Maize & Wheat Colombian Café now open in Brentwood

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Courtesy Maize & Wheat

Bacon arepa with choice of eggs, cheese, and two slices of bacon

Until recently, there weren't many opportunities to find Colombian food in St. Louis. With the opening of Maize & Wheat Colombian Café, though, that's finally changed. Located at 1912 S. Brentwood, the standalone building housed, at various times, Applegate's Deli, Einstein's Bagels, Dickey’s BBQ Pit, and the Funnel Cake Factory.

Maize & Wheat had its roots in a small food stall and became a common staple at international festivals and markets in the area. Then known as El Fogón, the business began in 2017 and has since evolved into its present-day brick-and-mortar restaurant.

"People were always asking, 'Where's the restaurant?'" says owner Claudia Marcella Niswonger. "People kept pushing, and finally I said, 'You know, I think we are ready.'"

Courtesy Maize & Wheat

The main culinary elements featured at the restaurant are in the name. "Maize" stands in for arepas and "wheat" for empanadas, though the former is unquestionably higher in the hierarchy of menu items.

Niswonger's arepa is a pancake-like bread made of maize, folded and filled with a variety of aji-fueled ingredients. The restaurant offers both breakfast and lunch/dinner variations of the dish. Morning arepa offerings include bacon and eggs, cheese, and several vegetable-filled options. All are served with choice of coffee or cocoa, and priced about $7-8. The lunch and dinner menu (at the same price point) has more traditional selections, such as a shredded beef and cheese arepa (pictured at right), the Colombian Arepa (with sausage, cheese, corn and yellow plantain), and the Arepa Special (stuffed with chicken, mushroom, and cheese).

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Courtesy Maize & Wheat

Veggie empanada with corn, black beans, red bell pepper, rice, and mozzarella cheese

On the other side of the namesake, there are pastry-filled, Spanish-influenced empanadas. The empanadas are sold a la carte and $3 each. Empanada flavors include beef, chicken, cheese, and two vegetarian variations. The restaurant also has a Hawaiian version filled with ham, pineapple, and mozzarella.

The menu includes several items you might be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. The Canoa de Maduro (below left) is a dish made with fried yellow plantains filled with a choice of beef, chicken, or Colombian bocadillo and topped with cheese. And choripapa (below right) is a South American mainstay of seasoned fries smattered with chorizo. The rest of the menu includes beef and chicken tacos and standard salads, such as Caesar and spinach. 

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Courtesy Maize & Wheat

"My goal is to change the image of Colombia to the general public," says Niswonger. "We have a huge culture of food in Colombia, and I hope to show even just half of what Colombia has to offer."

Photo by Collin Preciado

Both dine-in and carryout service is available, though space is limited in the building. There are 48 seats at tables (not including high chairs) and six more at a bar along the wall. The music—from Colombia's Silva y Villalba to Ecuador's Julio Jaramillo—is what you might hear in the northwest portions of South America.

Although the restaurant hasn't been open long, it's already built a dedicated following from its humble days as a festival booth, a following that continues to grow through word of mouth and various outlets such as the Colombianos en St. Louis, MO page on Facebook, where Monica Quintero first learned of it.

“There is no other Colombian restaurant here in St. Louis,” she said while recently dining at the restaurant. “I am from Colombia, and the taste and flavors here are so good."