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Bocata Arepa Bar is set to open at 10170 W. Broad St. by the middle of next week. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Bocata Arepa Bar seats about 60 diners. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Pabellon, considered by many to be the national dish of Venezuela, will be available at Bocata Arepa Bar in a bowl and in an arepa option. (Photo courtesy Bocata Latin Grill)
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The restaurant will also offer tequenos, fried cheese sticks served with a garlic-cilantro sauce. (Photo courtesy Bocata Arepa Bar)
Restaurateurs and Venezuela natives Eduin Serrudo and Alejandro Loreto, both under 30, are adding to their portfolio following three years of success at their first venture, Bocata Latin Grill in Richmond's South Side. The duo is set to open Bocata Arepa Bar, the city’s first and only dedicated areperia, next week in the Lexington Commons shopping center at 10170 W. Broad St.
“Just like there’s an endless amount of tacos, there’s an endless amount of arepas,” says Serrudo as we stand inside the 60-seat restaurant taking over the former Cheezilla space.
In parts of South America arepas, a staple of Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine that dates back centuries, are comparable to pizza in the United States in terms of their popularity and accessibility. While arepas differ from region to region — sometimes baked, sometimes grilled — Serrudo says Bocata's version of the round, flat, cornmeal “sandwiches” will be stuffed with ingredients and then fried, rather than stacked.
“In the morning I might eat a scrambled egg with cheese arepa, [at] dinner I prefer more like a chicken salad with avocado. I love steak, so it just depends on the occasion,” he adds with a laugh. “For breakfast, at parties, it’s a big food at night,” Serrudo continues. “After the club, when people go out partying, they will go to areperias, which is pretty much what this will be — it’s the go-to food in Venezuela.”
Serrudo moved to Richmond from South America in 1999. Growing up, he says, Venezuelan fare was uncommon in the city, and it still is, but his connection to the cooking of his native country came from his mother. Loreto inherited the majority of the recipes used at both restaurants from his grandmother, and he attended culinary school in Venezuela before immigrating to the U.S. five years ago.
“He always tells me his grandma cooks better than him,” Serrudo says with a smile.
Originally, the pair met while working together at a now shuttered establishment, quickly realizing they shared a similar vision of how to operate a business. The idea for their own place began to surface, and after knowing each other for little more than a year, they opened Bocata Latin Grill at 4725 Walmsley Blvd. in 2017.
“He loves cooking, and I love making people feel welcome,” says Serrudo, noting that he is more focused on front-of-house duties, while Loreto makes the magic happen in the kitchen. “We worked together every day and night, and we thought, if we’re going to [be in the restaurant business], let’s just do it ourselves.”
Not long after debuting their South Side strip mall gem, the pair began to dream of expanding their Venezuelan offerings to a broader audience. While their first endeavor has been well received — Serrudo proudly mentions their five-star average Yelp rating from nearly 300 reviewers after three years in business — Bocata Arepa Bar presents a chance for their cuisine to reach more diners.
The hope is that with its proximity to Innsbrook, Bocata Arepa Bar will quickly become a regular spot on people's weekly lunch itineraries. Serrudo says that while both businesses are fast-casual concepts, arepas can be made extremely quickly.
True to its name, Bocata Arepa Bar presents a hefty, almost 20-deep lineup of the loaded corn cakes, ranging from Sifrina, one of Serrudo’s favorites and one of the most popular options, featuring a chicken-avocado salad and cheese; Perico, made with scrambled eggs, vegetables and white cheese; Diablito, filled with deviled ham and white cheese and described by Serrudo as “very Venezuelan”; and Pabellon, a nod to the staple dish of Venezuela, with tomato-laden shredded beef, plantains, beans and white cheese.
Other menu offerings include cornmeal-based empanadas, a pabellon bowl, arepa nachos and Patacon, a fried green plantain sandwich topped with beef, chicken, pork or a fried egg. Also on the menu are cachapas, thick, fresh corn pancakes folded like omelets and packed with cheese and meats, and tequenos, a fried cheese stick served with a garlic-cilantro sauce. Bocata Arepa Bar plans to offer Venezuelan juices and a selection of beers.
Serrudo says, “I’m very excited, I feel like we will reach a whole new amount of people who may not cross the river or will come here because we are closer.”
Bocata Arepa Bar's initial opening hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; follow the restaurant on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
