Arepa Zone: “After 12 years in business, we’re facing the biggest challenge we’ve ever encountered.” - PoPville

Thanks to Alexandra for passing on the tough request from the Arepa Zone:

“This update is a tough one to write.

If you’re a personal friend, you’ve probably already heard a little about what we’re going through. If not, we wanted to share honestly where Arepa Zone is today.

After 12 years in business, we’re facing the biggest challenge we’ve ever encountered.

In 2025, we opened our new College Park location. What should have been an exciting milestone became an incredibly difficult journey. Months of permitting delays, unexpected construction costs, and opening much later than planned put tremendous strain on our finances. Since then, sales across our restaurants have been affected by a challenging economic environment, and although we’ve done everything possible to adapt, we haven’t yet recovered the ground we lost.

We’re sharing this because we need your help.

We’re asking for something that supports both you and our business.

1️⃣ Download the Arepa Zone app or create an account at order.arepazone.com.

2️⃣ Purchase a gift card or add store credit to your account.

Even if you don’t plan to visit us right away, buying a gift card or loading store credit gives us the cash flow we need today while getting a discount on future meals. It’s one of the most meaningful ways you can help us through this difficult period.

Over the last 12 years, Arepa Zone has become so much more than a restaurant to us. We’ve watched first dates become marriages, children grow up eating arepas, families celebrate birthdays with us, and thousands of people discover Venezuelan culture through our food. We’ve always believed that food brings people together, and we hope that the community we’ve built will help carry us through this chapter.

Being vulnerable isn’t easy. As business owners, we’re used to solving problems behind the scenes. But today we’re asking for your support because we truly believe that, with the help of this incredible community, we’ll come out stronger on the other side.

If you’re able to help, please consider purchasing a gift card or adding store credit. No amount is too small.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for believing in us and supporting us ❤️”