When one wants to impress on an all-important first date, it’s important to choose the right restaurant. Something with good food and great ambiance.
How about a gas station?
El Sazon Tacos & More is a popular eatery in Eagan, Minnesota, about a dozen miles south of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Husband-and-wife duo Cristian and Karen De Leòn host Night at the Gas Station, a pop-up five-course meal that features menu items like bone-in short rib birria and squid ink spaghetti with seared scallops, shrimp and wild mushrooms.
The De Leòns met while working in a restaurant, and Cristian has been a chef for more than 20 years. They opened El Sazon in 2022 inside a space connected to a convenience store and found success serving tacos and burritos from their tiny kitchen. But Karen said that her husband “missed plating food and high-end dishes.”
A friend suggested that they host a dinner. “We didn’t know if it would work,” said Karen. “Who wants to eat in a gas station?”
It turns out that a lot of people do.
“We turn the gas station into a full-service dining experience,” said Karen. They move the shelves to make room for about 50 people. Since the first Night at the Gas Station in August 2022, the De Leòns have hosted about 25 pop-up dinners.
Each course has a story or a connection. During the dinner, Cristian will come out and talk about the dishes his mother cooked. “He cooks by memory,” said Karen. “He only learned to cook in the U.S. He learned to love food.”
Recently guest chefs have started to join the event. Each chef prepares three dishes.
“The aesthetic of the gas station stays the same. We make it look nice with linen tablecloths with silverware. It kind of gives the freedom for chefs to do whatever they want,” said Karen.
Before El Sazon was serving up multicourse meals, it gained attention for its menu of Mexican and Guatemalan food. It became especially well known for its birria, which topped tacos and burritos but also ramen and pizza.
“When Cristian was growing up in Guatemala, they would do ramen noodles and his mom would add different things to it,” said Karen. “That led him to come up with birria ramen.”
The De Leòns were taking a risk when they first opened. “We borrowed money. We had no real kitchen equipment,” said Karen. They couldn’t even afford a sign. But word started getting out about the food, and people came from across the region to try it.
“We still don’t have a sign,” she said, “but it hasn’t been an issue. People find us.”
