Local business owners embrace Hispanic heritage in their cooking, family life

TAMPA, Fla. - When you think of Tampa, the first thing that likely comes to mind is the food and the city has such a rich history when it comes to hispanic cooking. 

Stephanie and Felix Flores are proving to be a power couple when it comes to that food scene, and they are ‘What’s Right with Tampa Bay.' 

What we know:

The Flores family often doesn't get any quiet time at home. They are parents to a six-month-old daughter, Oakley James, and an active and athletic twelve-year-old daughter. 

They say life is hectic, but when they're not at home or traveling with their family, they are in the kitchen and at their businesses cooking up something special for their hometown. 

"This is my town, my city," Felix Flores said. "I can't see myself anywhere else."

The backstory:

It's the way they grew up that inspired their futures and their businesses. 

Felix added, "my grandmother and her sisters grew up in Ybor City rolling cigars. That's about as authentic as you can get." 

"We grew up going to a West Tampa Cuban sandwich shop on Friday afternoons for lunch," Stephanie remembered. 

 Stephanie Flores is the owner of the popular ‘Empamamas’ and ‘Muchachas’ at Armature Works. 

She said her Cuban heritage and cooking with her family that led her to doing what she loves. 

"There was always something cooking," Stephanie explained. "You left the house and smelled like garlic, that's what you did when you went to your grandmother's."

The one day, her aunt taught her to make her famous empanadas. A memory she will always cherish.

"She was an awesome woman we lost this year," Stephanie said. "One day when I was ten she invited me over and said, I'm making empanadas tonight, do you want to come over? We literally spent the whole day making them."

Big picture view:

After graduating from the University of Florida, she didn't want to work for anyone else. 

While she thought of a way to do that, she started making empanadas for friends and family at tailgates. 

"Everyone was like you have to sell these," she said. 

Like all good ideas, the name for her first venture started with some alcohol. 

"One of my friends was extremely inebriated and said ‘hey empamama’ and I was like that's it," she explained. 

She packed up everything in Gainesville and moved back home to Tampa, hitting the ground running with her first food truck. 

"We had the community behind us," she said. "Empamamas grew by the word of mouth."

Dig deeper:

It ultimately led her to Armature Works which worked for her business. She said it was right down the road from Curtis Hixon Park, which was one of her most successful spots for the food truck. 

Related: Armature Works empanada stall putting it's own twist on classic Spanish dish

While she wasn't a lock at first, she didn't give up. 

"I'm a don't tell me no kind of girl and I kept doing my thing and excel in the business over the next couple of months," She explained. "Two days after the market opened, I got a call an opportunity popped up, can you move ASAP? I asked what is ASAP? They said tonight at close of business and be open tomorrow."

Meeting Her Husband:

It was her business and Cuban food that led her to the love of her life, Felix, also known as Bubba. 

"I originally met Bubba in 2018 at the Cuban Sandwich Festival," she said. "He and his mom came back and said I want to open a business. I'm thinking about doing a food truck, so we talked for a minute, but didn't think anything of it."

Felix ‘Bubba’ Flores had the same upbringing. A love of family and food, leading him down a similar path. 

"We grew up roasting pigs for Nochebuena, Flores added. "The holidays, that's what it was about."

He said he fell in love with the interaction with the customers, just regular people. "Talked sports while eating breakfast, cafecitos with them."

Getting His Start:

Just like his wife, his business started with some family history and tailgating. 

"I'm a diehard Bucs fan, we'd get together for games, and we'd eat, and I started messing around with barbecue and one thing led to another and people said you should sell that stuff," Flores explained. 

He started doing barbecue competitions, which led him to his own spot at ‘Wicked Oak Barbeque’ in Seminole Heights. 

Wicked Oak takes over Tampa BBQ scene with food truck, Seminole Heights location

But there was something missing. 

"I met Stephanie and one thing led to another and she was the piece I needed to complete ships venture," he said. 

Power Couple:

Now controlling three businesses as a husband and wife team feels like the American dream, a dream that Felix never imagined. 

"If you were to ask me five years ago where I am today, I would never have guessed I was in the situation I am in," he remembered. 

The couple hopes they can pass along their hispanic heritage to the younger generation, including their kids. 

"A lot of people don't cook at home anymore, it's too easy to go get fast food and order Uber Eats," Felix said. "Having little bodegas and restaurants to get a home-cooked meal, like me and my grandma used to make, just hits home."

Their goal is to pass along their family recipes and love for food to their daughters. 

Because it was their heritage, upbringing and love of food that led them to where they are today. 

"Seeing where they came from, seeing what they did to come to the U.S. and try to better their life and stuff like that, that's been a huge push and kick to better ourselves," he explained. 

What's next:

Stephanie Flores is working on a cookbook filled with her grandmother's recipes, so she can pass down the family's legacy to her kids.