A new restaurant in Gresham is making everything fresh in-house, and that mindset has led customers to leave rave reviews.

At Empanada Stop the goal is to create the best possible plates of food. That means utilizing nothing frozen and leaning on the wonderful fresh produce found across the region.

“When you order a meal here everything from ‘A-to-Z’ is made in-house,” said Tony Karam, co-founder.

They are making their own chips, pickles, salsas, barbecue sauce and thousand island dressing. All of the sandwich bread and burger buns are baked that morning, and the brisket burgers are ground and formed daily. Even the seasoning mix atop the signature cauliflower soup is a closely-guarded, delicious secret.

“We want everyone who comes in those doors to feel good while here,” Karam said. “They come as a guest and leave as family.”

Empanada Stop opened in early April at the College Square Shopping Center, 3030 N.E. Hogan Dr. Folks who remember how the space looked when it was occupied by Tany’s Coffee Shop will be shocked at the transformation.

Karam, alongside his co-founder and brother-in-law Jamal Dabbas, gutted the space to make way for the modern aesthetic of the new restaurant. There is plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors, and the large bay windows creates a bright space to enjoy that show-stopping food.

“We wanted to be in Gresham because people here deserve to have good food,” Karam said. “We need more restaurants, especially family-owned restaurants.”

Fusion of flavors

There are plenty of things to discover and enjoy on the menu — sandwiches, burgers, salads, and, of course, empanadas — all done through a fusion of cuisines. The tri tip, pastrami and ahi tuna are the three most popular sandwiches. Folks have also been loving the spice of the jalapeno burger (white cheddar, bacon-grilled jalapeños, fried egg, chipotle aioli).

The most popular salad is the strawberry salad (spring mix, strawberry, sugar-snap peas, grilled asparagus, radish, pistachio).

But perhaps it is those namesake empanadas that best celebrate the fusion menu. The beef is made with Argentinian seasoning; the chicken/cheese have Mediterranean flavors; and the Tinga chicken is done in the style of the eponymous Mexican dish.

“We are getting a lot of good feedback from people,” Karam said. “People are loving the food, and they come back or send friends and relatives to check us out.”

Dabbas crafted much of the menu after he cut his culinary teeth down in California at Mesa Verde, a former restaurant in Santa Barbara renowned for its vegan/vegetarian options garnering plenty of acclaim and awards. He brought that mindset to Empanada Stop, with a similarly robust array of dishes for vegetarians/vegans.

This isn’t your afterthought frozen black bean burger — in fact that dish is a point of pride for the guys, as is the vegan umami burger. There is also the jackfruit, gluten-free empanada; and many of the salads are vegan.

“The community is very supportive,” Karam said. “Everyone has been really nice, we feel at home.”

Empanada Stop is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. You can order online at pdxempanadastop.com. Follow the restaurant on Facebook: Empanada Stop; and Instagram: pdxempanadastop

“Thank you so much for coming in and giving us a chance,” Karam said.