Food can have a powerful ability to unite communities and connect individuals with different parts of the world. Mama’s Kitchen is a new restaurant located in the heart of Logan offering a variety of Venezuelan cuisine to diners.
In a white brick building on Logan’s Federal Avenue, Xiomara Robirds is behind the counter taking her customer’s orders. As she gets ready to cook, upbeat Latino music plays in the background.
“I am from Venezuela, and I brought [Mama's Kitchen] here to Logan thinking that there is a lot of Latino community nearby and that they needed something different. So I decided to open it here to sell my empanadas, my arepas, and the Venezuelan seasoning that I love so much. People love [the restaurant]. Everyone is talking about Mama’s Kitchen," Robirds said.
Mama’s Kitchen opened at the beginning of the pandemic, but that did not stop or discourage Robirds from fulfilling her dreams of bringing a piece of Venezuela to Logan.
“I, in fact, was thinking about whether to open it or not, and then I decided to open it because I am a person who believes in myself, in what I am, in what I could give to people going through this pandemic," Robirds said. "I thought it was something different, and that people weren't going to feel so depressed. People have supported me a lot. It has been a blessing."
The popularity of the restaurant has been following Robirds throughout the community.
“Now I go out to the street and people tell me 'Mama’s Kitchen, we love you! We love your food,'" Robirds said.
According to Robirds, the Latino customers who frequent her shop come from a variety of Spanish-speaking countries.
“Many Latinos come, they come from everywhere," she said. "I didn't think there were so many people around here, so many Latinos. There are [people] from Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Bolivia, almost all the countries. I have been very surprised."
Mama’s Kitchen is located at 74 Federal Avenue, Logan, Utah.
