KENNER, La.– A food staple in the Hispanic and Latin American culture is the tortilla.

WGNO’s Kenny Lopez shows us how tortillas have become a big business for a local family in tonight’s Hispanic Heritage Month.

“Tortillas are a staple item for us. It is like table bread. Tortillas for us is bread. We use it like a fork, we put rice, beans, meat, in the tortillas,” Chef Wilfredo Avelar said.

Ever since he can remember, tortillas have been a part of Avelar’s life.

“I grew up eating tortillas in Costa Rica where I lived for seven years with my mom. Tortillas are important because they remind me of my youth. One of my first introductions to a food item,” he said.

Fast forward to 2017, when they took over the business and tortillas became Avelar’s family business. Chef Wilfredo Avelar owns Mawi Tortillas with his dad, Carlos. They have a store in Metairie and recently in August now have a tortilla production warehouse in Kenner.

“The word Mawi is in Aztec dialect means to feed an abundance, as people are gathering,” he said.

At Mawi Tortillas they are able to crank out 120 tortillas per minute. They have a tortilla machine that has 500 burners and they are cooked at 600 degrees.

Avelar takes great pride in being able to give people the taste of tortillas.

“I think now it is important to show the variety of foods that Latin American people bring to the table. Tortillas mean more to me than just tacos. It reminds you of home,” Avelar said.

For more information about Mawi Tortillas, click HERE.

Mawi Tortillas are sold to many restaurants all over Louisiana. Mawi Tortillas is located at 5050 West Esplanade, Suite C.