From Queens to Congress Plaza
Born in NYC, Viva Empanadas is gearing up to open its third Capital Region location in Saratoga Springs this summer. Here's how owner Veronica Agama got here.
If you think about it, Veronica Agama didn’t exactly bring her Latin kitchen to the 518. Her Latin kitchen brought her here.
Veronica was living in Queens with her two boys—one of whom is gluten-free and one of whom is vegetarian—when the pandemic hit in 2020. The restaurant she had been working at closed, but she started experimenting in her home kitchen.
“I know from my home country of Ecuador that we can use plantain for crusts for empanadas, and also yuca, which is also called cassava,” she says of gluten-free alternatives to traditional empanada dough. “I started making empanadas and I started posting pictures of how the kids were eating them. Friends and family started asking me if they could have some. After a few weeks, they would continue asking for more, so I said, you know what? I’m a single mom, and I’m making all this extra food. I should start selling it.”
When COVID restrictions were lifted slightly, Veronica began selling her empanadas in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which was a 30-minute walk from her house, and developed a bit of a local customer base. As the summer came to a close, a customer told her about a food truck in Brooklyn that was only being used in the mornings; she wound up moving to Brooklyn and began operating Viva Empanadas from the truck from 1–10pm daily.
Quickly, she began to run out of space…and empanadas.
“Empanadas are very difficult to make in small spaces because I need a lot of space to make dough, to cook the different fillings, and to be able to make a variety, because people always expect the variety,” she says. “I need to make the fillings today, and then the dough tomorrow. That’s how I came up with more of my menu—if I run out of the chicken empanadas, let me make some rice with chicken, because that doesn't need as much space or as long hours to make.”
But still, she needed more room. Veronica began searching for a commercial space around Brooklyn, expanding her search area out until she found somewhere that met her budget: the Capital Region.
She and her sons came Upstate for the first time, and checked out spaces in Troy and Schenectady before getting referred to Galleria 7 in Latham. She opened there in 2022, and within two years was ready to grow again.
“I went to the Palace Theater once when I first moved here with my sister and her boyfriend, and we wanted to go out to eat, but there wasn’t really a lot of options in the close proximity,” she says. “There were some restaurants, but they all seemed to be closed since the pandemic. And I thought, Albany has been so good to me because I found my home. Albany should have more restaurants, and maybe I should open one to support that.”
In 2024, Viva Empanadas opened on North Pearl Street, and now serves a menu of empanadas (in 11 varieties), beer and wine, and starters and entrées inspired by the cuisines of Latin and South America—Bandeja Paisa from Colombia, Churrasco from Argentina, Cuban Ropa Vieja, and vegan and non-vegan ceviche, “because in Ecuador and Peru, we love ceviche.” Brunch is offered on weekends (think paella with sunny-side-up eggs, arepas with poached eggs and hollandaise, and avocado “toast” on a green plantain patty), and guests get a complimentary dessert (Veronica’s homemade Spanish flan is especially popular) on their birthday.
While business is good in Albany when there’s a show at the nearby Palace, it does slow down on days when there’s not one. That poses a staffing challenge for Veronica—how do you build a dedicated team when you can’t give them regular hours?
The answer to that question brings us to the reason you’re here: She’s opening a new location in Saratoga where her employees can work when business is slow in Albany.
This summer, Viva Empanadas will take over the former home of Moby Rick’s Seafood in Congress Plaza. “You say ‘Viva’ to somebody on their birthday or an anniversary,” Veronica says. “It means ‘long live,’ but it’s something that means celebration or happiness. So I want the space to communicate that. It’s been kind of tough because it was a fish marketplace, but it’s already starting to look completely different.”
The new space will feature plenty of flowers, tile work inspired by Veronica’s time spent living in Spain and Mexico, and a copper bar top, from which a full bar menu will eventually be served. (She’s currently waiting on her liquor license.) The vibe and menu will be similar to that of the Albany location, but Veronica plans to focus more on Argentinian grilling, her personal favorite cuisine, in Saratoga. She’s also considering offering a buffet-style lunch so that people can try several different things.
Veronica’s just waiting on some permitting, and is hoping to open Viva Empanadas by the end of June. “I have my menu planned out and the drinks and how the service is going to go,” she says. “I’m excited. I’m scared, too, though. I’m scared and happy and excited.”
—Natalie
A Purdy Good Cocktail
Kentucky Derby Day is less than a week away, and our friends at Purdy’s Discount Wine & Liquor want to make sure you spend next Saturday sipping on a drink fit for a winner.
Woodford Reserve Spire
Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
2 oz. lemonade
1 oz. cranberry juice
lemon twist
Preparation:
Combine bourbon, lemonade, and cranberry juice; serve over ice; and garnish with a lemon twist.