Meet Ryan Lopez | Lord Empanada

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Lopez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I grew up working in the food and beverage industry my entire adult life, working in every genre from dive bars to Michelin star restaurants. When the pandemic hit, I was laid off from my General Manager position along with the majority of the restaurant and bar work force in the world. Seeing that the only restaurants allowed to essentially survive during the lockdown were the ones that offered take out, I set out to create a simple quick service concept using my grandmother’s Chimichurri and Empanada recipes that did not rely on indoor dining, full service staff, and could survive a global lockdown if it were to happen again. Lord Empanada had its first “popup” in August 2020, collaborating with what would be the first of many local breweries in LA County. We were extremely blessed by becoming very popular and a little over year later on October 21, 2021, we had the Grand Opening of our first storefront!

What should our readers know about your business?
Lord Empanada started as a small popup with a simple concept, which was to sell handmade Empanadas and authentic Chimichurri using my grandmother’s recipes. Launching a new food business during the pandemic was definitely not the most favorable time to start, but there was a unique opportunity to collaborate with breweries because they needed to serve food in order to legally operate under Covid-19 restrictions.

Working together with local breweries was the best decision I could have made starting out. With their amazing beer and our fresh delicious food, we created a pleasant and inviting atmosphere which attracted new and returning customers every weekend. Cross-promoting was one of the best forms of marketing that created a lot of traction, which caused our brand to expand exponentially and lead us into getting a brick and mortar to keep up with demand.

My journey from where I started, cooking out of my parents home to opening a storefront, has been the most incredibly difficult and emotional experience I have ever endured. Countless all-nighters, 14-18 hour work days, no social life, personal sacrifices, ultimate lows and monumental highs are just some of the challenges I had to overcome. The difficult part was to stay mentally strong and POSITIVE that all the hard work will eventually pay off, and it has in ways I could have never imagined. My advice to any young or seasoned entrepreneurs that are starting a new business is to give it everything you have. You will only get back as much as you put into it. If you’re just going to go half way and not make the necessary sacrifices to give your brand a fighting chance to succeed, then there’s no point. Someone else who is hungrier with more drive than you will do it instead.

I owe so much to all the local breweries and other startups that helped guide me along the way when I first began this business venture. Without their help, I would not be where I am today, recently awarded #61 on Yelp’s 2023 top 100 places to eat in the US. It brings me incredible joy and pride that with the new storefront and larger stage, I am able to return the favor by selling and promoting beer from all the small local breweries I collaborated with as well as products from other amazing startups like Aguas Locas. I promise that I will continue to help promote and collaborate with other small businesses, giving everyone a chance to be able to succeed and achieve their dreams!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
LA has the greatest variety of places to eat, drink, socialize and tour. In no particular order, I would take my best friend for quick eats at Birria Masters, LA Social Cafe, El Arco Iris, Philippe’s, and K Chicken & Beer. For amazing drinks and bites, we are definitely hitting up Knight Cap, Bar Flores, Lowboy, Wolf & Crane, Hippo, ERB, Little Sister and Manuela. To finish out the tour, we would Uber it and go brewery and site hopping between Cervecería del Pueblo, Hop Secret, RT Rogers, Mt. Lowe, Highpoint, check out the Space Observatory, hike Mt. Wilson and end the day with a sunset in Hermosa Beach!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I dedicate this shoutout to my parents, George and Consuelo Lopez. They are the hardest working people I know and instilled a strong work ethic in me that I contribute to any success I have now and in the future. They have always supported my ideas, no matter how crazy they were and I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for their love, support, and encouragement to pursue and achieve my life goals.

Rudy Barrios also deserves a shoutout. He has been my right hand man since Day 1, helping me prep and cook out of my parent’s kitchen when we were just starting out. I could not have made it this far this quickly without his help. Thank you Rudy!

Website: www.lordempanada.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lordempanadala/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lordempanadaLA

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lord-empanada-monrovia-2