Papa Luna’s was born out of a love for Empanadas. While living abroad in Argentina, owner Simon Baer fell hard for these pockets of love perfect in any situation. After a few false starts his baby was born: An Empanada shop with unique flavors that makes everything by hand from scratch, using local produce.
Since we were born in May of 2012, we’ve evolved to include Soups, Salads, Sides such as the Black Rice Salad (Black Rice, Mango, Peanuts, Cilantro, Jalapeño, and Cilantro) Desserts, and Ceviche.
In February 2014 Papa Luna’s Empanadas + Cultivo Coffee opened in downtown San Diego, fusing the immense popularity of the Empanada shop with a Coffee Shop. Cultivo Coffee sources all coffees and teas from local San Diego roaster, Compassionate Beans Coffee Roasters that features only Fair or Direct Trade and returns 50% of their proceeds back to the communities it sources from.
A few more items to note:
Gluten Free dough is available for special orders with a minimum of two dozen. Due of the large variety on our menu, we cannot keep stock of Gluten Free empanadas
Nearly everything we serve is made from scratch in our own kitchens; the only exception is the Croissants served in downtown come from Sugar and Scribe Bakery
We minimize our packaging and use of plastics. Papa Luna’s strongly supports all efforts to eliminate Plastic Bags and Styrofoam.