Viva Empanadas has opened its third Capital Region restaurant, this time in downtown Saratoga Springs, bringing its menu of empanadas, arepas and Cuban dishes to a city known for deep pockets and a packed dining scene. Owner Veronica Agama, an Ecuadorian native, has spent recent months discussing her goal of opening a third location for her Latin eatery, and now it's a reality.
According to NEWS10, the new restaurant sits at 26 Congress Street in Saratoga Springs, though a seed record from The Post-Star instead places the business at 68 Congress Street, in the back corner of Congress Plaza. The Post-Star's account also describes the space as the former home of Moby Rick's Seafood. The Saratoga Business Journal, in earlier reporting, similarly described the Congress Plaza unit as a corner spot previously used as a fish market.
Viva Empanadas got its start far more modestly than its current three-location footprint suggests. Agama originally leased a food truck for the business before settling into a permanent spot in Latham's Galleria 7 Market, the station's report notes, and the company expanded to a second restaurant at 90 North Pearl Street in downtown Albany in 2024.
Permitting Delays Pushed Back the Saratoga Debut
The Saratoga build-out wasn't quick. Agama told the Saratoga Business Journal the opening had been delayed by permitting issues, saying, “I'm now aiming for late June at the earliest” back in the spring — and she identified installation of a kitchen hood as the central bottleneck holding up the project.
Inside the finished space, the dining room is decorated with bold colors, wine bottles and Latin art, per the seed record. Agama has described her overall concept with a simple phrase: buena, bonita, y barata — good, pretty and inexpensive. “I need to make a menu that can have different choices for everyone,” she has said. She has also said the food must be good quality, good for everyone, good for their bellies and hearts, and beautiful.
A Menu Built Around Dietary Flexibility
Viva Empanadas serves a dozen types of empanadas, including two dessert varieties, along with a gluten-free empanada and a vegetarian empanada, the seed record states. NEWS10's reporting describes a broader spread that includes arepas, Cuban beef tostones, shrimp ceviche, Cuban ropa vieja, churrasco and a Cuban sandwich.
Gluten-free options have been part of Agama's approach from the start. She told The Dishing that ninety percent of her menu is gluten free and has its own designated prep area and fryers, and that the idea began at home: “First, I started making gluten-free empanadas for my boys. During the pandemic I had the time to do all kinds of them.” The Saratoga Business Journal has also described a cassava-dough empanada that is both gluten-free and vegan.
The drink menu at the new location includes margaritas, mojitos, mezcal paloma, classic caipirinha and red sangria, according to the seed record. That's a different setup than the Albany restaurant, where, per a 2024 review in the Times Union, the license covers only wine and beer, meaning the margarita and paloma variations there are wine-based.
Conflicting Reports on Hours of Operation
Exactly when the doors are open in Saratoga Springs depends on which source you check. The Post-Star's seed record says Viva Empanadas is open seven days a week and accepts orders from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. NEWS10, however, reports the Saratoga Springs location is currently open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday from noon to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. — a schedule that doesn't match the seven-day claim.
Why Saratoga Springs Made Sense
The Saratoga Business Journal's earlier reporting on the expansion pointed to the city's demographics as part of the draw, noting Saratoga Springs had a population of about 28,800 and a median household income exceeding $105,000, according to 2024 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Viva Empanadas' growth has also tracked with broader momentum in the region's restaurant scene. When the Albany location opened, Capitalize Albany noted that the Downtown Albany Retail Grant Program had leveraged more than $2 million in new investment since it began, and that the Albany restaurant itself occupied 2,400 square feet of ground-floor space with plans to employ at least a dozen staff. That location's menu, as reviewed by the Times Union, also included Spanish paella, Peruvian rotisserie chicken and Argentinean grilled skirt steak with chimichurri, alongside the empanadas, which came in 10 flavors with six available for $24 at the time.
With Saratoga Springs now added to Latham and Albany, Agama's Latin kitchen has planted its third flag in the Capital Region — even as basic details like the restaurant's exact street number and weekly hours remain unsettled between competing local accounts.
