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    Fr. David Buersmeyer y Mrs. Judith Brooks de Strangers No Longer / hablan a los participantes de la procesión frente a la oficina de campo de ICE en Detroit / address procession participants in front of the field office of ICE in Detroit. Foto de/Photo by Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic

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    • Introducing the partnership with the Race and Justice reporting Initiative
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    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    MANA de Metro Detroit Celebrates 30 Years of Latina Leadership and Legacy

    Protecting Our Vote: Facts in the Face of Fear

    Protecting Our Vote: Facts in the Face of Fear

    The Comanche People

    The Comanche People

    Apaches Jicarilla

    Apaches Jicarilla

    Rarámuris / Tarahumaras 

    Rarámuris / Tarahumaras 

    Linzie and Jesse Venegas of Ideal Group Recognized as Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025

    Linzie and Jesse Venegas of Ideal Group Recognized as Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025

    George Carrillo speaks to attendees at the Real Talk series about his immigration policy recommendations for the construction industry, titled "Building America Stronger." Photo: Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez, Featherstone.

    “This Is Our Moment”: National Latino Construction Leader Visits Detroit to Highlight Labor Crisis and Policy Solutions

    CitizenDetroit Launches Free Online Platform that Enables Detroit Voters to Hear Directly from Detroit Candidates

    CitizenDetroit Launches Free Online Platform that Enables Detroit Voters to Hear Directly from Detroit Candidates

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    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    MANA de Metro Detroit Celebrates 30 Years of Latina Leadership and Legacy

    A jubilee pilgrimage of hope through the Basilica of Ste. Anne

    A jubilee pilgrimage of hope through the Basilica of Ste. Anne

    Stellantis Hosts “Thrilling” MHCC Networking Event

    Stellantis Hosts “Thrilling” MHCC Networking Event

    El Zocalo Lounge Brings Back Nightlife to Mexicantown

    El Zocalo Lounge Brings Back Nightlife to Mexicantown

    Senate Theater Says ‘No Problem’ to No AC with ‘Hot, Sweaty & Weird’ Film Series

    Senate Theater Says ‘No Problem’ to No AC with ‘Hot, Sweaty & Weird’ Film Series

    Candidatos del Distrito 6 hablan sobre inmigración y contaminación

    Candidatos del Distrito 6 hablan sobre inmigración y contaminación

    Connecting with the Heart of Detroit

    Connecting with the Heart of Detroit

    Fr. David Buersmeyer y Mrs. Judith Brooks de Strangers No Longer / hablan a los participantes de la procesión frente a la oficina de campo de ICE en Detroit / address procession participants in front of the field office of ICE in Detroit. Foto de/Photo by Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic

    Detroit Catholics Walk in Solidarity with Immigrants, Demand Humane Treatment

  • Featured
    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    Candidates Face the People: Southwest Detroit Hosts Powerful Mayoral Forum on Community Priorities

    Fr. David Buersmeyer y Mrs. Judith Brooks de Strangers No Longer / hablan a los participantes de la procesión frente a la oficina de campo de ICE en Detroit / address procession participants in front of the field office of ICE in Detroit. Foto de/Photo by Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic

    Detroit Catholics Walk in Solidarity with Immigrants, Demand Humane Treatment

    Linzie and Jesse Venegas of Ideal Group Recognized as Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025

    Linzie and Jesse Venegas of Ideal Group Recognized as Entrepreneurs Of The Year 2025

    George Carrillo speaks to attendees at the Real Talk series about his immigration policy recommendations for the construction industry, titled "Building America Stronger." Photo: Juan Carlos Dueweke-Perez, Featherstone.

