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Falchi Building's Empanada Vendor Opens Brick-and-Mortar Eatery in Woodside

 Karu Cafe opened on Roosevelt Avenue and 54th Street serving Venezuelan and Paraguayan food.
Karu Cafe in Woodside
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WOODSIDE — A food vendor from Long Island City known for its savory arepas and empanadas has expanded with a brick-and-mortar eatery in the neighborhood.

The owners of Karu Cafe, which has been operating as a weekday food cart serving office workers in The Falchi Building since 2014, opened their own restaurant on Roosevelt Avenue and 54th Street just over a week ago.

The new sit-down space, in a storefront previously occupied by an Ecuadorian eatery, will operate in addition to the original food cart, but with a much larger selection of its Venezuelan and Paraguayan cuisine, according to the owners.

"We started there [at Falchi] as a...tiny small place, just to start our business — it was a kind of dream, kind of risk that we took at the time," said Zuny Llano, who started the business with her husband, Augusto Acevedo.

They teamed up with her brother and sister-in-law to open the Woodside location, where they've expanded their menu from just three types of arepas and emapanadas to more than 10 varieties of each, as well as soups, salads and desserts.

"Now we have a much bigger selection," she said.

The most popular offerings include the Reina Pepeada — an arepa stuffed with shredded chicken and avocado — and the Lomito, their steak sandwich.

Karu Cafe

Empanadas are $2.50 each and come with fillings like sweet corn and cheese or spinach, kale and ricotta, and are served with the restaurant's signature spicy cilantro dipping sauce.

The dessert menu includes sweet dishes like tres leches, passion fruit mousse and chocolate flan.

Karu — which means "to eat" in Guarani, an indigenous language in Paraguay — is  open seven days a week, and plans to serve beer and wine once their liquor license is approved.

They also hope to offer outdoor dining in the eatery's backyard some time in the future, according to Llano.

An architect by day who lives in Long Island City, she says the family chose to open up shop in Woodside because of its "amazing" diversity.

"In this area, there's a lot of cultures, mixed," she said. "We'd like to be a part of it."