When the 2008 recession forced the family that runs the Mister Supermarket grocer in Greenville, SC, to reexamine its bottom line, owner Maria “Carmen” Most decided to try her luck with a small menu of made-from-scratch pupusas. There were cheese, bean, chicken, and pork varieties, and lordy, they were delicioso. Word spread fast, three tables turned into 13, more fillings were added to the menu (including loroco, a cousin of asparagus), and Carmen and her husband rechristened Mister Supermarket as Mister Pupuseria. Today, you can get a hot-off-the-griddle pupusa for $2 to $2.50, dressed with “salsa no picante” and a heap of repollo, a crunchy fermented cabbage slaw. The restaurant is open from 8 a.m. till 8 p.m., covering every meal with empanada-like pastelitos, a Hondureño-style breakfast burrito, and the traditional oxtail, tripe, and seafood soups of the couple’s native El Salvador.

1129 Cedar Lane Rd., Greenville, SC; 864-246-8881.