By: Lauren Linville

Einar Perdomo left Venezuela in 2013 to escape the poor quality of life his homeland offered. He and his wife left everything in order to create a new life in Oklahoma.

Perdomo first opened Amazonia Latin Flavors in Moore in 2015 to bring a taste of Venezuela to Oklahoma but later moved the restaurant to Norman with the idea of capturing a different audience.

“At the beginning, it was pretty much for Venezuelans, but of course you cannot survive with just Venezuelans so it is an American restaurant with Venezuelan food,” Perdomo said.

After owning Amazonia for a while, Perdomo realized Americans did not understand exactly how this type of food was meant to be eaten and he decided his food would have to reach a wide range of people.

“We just eat arepas by itself, we pick it up and eat it like a sandwich,” he said. “I see people eat it with a fork and a knife. That’s okay, but we don’t eat like that so it is weird.”

Amazonia has been in its new location for five months and is open six days a week, according to its facebook page. Perdomo said they are in the process of trying to stay open later on the weekends and gain a full liquor license to cater to campus corner late night goers.

Perdomo prides his restaurant on customer service and works full time for now. “This is a mom and pop restaurant,” he said. “It’s not like a franchise. I love the connection with my customers, I feel the feedback, and I want to work a lot here.”