    “This Is Our Moment”: National Latino Construction Leader Visits Detroit to Highlight Labor Crisis and Policy Solutions

    Downtown Detroit’s Hart Plaza Comes Back to Life with ARRiBA! Latinos Festival

    Downtown Detroit’s Hart Plaza Comes Back to Life with ARRiBA! Latinos Festival

    Pope Leo XIV, the former Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, waves from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican after his election as pope May 8, 2025. The new pope was born in Chicago. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

    Pope Leo XIV a ‘man of many gifts’ who will lead Church with grace

    Southwest Detroit’s Cinco de Mayo Parade Prevails Over “Rain and Rumors” to the Enjoyment of Thousands

    Southwest Detroit’s Cinco de Mayo Parade Prevails Over “Rain and Rumors” to the Enjoyment of Thousands

    Caesar Chavez Academy’s Robotics Team Represents Southwest Detroit at World Robotics Championship

    Caesar Chavez Academy’s Robotics Team Represents Southwest Detroit at World Robotics Championship

    El Arzobispo Edward J. Weisenburger dirige las oraciones durante una Misa en memoria del papa Francisco el 21 de abril en la Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament en Detroit. El papa Francisco, quien ha liderado la Iglesia católica desde 2013, murió la madrugada del lunes, el día después del Domingo de Pascua. (Foto de Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic)

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From Venezuela to Southwest Detroit El Rey de las Arepas is Serving Authentic Cuisine

Amber Ogden by Amber Ogden
November 19, 2023
in Community, Local Small Business, Restaurants
Reading Time: 5 mins read
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  • Alejandro Ugalde
  • November 16, 2023

Migrating to a new country is hard. Immigrants leave their community, their culture, and their language, often settling in unknown places. But the one thing they always carry with them is their culinary practices. The Gutierrez family is no different. They left Caracas in the mid-1990s and settled in Detroit alone and without family. For them, making traditional Venezuelan food was a way to reconnect with a culture they ached for.

El Rey de las Arepas, a restaurant in Southwest Detroit, began serving the community with authentic Venezuelan cuisine in 2014. The idea of opening a restaurant came after friends raved about their food.

“We didn’t know anyone when we arrived. We slowly started making friends, got invited to potlucks, and noticed that everyone would eat my wife’s arepas before all the other food,” said Jose Gutierrez.

On one of the walls inside the venue, you can read the following rhyming phrase: "An Arepa a day is the key to joy."
On one of the walls inside the venue, you can read the following rhyming phrase: “An Arepa a day is the key to joy.”

The restaurant is located on the bustling corner of McGraw and Central Ave, where the family takes pride in bringing the genuine flavors of Venezuela to their customers. The dishes they serve are the recipes of  Zoraida Gutierrez, the family matriarch who insisted on carefully selected ingredients to bring out the flavors of Venezuelan cuisine.

The restaurant was founded initially about two miles from its current location and was in a colorfully painted house on St. John Street, off Michigan Avenue. As word got around that a restaurant was serving arepas, cachapas, and tequeños, their business took off, which allowed the Gutierrez family to move into a bigger location.

El Rey de las Arepas, now run by their son Ray Gutierrez, has a menu that includes a variety of authentic Venezuelan dishes, including pabellon criollo, a balanced combination of shredded stewed beef, rice, black beans, and fried plantains, considered Venezuela’s National dish.

Ray Gutiérrez poses with his wife and co-owner of the restaurant, Jacqueline Alejandre.
Ray Gutiérrez poses with his wife and co-owner of the restaurant, Jacqueline Alejandre.

“We have something special here. My son is so smart and only needs to see something once and doesn’t need it to be explained,” Jose Gutierrez said. “That’s why Ray runs this place.”

El Rey de las Arepas has gained popularity among Southwest locals and Major League Baseball players, including the recently retired Detroit Tiger Miguel ‘Miggy’ Cabrera, who has become a part of the Gutierrez family through community projects in Southwest Detroit.

“It has always been a family business; my mother taught us how to run the kitchen, my sister was a waitress, and my dad was marketing,” Ray Gutierrez says.

The restaurant’s success is a testament to the family’s commitment to providing their customers with a taste of home where every family member takes great pride in their heritage and culinary traditions.

Hundreds of Venezuelan refugees have arrived in Detroit in the past two years. The Gutierrez family hopes that El Rey de las Arepas becomes a center of cultural community for people who feel forced to leave their homeland.

***

This story was made possible by the Race and Justice Reporting Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to build trust between the news media and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities and strengthen representative democracy.

Tags: foodlatinossmall businessesVenezuela
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Amber Ogden

Amber Ogden

Amber Ogden is a freelance writer born and raised in Detroit. She has published work in Forbes, Chevy in the D, Model D, and Rachel Ray Every Day. She enjoys art and eating through the city in her free time.

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