Tag: Sonia Sandoval

Juan Paredes and Sonia Sandoval, Happy Tummy; Startland News photo by Channa Steinmetz

Nothing speaks like flavor: How Johnson County’s favorite empanada stand plans to reach more ‘happy tummies’ (and where to find them)

By Tommy Felts / January 8, 2022

When Sonia Sandoval moved to America from Venezuela, language was a barrier, she recalled. Rather than keep to herself, Sandoval found a more meaningful form of communication: food. “I started [cooking] when I was 11 years old,” said Sandoval, who co-founded the pop-up Venezuelan food concept, Happy Tummy, with her husband, Juan Paredes. “I…