CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Simple dishes aren’t always simply made.

At Mal Pan, even making a tortilla takes more than three hours.

“Mexican food, really, it’s a very intricate and delicate cuisine,” managing partner Andre Lomely said. “We're buying the fresh heirloom corn from Oaxaca. We’re cooking it, we’re grinding it, and then we’re making the fresh masa and then making the fresh tortillas everyday.”

Lomely is a third generation restaurateur, running Mal Pan with his mother and father. The family spent the past two decades running restaurants in California.

The name, “Mal Pan”, literally translates from Spanish as “bad bread.”

“So there’s a saying in Spanish, ‘when you’re hungry there’s no bad bread,’” Lomely said. “It’s a euphemism my grandmother would use a lot when I was a kid.”

Instead of bad bread, the restaurant specializes in chef-driven Mexican comfort food. Something unique to notice are its blue tortillas, ground from blue corn. This not-so-simple meal is simply delicious.

“We love what we do and we love our cuisine,” Lomely said. “We take the steps necessary to ensure that we do have the best product.”

 Address:

4625 Piedmont Row Dr 115 D, Charlotte, NC 28210 

Hours: 

Mon-Thu, 11am-10pm 

Fri-Sat, 11am-11pm 

Sun, 11am-9pm