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Family-Owned Empanada Shop to Open This Fall in Prospect-Lefferts

 Briant Almonte, right, in front of the Lincoln Road storefront where he and his wife will soon open Empanada City, a new to-go eatery.
Briant Almonte, right, in front of the Lincoln Road storefront where he and his wife will soon open Empanada City, a new to-go eatery.
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Composite: Shutterstock; Facebook/empanadacity

PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — This fall, get ready to take a trip to Empanada City.

The new to-go empanada shop is preparing to open in October or November at 363 Lincoln Rd. at Nostrand Avenue, said its owner Briant Almonte, who will run the eatery with his wife and in-laws, he said.

“We’ve always been talking about creating some type of cafe or small shop where we can offer some of the flavors from our native countries,” he said. Almonte is from the Dominican Republic and his wife’s family is from Puerto Rico.

“The recipes will be our recipes … based on flavors and spices that we typically use,” he said.

That will include empanadas with hearty fillings like ham, cheese and pickles (the “Cuban”) or the “avocado club” with chicken, tomato, cheese, bacon and avocado for about $3, he said.

Simpler empanadas for $2 each will have fillings like sweet plantains and cheese, ground beef or spinach and ricotta, Almonte said. The shop will also have dessert empanadas filled with Nutella and bananas or “apple pie” filling.

And that’s not all.

“A good empanada isn’t really finalized until you have a good sauce to go with it,” Almonte said, so the shop will have a range of homemade sauces, as well, including hot sauce and cilantro sauce.

The store, which is Almonte and his wife’s first foray into the food business, will likely be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, though the hours have not yet been finalized.

For more information or to sign up for updates about the opening of Empanada City, visit the store’s website.