Allison Kohler, owner of Mara’s Cafe and Bakery on Main Street, is just days away from opening up El Lechon de Negron in Denville. With the excitement of their Grand Opening mounting, we wanted to get the low-down on how it all came to be. Their grand opening is set for Tuesday, September 29th.
How did you get involved w El Lechon and bringing them to Denville? The short version is Crab Rangoon! I run festivals. I’ve worked with the Negron family for the past 7 years as they’ve had their food truck at our festivals and have built a wonderful relationship with them. Their food is top notch and ranked as one of the best Puerto Rican restaurants in the U.S. In the early stages of Covid, I went to their Union restaurant for Empanada Day to support them. I ordered 16 Empanadas for me and my family. They were all excellent, but the Crab Rangoon and Shrimp Scampi were outrageous. I dreamt of the Crab Rangoon for weeks. I realized that the Denville area needed to experience this delicious awesomeness, and combining El Lechon de Negron with Mara’s makes us the ultimate lunch and dinner destination! Add in all of Mara’s Award Winning Desserts and we are the perfect Trifecta for all your culinary desires! The Negrons loved the idea of expanding their authentic cuisine to new customers, particularly Morris County. A beautiful partnership was born.
It’s quite the gamble to open up a new business during the pandemic. What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about it? It’s a huge gamble right now. I think you need to have a really strong product and business model to attempt to open anything right now. Even in good times, new businesses get a lot of hype but then burn out quickly after all the initial fanfare. You need a long term plan that can see past the pandemic. Connecting and partnering with your local community are major ingredients that will lead to a great start and long term success.
How will Mara’s and El Lechon share space? The building is spacious and can accommodate each business with its own working space. Mara’s and El Lechon each have their own ordering counter and will share the same dining area.
El Lechon has quite a following in Union – can we expect the same menu items from the new Denville location? Yes you can! Including specials!!!!! Chicharron, Pastelon and Tostone Sliders will be some of our rotating specials, once we get past the initial grand opening. Union offers 7 types of empanadas daily. Denville will have 9 types. The two additional types are crab rangoon and shrimp scampi! We felt we needed to pay homage to what started it all, plus they’re delicious!
If a first time customer pops in, what would you recommend they start with from the El Lechon menu? I could tell you a love story about every item on the menu 😊As a first timer, I would tell you to start with a Pernil platter with Arroz con Gandules & Maduros, with an empanada as an appetizer and Tres Leches or Flan for dessert!
Between Mara’s, El Lechon, and your food truck festivals, how do you juggle it all? I love what I do! Have you ever seen me and Wonder Woman in the same place?!
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