Flor y Masa: Born in Medellín, Crafted in Jersey
Some businesses are built in boardrooms. This one was built in kitchens. More than two decades ago, a Colombian family opened a restaurant in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania — and inside that kitchen, a young Juan Camilo learned something that no classroom could teach: that food is love made visible. While earning his degrees at Penn State, he worked those recipes by hand, folding masa around family tradition, one empanada at a time. He went on to spend 17 years mastering supply chain — building systems across some of the most demanding industries in the country, moving operations with precision and purpose. Then came Rutgers University and an Executive MBA that sharpened the business mind already forming behind those masa hands. He had the strategy. He had the credentials. He had every reason to stay the course. But the kitchen kept calling. So Juan Camilo made the call that changed everything. He chose people over process. Flavor over forecasts. He left the corporate world behind and built Flor y Masa from the ground up — rooted in paisa tradition, launched on South Jersey streets, and driven by a singular mission: to put something golden, crispy, and soul-filling into people’s hands. And then there is his husband — the man who brought a Mexican household’s fearless love of bold flavor, color, and celebration into their shared life. He didn’t just join the journey; he elevated it. His presence brought a new heat, a new heart, and a deeper understanding of what it means when two culinary cultures collide with love. Together, they are the secret ingredient. Every recipe carries their story — the Colombian tradition, the Mexican spirit, and the joy of two people who choose, every single day, to build something beautiful together. That is Flor y Masa. Not just an empanada. A piece of love in the palm of your hand.