An Empanada for Everyone!
On a hot summer day, nothing is better than a palm sized fruit filled pie. Every week at the Webster Groves Farmers Market, empanadas fill the display case at El Chico Bakery’s table. Bakery employee Ana Rivera said, with thirteen flavors there is an empanada for everyone although cherry and apple seem to be the top sellers at both their store and local farmers markets.
Since the empanadas are vegan, they are available to most people. El Chico Bakery has sold empanadas since it first opened thirteen years ago. However, empanadas have been in the Rivera family for much longer.
As a young man, Bernabe Rivera, now 70, sold sweet breads and empanadas on the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico. He dreamed of having his own bakery. Rivera moved to the United States, got a job and started a family.
Every year at Christmas and New Years, the Rivera family would make empanadas just like Bernabe sold in Mexico. Over time, the Rivera family recognized their individual strengths in the empanada making process. They soon fell into a rhythm that works.
A simple flour dough is rolled into a flat circle by Leticia Rivera then passed on to her daughter, Ana. Ana fills the center with one of 13 flavors then slides it over to her older brother, Oscar. Oscar folds the dough over while indenting the edges. One last drop of filling is placed on top before Oscar passes the pastry over to his younger brother, Faustino. Faustino fills trays of the pastry. Then the trays go into the oven for 15 minutes.
After retiring, Bernabe Rivera opened the bakery. He used his own nickname, El Chico, as the bakery’s name.
El Chico Bakery is open everyday except Tuesday. Also, several days a week, Bernabe Rivera sells sweet bread out of a truck in Vermont City, Illinois. “It’s kind of like an ice-cream truck, but it sells bread instead,” Oscar Rivera said.
The Rivera family works long hours together at the bakery. Ana Rivera said, “We are a close family to begin with.” The extra hours together each day can cause typical sibling tension. Ana Rivera said, Oscar is the oldest and gets away with a lot of “bossing around” and he’s a big jokester.
Despite any differences and long working hours, the Rivera family appreciates the extra time together. “All of those things are good and bad,” Ana Rivera said.
About three years ago, El Chico Bakery started selling at local farmers markets during the slow summer months. “I love the markets,” Oscar Rivera said. He likes being out with the customers instead of always in the hot kitchen.
Several families stop by their table every week at the Webster Groves Farmers Market. Ana Rivera said, the customers are all so nice. One woman brings her granddaughter by every week. Rivera enjoys talking to their regulars. She said, “I like that relationship I can have with my customers.”
El Chico Bakery, located at 2634 Cherokee Street, specializes in sweet bread, empanadas, and cakes.
Article by Megan Favignano. Photos by Caitlin Zera.