Argentine-Style Empanadas are Coming to a Lafayette Parish Location

After meeting in Costa Rica and traveling throughout Latin America , the husband-and-wife team of Luciano Escudero and Laura Trahan are bringing their home business called Empanada Guy Lafayette to a storefront at 808 South Saint Blaise Lane in Youngsville .

Escudero is a native of Argentina , and the couple started selling Argentine-style empanadas as a side hustle under the cottage industry law. Through word-of-mouth and social media, Empanada Guy grew in popularity. Now, the couple are looking to meet surging demand with a new brick-and-mortar location. Escudero said the new store will be mostly takeout, but it will have a few tables for seating.

“When we were selling them out of our house, some people were just eating them in our driveway!” he laughed, in a recent interview with What Now New Orleans . “But now, we’re going to have one or two tables just for people coming from far away who want to eat the empanadas there.”

So, what makes these empanadas so special? Escudero says Argentine empanadas are typically baked, not fried, and the ones at Empanada Guy offer a blend of culinary influences. There’s a traditional Argentine empanada with beef and a boiled egg. But there are also empanadas with flavors of Acadiana, including one with boudin and pepperjack cheese. Escudero said the goal is to provide empanadas that are refined and lean into the healthier aspect of being baked, not fried. The only other food item on the opening Empanada Guy menu will be alfajores , which are traditional Argentine shortbread cookies.

Having traveled around Latin America with his wife and permanently put down roots in Lafayette Parish , Escudero said he’s been blown away by the support from the local community.

“I had never been to Lafayette before,” he said. “I met my wife when we were traveling, and she kept telling me how great her community is, and I was like, well, my community is good too! But hey, coming here, I can say she was right: They love to support small businesses and I’m experiencing that for myself.”