SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Johan Trujillo, also known as "King Arepa" moved to Arkansas in 2019 from Venezuela to start a new chapter as a business owner.
Trujillo says coming up with the name for his business was one of the easiest parts.
"I always heard of ‘King Burrito’... or ‘Burger King’, so I said 'King Srepa!' I started with "King Arepa" and it's about Venezuelan food," said Trujillo.
Trujillo’s passion for cooking for his community started as a child, and his journey is unique.
"In one eye was glaucoma and the other eye was when I was playing soccer, somebody hit my eyes, and that made me blind," Trujillo explained.
At the age of 13 Trujillo lost his sight, but he didn’t let it discourage him. To some people being blind is considered a disability but to Johan, that's not the case. He says “If you lose something, you can be sitting in the chair, or you can be moving. If you sit in the chair, you're just going to be just sitting in the chair. So, I decided to move, to not sit in the chair. and sometimes you try, you fall, but you start again. You know, you start a project that doesn't work, you start another project and just keep trying. Never give up."
His wife Lizabeth is also visually impaired. She lost her sight in Venezuela when she was 20 years old in an accident. The two still cook the food for their restaurant from the comfort of their own home.
“Yeah, we make a lot for the job, because people get nervous around us and saying, ‘Oh, you're gonna burn yourself. Be careful’ and, we just don't like people around the kitchen. We cook every day and we don’t get burned. We have some accidents every day, like everybody does. We’re just normal,” said Trujillo.
The couple relies on other senses when cooking such as feeling the texture of the food, smelling certain seasonings, and of course, tasting the food. With the help of a family friend, Trujillo learned how to cook his favorite foods safely.
"I taught him to use those knives and how he could curve his fingers the way chefs do so that they're using their chef knife without looking and they're talking while doing that. And so, he just learned to do that,” said Sharon McCone.
Living with a visual impairment, Trujillo says God gives him the strength every day to be strong and help others. In June, "King Arepa" opened its doors in Springdale.
"It's like, it's just part of life, you learn how to live with being blind is it just practice it's not impossible, it's easy When your mentality is different," he said.
McCone has known Trujillo for 24 years. They did missionary trips together in Venezuela and she says "I don't think with Johan being sight impaired is a barrier at all. He has an entrepreneurial mind and thinks about ways he can support himself and his family and still have some to give to others."
In the future, Johan says he wants to expand his restaurant to Fayetteville, Rogers, and Bentonville.
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