Meet Belisario Rengifo of Beli’s Sazon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Belisario Rengifo.

Hi Belisario, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My family and I moved to the United States in 2014 from Colombia. When we arrived we realized there weren’t any Colombian restaurants within the Triangle area and that’s sort of when the idea for Beli’s Sazon emerged. There’s so much diversity when it comes to Colombia’s gastronomy and we wanted to share some of it with everyone here in North Carolina. After brainstorming and looking at the possible options, in 2017, we decided to open a food truck under the name “Beli’s Sazon.”

We mainly served some of Colombia’s fast food dishes such as stuffed Arepas, Empanadas, and Patacon Pisa’o ( Flat green plantain) which were all made from scratch to ensure the most authentic Colombian flavors. After a few years on the road with the food truck and thanks to the support of our customers and so many others, we decided to start the process of opening a restaurant which allowed us to introduce our traditional dishes. We found the perfect spot in Sanford, NC, and decided to settle there and Beli’s Sazon Restaurant opened its door in January of 2021, while the food truck closed permanently.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
No, it has not been a smooth road. One of the first challenges we encountered was being able to navigate the system when it came to opening the food truck. There’s a huge difference between cooking for a few people at home and cooking in a commercial setting. So much goes into opening and operating a food business from paperwork, health department inspections, food safety, etc., and we had to learn a lot of things along the way since we were not familiar with most of them. Of course, the pandemic also affected the way food trucks operated and there was a lot of uncertainty as most of the spots from offices to breweries started to close temporarily.

We also opened the restaurant when a lot of safety regulations because of the pandemic were in place and so a lot went into that because we wanted to ensure the safety of our customers but also our team. Even though there have been a few bumps on the road we always mention the fact that we have encountered a lot of wonderful people that have guided us and supported us along the way too.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Beli’s Sazon is a family-owned and operated restaurant located in Sanford, North Carolina. We specialize in Authentic Colombian Cuisine and strive to serve our customers traditional flavors from our home country. All of our food is made from scratch and we are incredibly proud and thankful for all our customers who mention that our food has made them feel at home or reminds them of loved ones as our goal has always been to bring a little bit of Colombia to the United States with our food. We also love that with our food we get to introduce Colombia’s rich gastronomy to those who may not know much about it.

Some of the dishes we serve include Bandeja Paisa, Ajiaco, Sancocho Trifasico, Cazuela de Mariscos, Cazuela the Frijoles, Picada, among others. We also have appetizers, desserts, a kid’s menu, and a wide range of natural juices to choose from. We are currently open for dine-in but we also offer to-go which can be ordered online!

Our address is 812 N Horner Blvd. Sanford, NC 27330, and our hours can be found on our website and/or social media.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Although we have adapt most of our recipes to include mostly local ingredients, about forty percent of our ingredients are imported from Colombia. This is mainly due to the fact that some products cannot be naturally grown or are not commonly found here in the U.S. but are vital for our authentic dishes.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.belissazon.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/belisazon
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/belisazon
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/belisazon