By Tesha M. Christensen
Karen and Cristian De Leon welcome the community to their casa, the new El Sazon Cocina and Tragos at 5309 S Lyndale Ave.
Their dream was birthed during the hard times of COVID-19 when they found themselves out of work after the restaurant they were at closed. They realized that their busy schedules had prevented doing regular family meals, and they made it a focus.
They started cooking more and selling it to family and friends.
One day, they ran into someone who had been managing a taco stand inside a BP gas station in Eagan (1815 Diffley Rd.) and was ready to move on. They decided to take over.
The concept was simple and they enjoyed it, but Cristian found he missed the art of plating a meal. So, they decided to do something crazy.
The concept: a five-course meal served inside the gas station. The gas station agreed to close early one day. They brought in long folding tables and chairs, pushed everything inside the gas station to the edges of the room, and set up tables with disposable dishes and silverware.
“It sold out in 24 hours,” recalled Karen. They even added 10 more seats.
After that first event in August 2022, they did a couple more. And they realized they wanted to operate their own restaurant where they could have sit-down service every day.
They learned that for a Latino couple trying to start out as restaurant owners, it was a tough environment. First one place and then another fell through. They were going to locate inside Keg and Case in St. Paul. That didn’t work out. Several others didn’t pan out either.
In April, the agent they were working with brought them to 5309 S. Lyndale where El Jefe had been for about five years. El Jefe wasn’t moving out until the end of August (to 2916 S. Lyndale inside the James Ballentine VFW), but the De Leons signed the lease and then waited.
On Sept. 1, they got right to work, painting and organizing. They purchased many items from El Jefe, such as the tables, chairs, flat top stove and other kitchen items, so setting up the new restaurant went quick. Artist Charlie Landa journeyed from Florida to paint the distinctive pieces of art that tie into those at the gas station.
They celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on Oct. 18, 2023 and officially opened at 11 a.m. that day.
El Sazon is known for its innovative takes on Latin American cuisine. Their most popular item is their birria – birria ramen, birria pizza, tacos, and even brunch menu items.
“The idea behind the menu is it has things that we eat at home but with an elevated twist to them,” explained Karen. She is from Mexico and he’s from Guatemala – and they’ve served a variety of cuisine styles over the years they’ve worked in restaurants.
They haven’t been approved yet for their liquor license by the city, but until then bar director Zoilo Ruacho has created a non-alcoholic cocktail list.
“We’re excited to have another restaurant back here,” said Roger Worm of the Southwest Business Association. “It’s a great location. It’s great people and I’ve loved the food.”
“We started with three people on staff,” pointed out Karen. Between the two locations, they have 15 staff members in the front and back of the house.
Karen and Cristian met while working at the Mall of America 17 years ago. They worked at separate restaurants that shared a kitchen (Famous Dave’s and Kokomo Island Cafe).
Why 5309 Lyndale? “We wanted to find a place that was a community place, a neighborhood place,” explained Karen. “We want people to come on a regular basis.”
Plus, they live in Richfield and were hoping for a location close by to make it easier to work and raise their family. The De Leons have three children: Christian (age 16), Sofia (11) and Santiago (9).
Ryan Braski runs the nearby Malt Shop at 809 W 50th and dropped by for lunch at El Sazon on their first day to welcome the De Leons to the neighborhood.
“We’re excited to be here,” said Karen. “Thank you for believing in us.”
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