A new culinary option offering Mainers a taste of Ecuadorian cuisine will soon open in a Veazie-based kitchen incubator.
Galindo’s Authentic Ecuadorian Cuisine will open in Korean Dad on Saturday. The start-up’s menu features authentic Ecuadorian dishes such as ceviche, empanadas and fritadas.
Veronica Greener, who’s originally from Cuenca, Ecuador, will be the head chef and her husband, Taylor Greener, will run the front-of-house. The two-person operation will offer lunch and dinner every Saturday from 11 a.m to 7 p.m. in Korean Dad, located at 1492 State St. in Veazie.
Since opening in 2021, Korean Dad has offered local chefs who specialize in food from around the world a place to jump-start their culinary careers. The sit-down and take-out Korean restaurant operates on Saturdays, and other chefs can use the space part-time the other days of the week. Korean Dad has hosted businesses offering cuisine from Nigeria, Cuba, Colombia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and more.
Veronica Greener, who has previously worked as a sous-chef, nanny and administrative assistant, said her husband encouraged her to open Galindo’s and offer her cooking to the public.
“I joke that 60 percent of the reason he married me is because of my food,” Veronica Greener said. “We have an entrepreneurial heart and when the opportunity rose at Korean Dad, we decided to take it.”
The couple previously lived in New York, where Taylor Greener is from, but moved to Glenburn six months ago. The Greeners chose Maine to be their home because Taylor has family in the area and grew up visiting Maine.
“Maine is very familiar to him and some of his fondest memories are from visiting Maine,” she said.
Veronica Greener is especially excited for Mainers to try ceviche de camaron, an entree with cooked shrimp in a cold tomato-based soup with red onions and diced tomatoes. The dish is served with two sides of rice, popcorn, toasted kernels or tostones, which are green plantain slices that have been fried twice.
The eatery’s name is a nod to one of Veronica Greener’s maiden names and her grandfather’s first name, Galo.
“In Ecuador, you have two last names, one from your mother’s side and one from your father’s,” she said. “Galindo is my mother’s name.”
While the flavors in Ecuadorian food may be new to some Mainers, Veronica Greener said she believes they’ll appreciate how hearty, healthy and filling all of the dishes are.
“Mainers seem to like big portions, and Latinos make sure that our portions are big too,” she said.
Though the restaurant is just getting started, the couple have dreams of moving the eatery into a food truck or brick and mortar restaurant.
“I hope that we do so well and people like our food so much that we can expand,” Veronica Greener said.
