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Family-owned Venezuelan restaurant, Arepa Culture NC, will open in North Raleigh on Saturday, Sept 26.
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The business began as a food truck in 2014 before moving into its first physical location at Pleasant Valley Promenade on Glenwood Avenue in 2021, which closed this June. Arepa Culture will now open in Six Forks Station Shopping Center at 9320 Forum Dr.
Arepas are a traditional Venezuelan corn cake dish made of cornmeal and often stuffed with meats, vegetables and beans.
In 2014, Pedro Rodriguez founded the Triangle’s original arepa food truck and ran it with his family. Over the years, they have added a second truck to their rotation. Traveling to Pittsboro, Apex and around Raleigh, the trucks have continued serving during the transition between locations.
While Rodriguez founded the business, his son, Marcel, is taking his father’s dream to new heights.
“This location is a lot more than another building,” CEO Marcel Jara said. “It’s also a way for us to almost have a new beginning, protect my father’s legacy, protect what we’ve built together throughout the last 12 years.”
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From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., the gluten-free arepa business will host their grand opening with live music, dessert and giveways.
“We’re planning on having live music at this location, where we want to really engage with the community,” Jara said. “We’re going to start doing brunches and have a breakfast menu that we’ll start offering for weekends…those are the two biggest changes that we have.”
In August 2025, the business was featured on MSNBC’s “Leguizamo Does America,” a documentary series hosted by actor John Leguizamo that explores the history, culture, food, and contributions of Latino communities across the country.
Their large customer base and 37,800 followers on Instagram started them on a path to brick-and-mortar locations. Their customers even helped fund Rodriguez’s cancer treatment when the business was faced with personal and business issues back to back.
“Community is vague word, but it was really our community that got us through these challenging times for my family,” Jara said. “We’re looking forward to having a place to host them.”
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