Got arepas? This Venezuelan restaurant feeds Phillies’ players.

Puyero Venezuela Flavor has been feeding the Phillies since it opened five years ago on Fourth Street near South in Queen Village.

Gil Arends, owner of Puyero Venezuela Flavor, at 524 S. Fourth St.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

by Michael Klein

Published Nov. 3, 2022, 5:06 p.m. ET

After the Phillies celebrated the 7-0 Game 3 World Series victory on Tuesday, they headed into the clubhouse for showers and snacks. Winning pitcher Ranger Suárez dug into the cachapas, the sweet corn pancakes popular in his native Venezuela. Teammate José Alvarado, also Venezuelan, was not far behind.

The cachapas, as well as arepas, patacones, and tequeños, were from Puyero Venezuela Flavor, a restaurant that has been feeding the Phillies since it opened five years ago on Fourth Street near South in Queen Village — around the time Keith Rudolf started as the Phillies executive chef and Venezuelan-born players such as pitcher Andrés Blanco and center fielder Odúbel Herrera dropped in to eat.

The relationship has been smooth, said co-owner Gil Arends, 37, who grew up in Maracaibo rooting for Águilas del Zulia, the Venezuelan pro team whose name translates to “Eagles.”

In the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons, Arends said he occasionally cooked food for the players in Rudolf’s kitchen at Citizens Bank Park. The pandemic has changed Puyero’s service to delivery.

“One of the cool things about going to the Phillies is that there’s so many Venezuelan players in the major leagues and for a long time, the Venezuelan winter league was very solid [for American-born minor-league players who wanted offseason practice],” Arends said.

Right fielder Nick Castellanos, for example, played in the 2009 Pan Am junior world championships in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

Arends said he also grew up watching the Phillies, and made his first visit in 1997, adding, “the year Scott Rolen was rookie of the year. I watched the World Series when I was back home in 2008, and a lot of the players from the 2008 actually played for Águila at one point. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino — I actually got to see them before they were Phillies.”

Venezuelan food happens to be an easy sell, Arends said.

“When you visit their clubhouse, they all know what you’re serving because they’ve all seen an arepa and a cachapa. It’s not like you have to explain it or anything. They’ll walk into the clubhouse and say, ‘Oh, we’re having arepas tonight.’ They’ve either visited or played in the country or they played enough with Venezuelans that they know what our food is like.”