For Mercer students looking to grab a quick bite to eat, Chic Gourmet Empanadas is the perfect spot to satisfy their appetite. This mobile restaurant is located 10 minutes away from MCCC’s campus, at 2113 Nottingham Way in Hamilton Township parked in the Dollar Tree parking lot. This food truck combines a classic Spanish dish with inspiration from other cultures.
Chic Gourmet Empanadas specializes in gourmet empanadas including flavors such as buffalo, jerk chicken, and they include churros as a dessert on the menu. In addition, the restaurant serves smaller items such as fries and drinks.
To start, each Empanada normally costs 5 dollars with the exception of special limited flavors which are approximately 7 dollars. The regular flavors include buffalo chicken and cheesesteak with the dessert being a sweet fruity pebble empanada.
Owner Hayba Heba has dedicated 7 years making a business and name for himself. He explained that he always wanted a business, he just was unsure what kind to invest in. His dream was made when he learned how to make empanadas. Loving it so much, he decided he wanted to share this love with other people.
In 2019, Heba started the empanada business with his brother where they were originally named “The Empanada Boys.” In the beginning, the brothers started working out of their house where they served at events and sold wholesale.
The success gave Heba the confidence to leave his main job to follow his passion in the restaurant business. Unfortunately, this confidence was short-lived as Heba found himself losing money after moving into Decades Bar & Grill in Trenton, NJ. The loss in profit was a wakeup call as Heba realized his dream needed some more work.
Furthermore, the struggles with his business added to his personal life as well. Heba was dealing with his own battle in the form of psoriasis – an immune-mediated disease.
Despite these setbacks, Heba never gave up hope on his dreams. He explained that he was still trying to make his dream into a reality while staying at the hospital.
“Listen Man, I’m leaving, and I have to get to Florida to get this truck” he told his doctor. Heba was able to obtain his food truck and make it back to Hamilton making April 5th, 2023 Chic Gourmet Empanadas’ first day of business.
Since opening, customers have nothing but good things to say about the food truck. People praise the environment and mouthwatering food created by Heba.
Customer, Kierstyn Bullock, says “Everyone at Chic Empanadas is so nice and welcoming every time I go. Not only that but saying their food is delicious is an understatement!”
Adding on to Bullock, customer Jessica Ochoa explains, “I thought the empanadas were really good, and the workers were nice and friendly”.
The cheesesteak empanada, melting with cheese, was extremely delicious. The meat was cooked perfectly and had a good amount of seasoning. The ratio of meat to cheese was perfect.
Next was the buffalo chicken empanada which stood out the most. The chicken was juicy and had the perfect ratio similar to the cheesesteak empanada. It had a kick to it but nothing that was too much to handle.
Lastly was the dessert. The fruity pebble empanada was out of this world. When first biting into it you get a rush of warm gooey cream, then add the crunch of the dough and fruity pebbles and it is a match made in heaven. The only downside was it was a little sweet but besides that it was great.
Overall, even though Chic Empanada is not the traditional restaurant, the environment was still very friendly and welcoming. Heba’s story was inspiring and his love for this business is evident when tasting his food.
Heba concluded, “I think that if someone is passionate about starting their dream job or dream business, they should learn from your mistakes but don’t give up on your passion.”
