Opening a restaurant presents myriad challenges under ordinary circumstances. Owners need to spend time and energy attracting diners to their venue, educating them about the food being served and building a core audience that will sustain their business financially for years to come. Even experienced operators know that it takes time to fall into a groove with service, maintain consistency and find ways of keeping customers coming back time and time again.
Those challenges become even more intense when combined with the uncertainty of a global pandemic. Such was the case for the owners of Triciclo Peru, a Peruvian restaurant which opened just four months before COVID-19 resulted in the mandated shutdown of businesses across the nation.
On this week’s podcast, we chat with Amy Narr, co-owner of Triciclo Peru about the journey that she and her husband, Mario Diaz Herrera, took to open their very first restaurant and the ways they’ve learned and adapted in the toughest business climate restaurants have ever seen.
During our chat, Narr shares insights about the inspiration for the restaurant, describes their unique dishes in mouthwatering detail and offers diners insights into the ways they’ve taken traditional Peruvian flavors and ingredients and adapted them to create their own unique dishes.
Along the way, she relays the inspiring story behind how the restaurant has struggled to survive and attract new customers during these unprecedented times.
Listen in!
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Got an idea for a topic we should consider for FoodCrush? Want to offer feedback on our latest episode? Email me at lori@staff.onmilwaukee.com. You can also give @FoodCrushPod a follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for additional tidbits, live tastings and more.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
