Lady G Empanadas is growing its Jersey City footprint with a second storefront headed to the Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood, bringing its jerk chicken and teriyaki chicken empanadas to a new corner of Hudson County. The new spot will be called Lady G Empanada Café and will sit at 400 Pacific Avenue, a few neighborhoods over from the business's original home.
According to destinationjerseycity.com, the new venue will officially be known as Lady G Empanada Café and will be situated at 400 Pacific Avenue. The Lady G team announced the new location on Instagram, and as Hoboken Girl reports, the café will bring fresh empanadas and familiar Lady G flavors to the neighborhood. Once it opens, the business will have two Jersey City locations running at the same time.
The original storefront, at 269 Ocean Avenue, isn't going anywhere. Fans can still visit that primary location while the Bergen-Lafayette café takes shape, per the same destinationjerseycity.com report. Earlier reporting from Jersey Digs had described that first brick-and-mortar as opening in the Greenville section of Jersey City, while sliceofculture.com has referred to the same Ocean Avenue address as being on the city's South Side — the two accounts don't agree on the neighborhood name, and the discrepancy hasn't been resolved.
What's on the Menu
Lady G built its name on empanadas that mix classic and creative flavors, including jerk chicken and teriyaki chicken with broccoli varieties, plus vegan options for plant-based diners. The menu doesn't stop there — tacos and rotating dinner specials appear throughout the week, Hoboken Girl notes. Destinationjerseycity.com adds that the business also serves seafood dinners on Wednesdays and soul food meals, including seafood boils, on Thursdays.
That mid-week lineup has deep roots. Per sliceofculture.com, the restaurant's full entrée offerings have included a cowboy ribeye dinner on Seafood Wednesday, a chuck filet steak dinner on Soulful Thursday, and a whiting fish sandwich on Fish Fry Friday. The same outlet reports that Lady G's menu has grown to about 25 empanada flavors, including vegan, vegetarian, and dessert varieties.
From Food Truck to Two Storefronts
Lady G's Empanadas officially started on December 2, 2016 — the founder's birthday — with the business formally finalized in April 2017, according to sliceofculture.com's reporting. Before settling into Ocean Avenue, the Lady G food truck specialized in handmade empanadas made fresh daily, per Jersey Digs, and became a regular presence at Jersey City events including the Mt. Carmel Feast and the Juneteenth Festival at American Dream Mall in East Rutherford. That truck-era menu has included jerk chicken, sausage and peppers, vegan curry, and even a cheesy mac empanada, along with a lump crab and shrimp version and an oxtail dinner variety blending meat with collard greens and rice, Jersey Digs reports.
The business has also applied to Jersey City's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to take over a liquor license at the storefront, according to Jersey Digs. Throughout its expansion, Lady G has stayed focused on food that is simple, affordable, and memorable, the destinationjerseycity.com report notes — a mission that sliceofculture.com says has long included hopes of opening a second brick-and-mortar location.
No Opening Date Yet
Management has not announced an official opening date for the new Pacific Avenue café, according to destinationjerseycity.com. Hoboken Girl reports that its team has reached out for more information about the opening and is awaiting word on when Bergen-Lafayette locals can expect to start ordering. Until then, the original Ocean Avenue storefront remains open for anyone craving a jerk chicken or teriyaki chicken and broccoli empanada.
