74 APRIL 6-12, 2023 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC & VENUES | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | SHOPPING & SERVICES | CONTENTS | Lazo Empanadas began in 2015 as a wholesale company, but pivoted to restaurants to satisfy the overwhelm- ing demand of empanada-crazed Colorado fans. François Saber, CEO of Lazo Empanadas, and his wife, Laura, had moved from Argentina to Denver with a very clear goal: “Build an empanada empire.” Inspired by the success of his brother, who opened a popular Argentinian restaurant in Boulder over a decade ago, Saber and his brother-in-law, company president Luis D. Gomez, decided to venture into the food world, but with a very specific focus: empanadas. They started Lazo’s wholesale operation, crafting frozen empanadas to sell in restaurants, breweries, hotels and other busi- nesses throughout their distribution channel, both in Colorado and nationally. “We wanted to get the product out there, so we started doing events and food shows, and discovered that people loved our products so much that everybody was asking for stores,” Saber recalls. “So we started with our first location in Ballpark, and since then, we’ve never stopped growing.” Their production exceeds 100,000 empanadas per month, and in the next few years, they will triple that amount. Currently, Lazo owns and manages six locations: Ballpark, 16th Street Mall, Edgewater Public Market, Junc- tion Food & Drink, Bluebird Market at Silverthorne, and a brand-new Greenwood Village restaurant open- ing in May. There are also two fran- chise locations — one in Colorado Springs, at the Ivywild School, and one in West Palm Beach, Florida. The company is eager to keep expanding nationally as the only empanada-ex- clusive quick-service restaurant born in Colorado. The locations fall into three different categories: “We’re building three different models of restaurants: the ten-by-ten food-court model that can be replicated in stadiums, airports, etc.; the brick-building restaurants in cozy areas like Ballpark, which can be replicated in any suburban or urban area; and then the larger stores in hot downtown areas, like the 16th Street Mall location, which has a huge operation in order to support the crowds,” explains Saber. “That proves that Lazo Empanadas’ QSR stores are a perfect fit for high-traffic areas of offices or financial districts, where people have less than 30 min- utes to eat and return to work. The idea was to show all different types of formats prior to launching our franchise department to the national market, a project that we’ve been working on since 2020.” With an average of one new restau- rant a year, the company is on track to bring the total of Lazo-owned stores to ten by the end of 2025. Because of its steady growth and the unstoppable public demand, the company also has a division solely dedicated to filling large corporate catering orders within a 50-mile radius from Denver, complete with a full fleet of delivery trucks. By combining traditional empanada dough from Argentina with locally grown ingredients, Lazo empanadas reflect the best of both worlds. The company is 100% Argentinian, so tra- ditional Argentinian recipes are used, but with some spicy flavors added for American palates, since Argentini- ans don’t really eat spicy food. “The crowds keep saying we have the best empanadas in Colorado, and all that love that they share with us gives us great strength and energy to keep growing. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” states Saber. LAZO CREATES EMPANADA FANATICS IN COLORADO AND BEYOND -ADVERTORIAL-
