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Restaurant Near Yankee Stadium Serves 24 Kinds of Empanadas

By Eddie Small | September 16, 2014 8:52am
 A new empanada restaurant recently opened near Yankee Stadium.
Empanadas Monumental
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CONCOURSE — A new eatery steps from Yankee Stadium hopes to serve up its two dozen varieties of homemade empanadas to both Yankees fans and locals.

Empanadas Monumental, located by the ballpark at 844 River Ave., aims to help fill what co-owner Esteban Peguero described as an unmet neighborhood need.

"There's nothing like it around here," he said. "No empanadas here."

Among the restaurant's 24 flavors are mixed seafood, pepperoni and Philly cheese steak empanadas. The pastries range from $1.75 to $3 each. Even with the big range of flavors, Peguero said the more standard shredded beef and chicken and cheese options were the shop's most popular offerings.

Monumental's empanada recipe comes from Santiago in the Dominican Republic and is very difficult to replicate, Peguero said.

"Others try to imitate, but they just can't get it right," he said. "It's like someone trying to imitate the McDonald's burgers."

Traffic has been good so far, Peguero said, and he hopes to make Monumental stand out among other local businesses by keeping it open even when the Yankees are not playing.

"All these businesses around here, they shut down if there is no game, so this is pretty much the only thing open on this side of the street, and we want to be all year round," he said. "So that alone will attract people."

The eatery hopes to cater to employees of the nearby courthouses as well, and Peguero was not worried that things would slow down once the Yankees' season ended, pointing to the strong business they had still done over the past few days when the Yankees were away.

Monumental already has three locations in Upper Manhattan, one other location in The Bronx at East 204th Street and Webster Avenue, and one location in Rockland County. Peguero is also working on opening a location at 182nd Street and Grand Concourse at some point in the next few months.

Despite its name, the restaurant serves more than empanadas, offering up traditional ballgame fare like hot dogs and shakes as well.

Cary Goodman, executive director of the 161st Street Business Improvement District, described the eatery as helping bring new life and energy to River Avenue.

"It's a significant part of the revitalization for this whole street," he said.