Mi casa es tu casa, says Jesús Martinez, co-owner and chef of La Palapa restaurant who has been calling Pittsburgh his home since 2010. La Palapa is named after a dried palm-leaf commonly used for tropical structures on Mexican beaches meant to convey the feeling of relaxation. Needless to say, La Palapa lives up to its name. Jesús, a Mexico City native, has been bringing home-cooked flavors and authentic Mexican cuisine to Pittsburgh since 2012 with his business partner, Jose Luis Navarrete. La Palapa is one of the many businesses embracing the thousands of pedestrians who will be hitting the pavement for another Open Streets celebration this Sunday, June 28^th. We sat down with Jesús to hear about his first experience at Open Streets and what it meant for his business.

I would just challenge people and businesses to have an open mind and evolve

To kick off Open Streets in style, La Palapa debuted its food trailer to give people the convenience of grab-and-go favorites. Located on 7^th & Penn, the trailer gave La Palapa incredible visibility to the thousands of Open Street enthusiasts. “There was a lot of people walking by and saw our name and brand, so it was a great promotional opportunity. We don’t have much money for advertising, so as a new business, we rely on having to do the extra work to get our name out there,” admits Jesús. La Palapa’s presence during Open Streets proved to be a learning experience with great takeaways to further improve his brand and business.

Designed to encourage healthy living and engage with local businesses, Open Streets has helped to re-imagine city spaces and advance Pittsburgh’s reputation as a Green Leader. “I would just challenge people and businesses to have an open mind and evolve,” encourages Jesús. La Palapa, along with other participating businesses, invite Open Streets participants to celebrate 3 ½ miles of traffic-free freedom from Market Square to the Strip District and into Lawrenceville. ”We care about what people think and what people want”, says Jesús. With the help of Open Streets, people are given the opportunity to stop and smell the…tamales? Jesús continues to use this momentum to drive business and open the window to Mexican culture.

Whether it’s at Open Streets or in The Strip, La Palapa continues to reinvent the Mexican dining scene and gain support within the community. Don’t believe it? Pittsburghers can now load up on their favorite La Palapa offerings in 3 locations. Once just a tiny booth at the Pittsburgh Public Market, La Palapa has expanded into a store-front on East Carson Street, offering a more intimate, sit-down restaurant with authentic decor. “We cook like they were at home and we want people to feel like they are in a different country, and part of that comes from getting the true, authentic experience.” What does that mean for their guests? It indicates that corners aren’t cut and tortillas aren’t pulled out of plastic bags. Now that’s food for thought. See you Sunday!

This post was written by Cait Malay, BikePGH’s Volunteer Business Communications Associate

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