Panka Peruvian Restaurant is getting a second chance.
While it was originally slated to close at the end of April, owner Mariela Maya instead shared the announcement that Panka will be staying open through a partnership with Flame Group.
For Maya, who grew up in Lima in a family of restaurateurs, “Panka was more than a business venture — it was a way to bring the flavors, culture and hospitality of her homeland to Iowa,” the Register previously reported.
Maya will now be working with Arturo Mora, owner of Flame Group, to update the restaurant’s menu without compromising on Panka’s core concept, according to dsm magazine. Mora will provide the “operational backbone” with his experience running Johnston’s Roots 95, Flame the Taqueria and working for the Cheesecake Factory, according to the Iowa Food and Family Project.
Who is Arturo Mora, owner of Flame Restaurant Group?
Mora took a chance on Iowa when he immigrated here from Mexico when he was just 14, he told DMACC’s Bear Trails newsletter. He couldn’t read in Spanish or speak English. He started as a dishwasher at Panda Express before working at places like Splash in Des Moines, running multiple Cheesecake Factory locations in Mexico and Central America and becoming executive chef at Christopher’s in Beaverdale.
Mora became the owner of Flame Group with help from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. What started as a family-run taco truck eventually turned into Flame Cantina DSM.
There was a small ranch in Mexico, Mora previously told the Register, where he learned to make tamales and homemade tortillas with his grandma. For their recipes, they would use eggs from their chickens and chiles his grandma grew.
The collaboration between Mora and Maya is the meeting of two like-minded chefs who are dedicated to bringing their native cultures to Des Moines. Together, they’re going to try their best to keep Panka going.
Lucia Cheng is a service and trending reporter at the Des Moines Register. Contact her at lcheng@gannett.com or 515-284-8132.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Panka Peruvian staying open with help from Flame Group
Reporting by Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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