WAXHAW, NC – For Sara-Rose B., being the Empanada Queen means celebrating her Puerto-Rican culture.  She has fond memories of her abuelita/grandmother creating delicious empanadillas for her to savor.  After her abuelita’s passing, Sara-Rose taught herself how to make the fried turnovers with a flair for thinking outside-of-the-box.  She is always looking for new and exciting flavor combinations and welcomes suggestions from the public at large. 

Sara-Rose grew up in Charlotte, went to school in Southern California, and upon her return to Charlotte, she created Empanada Queen.  As Empanada Queen, Sara-Rose is a member of the Piedmont Culinary Guild, which partners culinary and food aficionados with local farmers to help promote the local food economy.  Empanadas from the Empanada Queen are made from the finest local ingredients and are frozen so that customers can choose to bake or fry them at home.  By using local ingredients, Sara-Rose creates unique flavor creations inspired by the available fruits and vegetables.  In addition to classic Latin flavors, she includes seasonal flavors such as apple pie, sweet potato pie, and pumpkin pie in the Fall, and strawberry shortcake in the Spring.  

The Empanada Queen’s top-selling flavors include Cheese and Spinach, which is made with five kinds of cheeses with tender sauteed spinach, Thai Curry, which is a slightly spicy vegetarian curry, and her Seasonal Flavors, which vary depending on the time of year.  Sara-Rose also enjoys creating a Latin favorite, Guava, and Cheese, which is succulent guava paired with sweet cream cheese.

Sara-Rose is proud to be a featured vendor at Provisions in Waxhaw and is grateful for the opportunity provided by Lisa Vigil and Ken Posko.  For more information on her incredible empanadas, please visit empanada-queen.square.site and follow Empanada Queen on Instagram @empanadaqueenclt and Facebook at “Empanada Queen”.  Empanada Queen empanadas are available at Provisions located at 107 W. South Main Street in downtown Waxhaw.