From Leticia Sabater to the Colombian child who became a viral phenomenon, everyone has eaten a salchipapa at some point or, at least, has heard of it.
Although the exact origin of this fast food is unknown, everything points to it being created in Peru, but it was in Colombia where it became popular. In the case of Lanzarote, you cannot talk about salchipapas without mentioning the Colombian Alejandra María Lozano Romero, a pioneer in salchipapa on the island with her business Mastik.
"I always say that salchipapa was born in Lanzarote, because there is no other like it anywhere in the world, we make them with products from here," says Alejandra. "Also, I make them in a very different way than they are made in Colombia, my intention was for them to be unique, to differentiate themselves from the rest."
This food composed of sausages, potatoes, shredded chicken, melted cheese, pineapple sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise and guacamole achieved a resounding success in Lanzarote since its introduction in 2009 by the fast food business Mastik, although its beginnings were not easy at all.
A hot dog cart and a broken fryer
Alejandra's mother had a hot dog cart on the old Calle Real and, as they were doing relatively well, they decided to open a new stand at the roundabout of the Arrecife Fairgrounds, in front of the Cabildo, in 2009.
The young woman was in charge of this second stand on weekends, although at first it did not have the same reception as her mother's, so there were many days when she even had to donate the leftover food. “There were days when I only sold two hot dogs a day”, says the founder. “I refused to throw away the food and, as they are products that expire quickly, I preferred to take it to Cáritas”.
However, this did not stop her from expanding her business. After requesting many permits, she was granted the license to be located on the esplanade of the Fairgrounds and, from there, everything began to change.
“Kalise left us a small booth to sell ice cream, so we took advantage and sold our hot dogs there too”, she explains. “The profits were minimal, most of them went to paying taxes and electricity, but I didn't give up”.
Seeing that the business was not going as well as it should, she decided to sell a product that was successful in her country, but had not yet arrived in Lanzarote, the salchipapa. “I made one at my house, I gave it to my family to try and they were all delighted”.
The family bought a household fryer, took it to the booth and got to work. Her intention was to give them to people she knew to try, but the day after starting to make the new dish, the fryer burned out.
“We didn't think it was going to be so successful, so I had to ask my mother for money to buy a new fryer, which was still small, but it was what we could afford”.
The San Ginés fair as a starting point
Alejandra decided to launch the salchipapa in the summer of 2010, with the arrival of the San Ginés fair, since the influx of customers was going to be much greater.
“Our great surprise was the spectacular reception it had among young people”, she points out. “The queues were impressive to buy this new product, but we managed to get the work done, even with a mini fryer. God is faithful when one strives and is brave”
However, not everyone was happy about Mastik's success, especially some fairground vendors, as they thought they were coming to take their jobs. “I always told them that our bet was something different, that I wasn't even copying them, so I didn't have to compete with them”, she says.
Mastik, a consolidated business in Lanzarote
Over the years, and with some savings, they replaced that Kalise booth with their own caravan. The star day of the week at that time was Friday, as dozens of young people gathered at the Fairgrounds to hang out and eat a salchipapa.
In addition, they were also buying industrial tools that allowed them to save time and improve service, such as an industrial cheese grater. “It may seem silly, but for us it was a big change, since at first we grated the cheese manually, leaving us with many scars”, she explains. “Until then, everything was manual”.
Finally, in 2012 they opened a store on Ortega y Gasset street, which complemented the caravan on the esplanade, although the store did not last long, as they had to close it shortly after due to administrative reasons of the owner.
“We closed it with great sadness, but as we had great support from our customers we decided to try again and opened a new store”, adds Alejandra. “We didn't have much money, but we did have the desire”.
Currently, Mastik is located at Calle General García Escámez 93, in Arrecife, and has a staff of eleven workers. Its star product continues to be the salchipapa, which accounts for more than 80% of daily sales, although they also have a wide variety of dishes, including hamburgers, sandwiches, arepas and, of course, hot dogs.
However, competition is increasing within the sector in Lanzarote, as many similar establishments, seeing the success of this dish, decided to include it in their offer, although Alejandra does not see it as a problem.
"After all, we were the pioneers and people value that, we have a very consolidated clientele", says the young woman. "Also, I always say that competition is good because it helps you improve yourself".
“People were afraid to order at home during the pandemic”
However, with the arrival of the pandemic, things became complicated, so they had to juggle to avoid closing the business completely. The vast majority of the staff had to go to ERTE, since the sales volume was too low.
“The day they told us that we had to close, we had no choice but to accept it, but thanks to the help of the ERTE we were able to survive and we didn't have to fire anyone”, explains the owner of Mastik.
Alejandra, her husband and her brothers stayed delivering exclusively at home and, after the end of the state of alarm, they opened the store so that people could come and pick up the orders.
The young woman insists that it was not an easy period, as sales decreased considerably, and many people were even afraid to buy food at home, as well as economic problems derived from the closures of many businesses.
“We had to work harder”, says the young woman. “We didn't earn much, but it gave us enough to survive. Today we are still recovering from everything that has happened”.
Salchipapa, increasingly expensive due to inflation
Alejandra thought that after the end of the pandemic restrictions, the expected recovery would arrive, but now she has had to face another battle, inflation. The constant rise in prices of products so essential for a business like Mastik has had consequences such as the inevitable price increase.
“We are buying sunflower oil up to twice as expensive”, she explains. “Electricity has also skyrocketed in the last year, so we have been forced to raise the price of salchipapa”.
The salchipapa started with a price of 2.5 euros in its beginnings in the theme park, but over the years it increased to 3.8 euros. However, in recent months it has reached a price of 4.3 euros per container, 41% more than when they opened the business.
“There's Mastik for a while”
However, Alejandra remains optimistic and believes that the expected total recovery of the sector will come sooner or later. For now, they are focused on offering better customer service and on boosting their social networks to reach more young people, their main audience. In addition, she believes that salchipapa has a long way to go in Lanzarote, since, according to her, it is far from being a passing fad.
“Mastik's salchipapa has become a benchmark for young people on the island, now it is a must-stop place for anyone who comes to visit Lanzarote”, adds the owner of the food service.
“We have the same desire and enthusiasm as at the beginning”, she reflects. “There's Mastik for a while, at least for another four generations”.
