Words by Elaine Wu
To Marianne Despres, empanadas are an expression of love wrapped in delicate dough. They’re a connection to her South American heritage and to Paris, where her career in food was realized. As the owner of El Sur, a Redwood City cafe that specializes in Argentinian empanadas, Marianne is embarking on a new chapter on the Peninsula, one that brings her full circle to her childhood home.
In September 2024, Marianne opened her cafe in the same storefront where her parents used to run a grocery store. It’s the place where she first learned about the enormous amount of work that goes into operating a business. And it’s where she learned about the importance of community. “I was upstairs doing homework all the time and watched my parents work a lot, especially my dad. He was at the store from 7AM to 10PM every day,” Marianne reflects. “The store was an integral part of the neighborhood. Today, we have customers who were kids when their parents shopped here. They remember my mom and dad.”
When the old grocery store site came on the market a few years back, she jumped at the chance to relocate after running a cafe in San Francisco’s Design District. “When the city’s shelter-in-place mandate was announced, business abruptly stopped for us,” she says. “We lost all of our sales overnight.” With their freezers stocked with 8,000 empanadas, the seismic shift required a quick pivot, says Rodrigo Araya, who heads up operations. Within 24 hours, the team opened an online ordering portal that kept them operating without cutting any staff positions. In December 2022, Marianne and Rodrigo closed the San Francisco location and moved to their current one on Middlefield Road in Redwood City. For almost two years, catering, pick-up and delivery orders kept the business running while they completed renovations in the cafe portion of the space.
“It’s so important for us to have a place for people to come and see and smell the food we make,” Marianne says. It’s why she insisted on opening a cafe, rather than just relying on catering and deliveries.
Marianne was very intentional with the shop’s design, and her father’s Argentinian heritage is evident in the mementos and ephemera that fill the bright and welcoming dining area. “I wanted it to feel really homey and that’s why we added all the wood wainscotting,” she explains. The space also features an antique map of Argentina and photos of gaucho festivals celebrating the Argentinian cowboys by San Jose photographer Nick Price. Marianne’s most precious piece of memorabilia is her parents’ original business permit that hangs on the wall.
After college and working in the corporate sphere, Marianne decided to pursue a career in the culinary field. She spent several years in Paris, first at Le Cordon Bleu and then at bakeries around the city. Spending time overseas reminded her that food is always more enjoyable when shared with others. “In France, food is connection,” she declares.
Though she got the idea for turning empanadas into a business in 2010, it wasn’t until 2017 that Marianne opened her first cafe. “Empanadas are the perfect food: they’re handheld so they’re easy to eat, and the varieties of fillings are endless. You can have them for any meal, day or night, or as a snack,” says Marianne.
This handy meal cloaked in pastry, or empanar in Spanish, originated in Portugal and Spain’s Galicia region in the 1500s. Like many other foods from this part of Europe, it made its way to South America. Marianne’s version is rooted in Argentina but her fillings reflect her life’s journey and those she is closest to. “Each filling is either a person, place or memory I have,” she shares.
The dough for these tasty half-moons is made with either butter or rendered beef fat and is light and tender while still being sturdy enough to hold savory and sweet fillings. El Sur’s savory Traditional is filled with hand-cut beef, onion, oregano, pimentón, olives and egg, and it represents Marianne’s Argentinian roots. The Pollo Saltado with chicken, onion, serrano peppers, olives and egg is inspired by her mom’s Peruvian heritage.
The Parisien is filled with French ham, prosciutto, green onion, cheese and chives, paying homage to the jambon-beurre sandwich that is found all over Paris. El Sur also offers empanadas with vegetarian fillings and the sweet Manzana, stuffed with braised apples.
Empanadas are ubiquitous in South America, Rodrigo explains. “There’s an empanada shop on every street corner in Buenos Aires and people have them delivered to their homes like we order pizza.”
Feeding families with busy households is a priority for Marianne. “Being a kid in the ‘80s in Menlo Park was magical,” she says, recalling fond memories of playing in San Francisquito Creek, getting soft serve at Fosters Freeze and enjoying deli sandwiches at Luttiken’s on the Alameda. Her kids, now grown, frequent the cafe and help out when they can. Her parents still live in Menlo Park and visit almost daily. They marvel at how the old grocery store has changed and love to chat with the customers. “I have such a deep respect for my parents, for their grit and determination to make a life for all of us here,” Marianne says fondly. “I owe everything to them.”