CHICAGO, Illinois — In the middle of a Home Depot parking lot, surrounded by the quiet suburbs of Indiana, stands Plátanos Venezuelan Food: a bright white school bus turned into a dining spot. From its window, the smell of fried plantains and shredded beef drifts out, as if looking for those far from home. Inside, Daniela Avila Urdaneta and Anthony Rojas, who are Venezuelan migrants, serve homemade food that does more than fill the stomach. Every dish carries a piece of home, sparking smiles and sometimes a few tears.
A Migration Driven by Crisis
Nearly eight million Venezuelans have left their country over the past decade. Venezuelan migrants are fleeing a complex humanitarian crisis that dismantled basic services, eroded health care and education systems and triggered one of the largest migrations in the Western Hemisphere. Hyperinflation, political instability and food and medicine shortages pushed millions to seek safety and opportunity abroad.
An estimated 770,000 have settled in the U.S., making it the second most important destination after Colombia. Many arrived under temporary protection permits, asylum applications or sponsorship programs designed to give them a legal path during the crisis.
According to the 2024 National Survey on Living Conditions (ENCOVI) and the article “Venezuelan Immigrants in the United States” by Ana Alanis Amaya and Jeanne Batalova, published by the Migration Policy Institute, most live in Florida (49%), followed by Texas (14%), Georgia (4%), New York (4%) and California (3%). Together, these five states account for 74% of the Venezuelan population in the U.S. Still, in recent years, the Midwest has emerged as a new destination for those seeking stability and a fresh start.
Plátanos Venezuelan Food: A Bus That Smells Like Home
After a challenging first year in Connecticut, Urdaneta and Rojas decided to try their luck in Indiana. In April 2024, they parked their school bus and opened Plátanos Venezuelan Food. This rolling restaurant moves each night but has already become a local fixture in the heart of Noblesville.
Their signature dish: pabellón criollo, served “just like at home,” with small arepas and sweet plantains. “Our motto is: We cook everything as if you were home. We wanted to fill a need of the heart: a place where people can sit and remember Venezuela,” Urdaneta says.
While many might think the flavors could never be the same, Plátanos found a balance by combining Venezuelan products imported through distributors in Florida with local ingredients, like Indiana corn. Though naturally sweeter, it works perfectly for their cachapas. This blend creates a symbiosis that supports local farmers and Venezuelan companies that export and distribute traditional products internationally.
The journey was far from easy. Urdaneta explains that getting the permits to remodel a school bus, moving it daily and adapting to an almost nonexistent concept was an odyssey. Yet, since opening, the community has embraced and supported them through tough times. Today, their clientele is diverse: from Venezuelans searching for the taste of home to locals and other Latinos eager to try something new. Even Noblesville’s mayor, Chris Jensen, has recommended them for local and private events.
Sweet Deli Venezuelan Bakery
A few blocks away, in a small house remodeled into a bakery, Delinec Fernández greets customers with freshly baked bread and hot coffee. Her specialty, the traditional pan de jamón, a Christmas classic in Venezuela, along with guava bread and manitas maracuchas, brings nostalgia and an essential source of income for her family and others in the migrant community.
Fernández or “Deli” as her friends call her, arrived in the U.S. in 2015, following her husband. Like many Venezuelans, she faced cultural shock, language barriers and financial uncertainty. “Starting over was the hardest part, the food was different, work wasn’t easy to find and loneliness was overwhelming,” she recalls.
During the pandemic, she began baking at home to make ends meet. What started as a way to support her family became a sustainable business model. By May 2025, after overcoming financial and bureaucratic hurdles, Deli opened Sweet Deli Venezuelan Bakery, the first Venezuelan bakery in Indiana.
Today, the bakery serves not only as a cultural bridge but also as an economic engine. It employs other immigrants, stimulates local commerce by sourcing ingredients from Indiana suppliers and even contributes to the Venezuelan economy by importing small quantities of traditional products. “We wanted Venezuelans to have a space that feels like home,” Deli says, “but we also wanted to prove that small immigrant businesses can strengthen the local economy.”
The bakery’s impact goes beyond its walls. Its growing clientele, Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians and Americans alike, demonstrates how migrant-owned businesses are reshaping the economic landscape of Noblesville. Deli’s next goal is to expand with a deli and sandwich section, creating more jobs and services for a community that continues to grow as more Venezuelans arrive seeking economic stability and opportunity.
The Lanzaga: Turning Migration Into Economic Opportunity
Hundreds of miles away, in Chicago, César Eizaga faced a story similar to that of many Venezuelan migrants. An attorney specializing in labor law, he arrived in 2019 and, like thousands of others fleeing the crisis, took any work he could find, from factories to restaurants and delivery. However, the lack of opportunities and the need to support his family pushed him to create his path.
During the pandemic, Eizaga launched a small venture selling coffee under Lanzaga Coffee, which eventually grew into a café. By March 2024, that project became The Lanzaga, a space that serves more than just food; it provides a bridge between cultures and an opportunity for economic stability.
What makes The Lanzaga stand out is its menu, which brings together Venezuelan, Colombian, Brazilian and Peruvian flavors and the way it has become a source of income and employment for the local migrant community. “We wanted it to be a South American place, not just Venezuelan,” Eizaga explains. “That allowed us to reach more people, create jobs and celebrate our diversity while contributing to the local economy.”
Positive Impacts
The restaurant currently employs several immigrants, including Venezuelan migrants, offering them stable work, fair wages and training opportunities. Its supply chain also benefits local producers and small suppliers, creating a ripple effect of economic activity. What started as a survival strategy has become a sustainable business model that illustrates how migration, when supported by entrepreneurship, can drive local development.
For many Venezuelan migrants, The Lanzaga is more than a restaurant, it’s a place where they can share their culture, rebuild their lives and connect with others facing similar challenges. For locals, it’s an example of how immigrant-owned businesses can strengthen communities, foster integration and diversify urban economies. Over time, this small coffee shop has become a multicultural meeting point where economic resilience and cultural identity coexist, one cup of coffee at a time.
More Than Food: Bridges That Sustain Communities
These restaurants are more than places to eat; they are engines of cultural exchange and micro-economies revitalizing their neighborhoods. By importing Venezuelan products and blending traditional recipes with local offerings, they create supply chains that benefit U.S. suppliers and small Latin American producers.
Despite the challenges, permits, immigration uncertainty and lack of financing, their owners agree: it is worth the effort. Each dish they serve is an investment in their future and proof that when channeled with purpose, migration can become a source of economic opportunity and social cohesion.
– Su Ying Lee Yang
Su is based in Chicago, IL, USA and focuses on Business and New Markets for The Borgen Project.
Image: Unsplash