Arepas in LA: Mercedes Rojas Keeps Venezuelan Culture Alive

Mercedes Rojas, the culinary mastermind behind The Arepa Stand, wants her recipes to properly give Venezuela a voice in Los Angeles. What started as a popular lunchtime staple has evolved into a brand with trendy merchandise and an impressive digital identity. From farmers’ markets to catering services, The Arepa Stand’s menu features unique arepa options that blend familial tradition and contemporary flair. It’s no question once you try one, you’ll be back for more.

In 2006, Rojas moved from Venezuela to Miami. Not entirely sure what she wanted to do, her friend convinced her to enroll in culinary school.

“That was how it started,” Rojas says. “I fell in love with cooking and I never stopped doing it.”

After school, Rojas worked in various hotels and restaurants in Miami, New York, and New Jersey. Then, she landed an interview with one of her favorite chefs based in Los Angeles, and she drove across the country just at the prospect of joining her team. In the end, Rojas got the job, which kept her on the west coast.

Four years passed and she hit a plateau.

“I didn’t want to work in restaurants anymore—at least, not other people’s restaurants,” she says.

Rojas was ready to start a new chapter but wasn’t sure what that looked like. Through the years, she had always joked with friends and co-workers about making arepas for a living. At every past job, she was known to make them for staff meals.

One day, while at the farmers’ market, a vendor suggested she sell her arepas there, and that sparked an idea. Rojas teamed up with her brother and together they officially launched The Arepa Stand.

“We came here on a Sunday with a tray of arepas. [The manager] tasted them … and she was like, ‘these are really delicious,’ ” Rojas says. “She called me a month later that she had a spot, but just for one day. We did it one day, and it was a success.”

The calls kept coming. Eventually, they secured a full-time spot. Then they approached another market. At that point, they were still working out of their two-bedroom apartment with limited cooking equipment and resources. But, step by step, with each market success, The Arepa Stand grew.

Today, The Arepa Stand is a permanent fixture at six farmers’ markets (and offers catering, too). At all locations, the curated menu is both grounded in Venezuelan tradition and re-imagined by Rojas’ culinary perspective.

“Yes, I wanted them to be traditional, something that [Venezuelan] people would eat and think about home, their grandma,” Rojas says, “but also different. I wanted to make sure that [our arepa] was not something [you could] make at home.”

She gathers fresh ingredients from neighbor vendors at farmers’ markets. She uses clean, organic corn for the dough. She prepares each ingredient, each piece of the arepa, with careful attention to detail.

As the business expanded, so did the team. Her employees are not only well-versed in Rojas’ recipes, but interact with customers firsthand when they work the markets. Unlike sit-down restaurants, The Arepa Stand makes it possible for those cooking the food to get to know those who enjoy the food. And, for Rojas, this is a beautiful full circle.

“I’ve poured my entire life into this business [and] I just want Venezuela to be really well-represented,” the entrepreneur says. “Everybody eats [arepas], but, when a Venezuelan eats one, I want them to feel like I’m making our country proud.”

The way Rojas sees it, half of LA’s population still doesn’t know what an arepa is. So, there’s still work to be done, more community to cultivate, and more arepas to share.

Visit The Arepa Stand

Manhattan Beach Farmers’ Market on Tuesdays from 11am to 3pm
Playa Vista Farmers’ Market on Saturdays from 9am to 2pm
Torrance Farmers’ Market from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays
Mar Vista Farmers’ Market on Sundays from 9am to 2pm
Studio City Farmers’ Market on Sundays from 8am to 1pm
Hollywood Farmers’ Market on Sundays from 8am to 1pm

Follow The Arepa Stand on Instagram at @thearepastand.