JULIANA CANCELO BOCADITOS CAFÉ

Outside, late winter reigns, but inside Batavia’s Bocaditos Café, the sights and the smells are an altogether warmer climate.

Mother-and-daughter team, Silvia Sanchez and Juliana Cancelo, own and run the Argentine restaurant — a place where patrons can delight in the country’s cuisine and wine and an array of artisanal goods such as apparel and accessories.

“Becoming business owners has been a completely new foray for us,” said Cancelo of the enterprise. The two opened their doors in 2019 but relocated to their current space at 11 N. Batavia Avenue in late 2021. “My mom was a kindergarten teacher, and I was in the business world. When she moved away from teaching, she bugged me to open a restaurant for years.”

It’s a move that’s paid off as people seek out Bocaditos Café for its farand-away favorite: empanadas.

“We use fillings that are traditional to Buenos Aires, which is where we’re from,” Cancelo said.

The baked dough-encased dish comes with assorted fillings, from ground beef and chicken to vegetarian choices like onion and pepper. The café also sells sandwiches, salads and grilled sausage with chimichurri sauce.

Owning and operating a business brings about many blessings, among them the connections Cancelo and her mother have made with members of the community. But it’s not without its share of difficulties, the largest of Cancelo can distill into one word: “Construction.”

But following such essential work as the installation of gas and water lines, Bocaditos has found itself primed to welcome patrons hungry for the authentically delicious.