Cody and Kristen Fields haphazardly fell into the empanada business in March of 2008. Prior to concocting delicious flavor pockets with a tex mex flair, Cody was building wastewater treatment plants in Costa Rica. It was there in Central America that he found his love of eating empanadas and a seed was planted. Upon his return to the states he met Kristen in Austin and decided he wanted to stay. After working the grind in a cube at a bank, Cody and Kristen started plotting his escape. As fate would have it, they stopped in to the Nomad, their neighborhood bar one day before it's opening. While the owner gave them a tour of the place, Kristen and Cody were joking around about empanadas. As if on cue, the bar owner shared that his 'empanada guy fell through'. So the next day, it was Cody's third time and Kristen's first to make empanadas and they churned out about 6 dozen. The bar owner loved the product and everything snowballed from there. Six months later they found a truck on ebay, bought it with a credit card and they were in the empanada business.
Something that makes mmmpanadas unique from the majority of the trailer scene in Austin is that they are using a roving trailer to promote their product, which is currently available in grocery stores. Their trailer is a 23 foot long moving billboard that also generates cash flow. Cody's personal favorite item on the menu is also their best-seller: the green chile chicken. Kristin's favorite is the spicy black bean. Readers please note that the Fields' love for spicy food and flavor isn't overkilled in their products. They have a simple philosophy of making things the way they like to eat them with four ingredients or less. Mmmpanadas has served the likes of Matthew McConaughey and the lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots and they are available for business lunches and festivals.
