning, Empanada Mama has served up Dark Matter Coffee, pairing lattes with offerings like the Gallina, an delicately air-fried breakfast empanada with roasted red peppers, eggs and cheese; and the ChicoRizo, deep-fried with eggs, cheese and savory chorizo sausage.
But the hours weren’t reflective of Empanada Mama’s customer base. “We were opening up at 6 a.m. every day,” Melendez says. “People were like you’re a Puerto Rican restaurant, not a coffee shop.” So she went back to the drawing board, not just changing the hours, but the menu, too.
Three of Melendez’ savory empanadas served with a side of arroz con gandules. Photo courtesy of Empanada Mama.
And the food is what Empanada Mama should be known for.
Melendez makes the sofrito—an essential cooking base in Puerto Rican cuisine—fresh and from scratch.
The flavors of ají dulces, or sweet peppers, combine with culantro or recao (an herb similar to cilantro), onion and garlic to make the building blocks of some of Empanada Mama’s best dishes.
The sofrito is most important in Melendez’ out-of-this-world arroz con gandules, a traditional Puerto Rican rice dish with pigeon peas.
“The smell of fresh recao takes me back to my childhood,” Melendez says with a smile.
A spoonful of Melendez’ chicken noodle soup transports me to my dad’s house where caldo de pollo is always simmering on the stove year round.
Melendez’ shrimp ceviche, loaded with chopped onions and a generous amount of lime juice, pairs perfectly with freshly cut and fried plantains.
And you can’t forget the arroz con gandules—a rich and hearty rice dish so comforting you can practically imagine Melendez cooking alongside her mother, chopping the aji dulces and recao for the fresh sofrito.
A mom of two and a new grandmother of one, Melendez’ maternal instinct is an indistinguishable part of her business—as is the fact that she’s an army veteran.
Empanada Mama will be serving cherry-filled heart-shaped empanadas for Valentine’s Day on February 14. Photo by Mustard Magazine.
“It taught me discipline and survival,” she says of her time in the military.
Melendez recently worked in advertising but left her corporate job to focus on Empanada Mama full time. (The restaurant also offers catering, cooking classes and people can book the space for private events.)
Every decision—down to the outlets under every chair or the neon-pink sign and plant wall in the back—was made by Melendez herself.
Latin music fills the room as the eye wanders from the beautiful tile-work and wooden accents to rattan chandeliers, hanging plants and emerald-velvet chairs.
The feminine touches echo Melendez’ bright and bubbly character. Everything about Empanada Mama, from the food to the decor, simultaneously calms the nerves and electrifies the senses.
There’s also a full bar, where Melendez and Caparosso mix delicious cocktails like Melendez’ favorite, the Coconut Vacation, as well as Brazilian caipirinhas and old fashioneds made with—not whiskey—but smoked rum.
And for one day only on February 14, Melendez is making heart-shaped cherry empanadas with caramel drizzle, special for Valentine’s Day.
Whether it’s coming up with new menu items, making the sofrito or running Empanada Mama’s social media, Melendez admittedly wears a lot of hats.
But her busy schedule doesn’t stop her from coming out from behind the kitchen to say hello to her customers, many of them regulars.
Getting to know her neighbors over coffee and empanadas is just another perk for Melendez.
And for her customers, who come for the food and stay for the conversation, Melendez isn’t just another restaurant owner. She’s a symbol of strength and community; a self-made Puerto Rican-American who knows Humboldt Park like the back of her hand. She’s more than a chef—she’s Chicago’s empanada mama.
