There is both sadness and relief in Trish Tirado’s voice. After nearly a decade in business, Tirado’s homegrown empanada food cart-turned-restaurant, Tirado’s Empanadas and More, is closed.

While owners had been searching since June for someone to buy the restaurant, ultimately, Tirado said, they couldn’t make a deal work. The restaurant served its last empanada Saturday.

“I think the hardest part about closing Tirado’s is the people,” Tirado said, reflecting on the closing. “They’re like family.”

Tirado’s did not close for lack of success but because of it. The business, which began as a family affair, had grown to a point where it needed to move to the next level or it had to close, Tirado said. When her sons stepped away to pursue other things and her daughter stepped away to spend more time with her baby, Tirado found herself and her husband John standing in the kitchen alone.

“I kind of realized that Tirado’s is not Tirado’s without us,” Tirado said of the decision to close. “It was always supposed to be a family business and the kids just didn’t want to take it to the next steps. Mom and dad can’t continue doing it. “

Tirado’s began in 2012 as a food cart on the corner of Main and Broad Streets. But the big break came after Trish and Jenn won the Food Network show, “Food Court Wars.” The grand prize was a spot in the Spartanburg’s Westgate Mall.

From there, Tirado’s grew and in 2015, the family opened their first brick and mortar location in Greenville at 1316 Stallings Road.

The restaurant has grown a loyal following, drawing people in with a mix of homecooked, Puerto Rican food and an atmosphere that feels like stepping into Tirado’s living room.

Until recently, Jenn was still doing the baking for the restaurant and working in the front of the house, but had to step away when she got a part-time job elsewhere.

While Tirado’s is closing its doors, this isn’t the end of the story. Tirado is considering offering prepared frozen empanadas, and she is also planning a digital cookbook of her recipes and instructional videos.

“Anything you have a dream to do, just do it. Don’t wait,” Tirado said. “And as you do, the doors open and open.”

That’s what happened with Tirado’s, she said.

“That’s one of the reasons I feel it’s time to close, because these doors to take it to the next step, they’re not opening.”

Tirado paused and chuckled.

“If they did,” she added. “I would probably pull my family through it.”

Lillia Callum-Penso covers food for The Greenville News. She can be reached at lpenso@greenvillenews.com or at 864-478-5872, or on Facebook atfacebook.com/lillia.callumpenso.

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