CHAD UMBLE | Staff WriterChellas Arepa Kitchen has opened a bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Lancaster city, taking a spot that is the former home of Cabalar.
The new restaurant at 325 N. Queen St. is the second location for Chellas, which also operates a food trailer at 1830 Hempstead Road in Lancaster city, near Costco and Lowe’s.
Chellas features Peruvian and Venezuelan-style dishes, including arepas stuffed with rice, meat and vegetables as well as rice and bean bowls such as grilled-steak stir-fry lomo saltaldo, a staple dish of Peru. The menu also has yuca fries, sweet plantains and guacamole and chips.
The new Chellas restaurant has seating for around 50, including space for 20 at a long window counter.
Chellas is owned by Luis Quiroz and his brother, Diego. The restaurant’s name was the nickname of their Peruvian grandmother, who they credit with inspiring their love of cooking.
At the restaurant, Chellas shares space with Mad Chef Craft Brewing Co., an East Petersburg-based brewery that serves a rotating selection of 10 beers from a small taproom at the back of the restaurant. Customers buy alcohol separately from the food, an arrangement that is the same as the one Cabalar had with Mad Chef.
The restaurant space in The Keppel Building has been vacant since August when Cabalar moved its burger restaurant to a larger Lancaster city space at 501 W. Lemon St.
