From the parking lot of Kenai’s Home Depot, Ay Que Rico’s co-owner Rico Carattini serves one of the food truck’s first-ever customers. He shouts the order to his wife and business partner, Cheryl, who's on kitchen duty slinging food and manning the deep fryer.
The Carratinis were up late the night before, prepping for Ay Que Rico’s first day of business. The restaurant’s name loosely translates to “Oh, how delicious.” It's the only Puerto Rican restaurant in the region.
The family-run food truck has been a dream of the Carattinis for years. The restaurant took over two years of planning to bring from idea to reality. Cheryl grew up eating Puerto Rican food and has been cooking it for as long as she can remember.
“Cooking is my passion, it just makes me happy,” she said.
Originally from New York City, the couple moved to Alaska about a decade ago. They quickly noticed a lack of Puerto Rican restaurants. Rico is also of Puerto Rican descent and missed the plentiful food options in the big city. The couple was inspired to open something new.
In addition to yuca fries, Ay Que Rico serves rice plates, sweet and crunchy plantains and handmade empanadillas, which are similar to empanadas. Cheryl says the food truck serves items that can’t be found anywhere else in Kenai.
“What my hopes are for people on the peninsula is to try something new, try a new flavor," she said. "My food has so much flavor, I can’t do bland food. Give it a try, you’ll probably be surprised that you didn’t know that’s what you needed in your life.”
While Cheryl and her family work inside the food truck, Ramon Sandoval excitedly waits for his order. He lives in Alaska, but is originally from Puerto Rico. He said he’s thrilled to have a local food option that reminds him of home. He’s most looking forward to the empanadillas.
“Just expanding cultural variety, being able to enrich people in culture by introducing them to new foods," Sandoval said. "By sparking their curiosity, they might ask potential questions about what the dish might be. They can learn more about the Puerto Rican culture within itself, which is always really cool. I think food is a good way to bring people together culturally.”
With her family by her side, Cheryl says cooking for customers feels like she’s cooking at home.
“What makes me happy in this world is when someone says ‘Wow, that was good,’" Cheryl said. "There’s no other feeling like it, that’s my happiness. My hopes are I’ll hear it quite often.”
The Carratinis hope to travel to markets and festivals, but the Ay Que Rico’s food truck can normally be found in the parking lot of Kenai’s Home Depot. They’re open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. You can also catch them on Sundays from noon to 5:30 p.m.
