From Caracas to La Casita: Inside the canal-side restaurant's sizzling story

Along the Maybachufer, the scent of sizzling arepas mingles with reggae basslines. La Casita is a vibrant arepa haven, full of warmth and soul – much like its founder, Sharon Schael.

La Casita may be a recent addition to the canal-side strip, but Sharon Schael’s arepas have been a fixture in Berlin for nearly a decade. Their roots stretch back to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, where Schael grew up. “I always dreamed of having a breakfast spot by the beach where the jungle and mountains meet,” she shares with a grin, “so people could start their day happy.”

Music was her first true calling. As a teen, she would sit cross-legged on her bedroom floor, calling into radio stations to request songs, which she would then record onto tapes to sample. In 2002, she left Venezuela due to the ongoing political instability. Her DJ career brought her to Mexico, Spain and eventually Berlin, where she has played in the likes of Tresor and Sisyphos.

Reconnecting with the Latin community has been huge … We’re proud of who we are and where we come from

For years, she pursued her musical passions. Then one conversation changed everything. “I had a boyfriend who I used to make arepas for on Sundays. He asked, ‘Why can’t we find these anywhere in Berlin?’ That stuck with me.”

Schael started small, with El Carrito, a food truck she brought to Mauerpark in 2015. “Mauerpark back then was wild. Very hippie, not so commercial like now.” After a year of grinding, she expanded with a temporary stall at Markthalle Neun. “Markthalle Neun was always the goal, but it was very competitive. When I applied they accepted only two of us that round: me and Brammibal’s.”

Then came Treptower Park. A friend tipped her off about new food stalls going up along the Spree – and she snagged one, with that stand becoming the first La Casita. Years later, Covid-19 hit, but something surprising happened. “Spring 2020 was amazing. The weather was incredible, and everyone just wanted to be outside. It did wonders for my business.”

Now, Schael’s journey has brought her to a new venture: La Casita Neukölln. After a tough winter and the loss of a relative, she needed something new to pour her energy into. “They close the stalls’ water supply in November and don’t turn it back on until March or so … I really don’t like not having anything to do. I also needed a change and I saw potential here.”

Unlike the fast-paced street food hustle of the Mauerpark truck or Treptower stall, customers here want to sit and soak in the atmosphere. “We are coming from street food … People want things fast. They don’t understand they have 10 people ahead of them and we’re working with a small grill. Here it is surprisingly much more manageable. There’s a cap to how much is going on at once. It’s meant to be enjoyed and savoured.”

La Reina is a customer favourite – two round handcrafted arepas made of ground maize dough served with creamy avocado, chicken, black beans, cheese, chipotle sauce and pico de gallo. The cachapas are also a flavour bomb – golden, slightly sweet corn pancakes served with burrata and guacamole.

Inside La Casita, Schael is everywhere: greeting customers, taking orders and bantering in three languages. The restaurant runs just as much on community as it does on flavour. Even with all the changes, it’s the people that have made this past decade so rewarding. Schael emphasises, “My team is everything. We’re friends. Jacob over there – he hasn’t worked with me in years but he’s still here, supporting me. That’s what it’s about. Reconnecting with the Latin community has been huge … We’re proud of who we are and where we come from.”

Now, 10 years after her first arepa sale in Mauerpark, she’s decided how she’ll celebrate the milestone: a boat party along the Spree. It will float from La Casita Treptow to La Casita Neukölln, with food, drinks, music, friends and customers aboard. “The only problem is,” she laughs, “who’s going to work?”