HOUSTON, Texas -- Stephanie Velasquez and Nick Vera were so excited to open the first restaurant of their own after working for some of Houston's top chefs for more than a decade.
But just two weeks after Papalo Taqueria opened in downtown Houston in March 2020, a county-wide shutdown order was announced.
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Instead of giving up their dream during the pandemic, Stephanie and Nick turned their gourmet tortillas and beautiful pastries into a wholesale business called Papalo Mercado.
Each tortilla uses heirloom corn from Mexico and is ground by using a stone mill, then hand-rolled and hand pressed.
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Papalo Mercado also sells fresh pan dulce and other pastries, horchata, and salsa.
Stephanie and Nick have reopened Papalo Taqueria in Finn Hall and are open Monday through Thursday.