25: From Line Cook to Restaurant Owner | Dominica Rice-Cisneros, Bombera

06/17/23 • 50 min

“I work really hard, and my staff works really hard, so I have to be in love with that city and that community to do the work that I do.”
—
Dominica Rice-Cisneros is the Chef & Owner of Bombera in Oakland, California.
During her long career as a line cook, Dominica worked her way up in fine dining establishments such as Chez Panisse and The Four Seasons, before opening her first restaurant Cosecha to showcase her take on California Mexican cuisine.
Forced to close Cosecha during the Covid-19 pandemic due to its downtown Oakland location, she reopened as Bombera in the Dimond neighborhood, where she is now thriving as a full service restaurant showcasing her Chicano cooking heritage using live fire techniques.
In this interview Dominica shares how she transitioned from career line cook to restaurant owner, including lessons learned along the way.
We discuss:

Why working as a “stage” was a blessing early in her career

What inspired her career in food and restaurants

The importance of connecting with mentors

Her biggest hurdles transitioning from line cook to restaurant owner

and much more.
Dominica provides a rare perspective from someone who truly workd her way up from the bottom, and provides practical insight for others looking to do the same.
Please enjoy my conversation with Dominica Rice-Cisneros of Bombera!
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Where to find Bombera:

Website: https://www.bomberaoakland.com/
IG: bomberaoakland
FB: bomberaoakland

––

Where to find Dominica:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominica-rice-1828ab2b/
IG: dominicarice

––

Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

––

Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

––

Referenced:

In this episode, we cover:

(01:50) Her journey in food, starting at 14 years old in LA
(06:50) Why she views being a stage as “a blessing” for someone early in their career
(09:10) What inspired her to get into food at a high level one day
(10:05) “You get in through the back door”
(11:40) Appreciating mentorship and being a student early in your career
(15:40) Working with mentors
(16:30) What went well for her when getting started
(18:30) How she found her restaurant leases
(19:20) Why she recommends staying away from buying a restaurant lease turn key
(23:10) Her biggest hurdles on the business side as she transitioned from being a Line Cook
(33:40) How Dominica funded Bombera
(35:08) Bringing chips and guacamole to local permitting offices
(38:00) Learning how to structure the business
(38:58) Convincing the SBA she was worth giving a loan
(43:00) Opening Bombera
(45:48) The future for Bombera, and the importance of recognition from Michelin and James Beard

Why working as a “stage” was a blessing early in her career

What inspired her career in food and restaurants

The importance of connecting with mentors

Her biggest hurdles transitioning from line cook to restaurant owner

Website: https://www.bomberaoakland.com/
IG: bomberaoakland
FB: bomberaoakland

––

Where to find Dominica:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominica-rice-1828ab2b/
IG: dominicarice

––

Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

––

Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

––

Referenced:

In this episode, we cover:

(01:50) Her journey in food, starting at 14 years old in LA
(06:50) Why she views being a stage as “a blessing” for someone early in their career
(09:10) What inspired her to get into food at a high level one day
(10:05) “You get in through the back door”
(11:40) Appreciating mentorship and being a student early in your career
(15:40) Working with mentors
(16:30) What went well for her when getting started
(18:30) How she found her restaurant leases
(19:20) Why she recommends staying away from buying a restaurant lease turn key
(23:10) Her biggest hurdles on the business side as she transitioned from being a Line Cook
(33:40) How Dominica funded Bombera
(35:08) Bringing chips and guacamole to local permitting offices
(38:00) Learning how to structure the business
(38:58) Convincing the SBA she was worth giving a loan
(43:00) Opening Bombera
(45:48) The future for Bombera, and the importance of recognition from Michelin and James Beard

Previous Episode

24: Secret Shoppers, Diversified Growth, & Running Two Businesses at Once | Mistie Boulton, Oren’s Hummus & EyeSpy

“You want more happy employees that are gonna turn to happy guests, and in order to do that you don’t want your team to feel overwhelmed.”

—
Mistie Boulton is the CEO of Oren’s Hummus, and the President and Founder of EyeSpy Critiquing & Consulting, a mystery shopping and operations improvement business for the service industry.
Mistie brings 20+ years of restaurant industry experience to this conversation, where we dive deep into why she decided to start a mystery shopping business in her 20’s, how she grew Oren’s Hummus to 6 brick-and-mortar locations, and her thoughts on scaling with diversified revenue streams.
She shares her thoughts on virtual kitchens, storefront location selection, leveraging a commissary kitchen to help grow, counter service vs. full service business models, and much more.
Mistie is super sharp and accomplished, with decades of knowledge to share. Please enjoy my conversation with Mistie Boulton of Oren’s Hummus and EyeSpy!
––
Where to find Oren’s Hummus:

––
Where to find Mistie:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mistiecohen/

––
Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

––
Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

––
Referenced:

CTUIT

In this episode, we cover:

(01:15) How Mistie became CEO of two companies
(06:45) Lessons learned from managing multiple locations prior to starting EyeSpy & Oren’s
(10:41) Why she decided to start a business around Mystery Shopping
(12:25) EyeSpy’s services explained
(20:38) When they knew Oren’s was ready to expand
(22:11) Their biggest obstacles to expansion
(25:33) How CTUIT has helped Oren’s with wage and hours compliance
(28:09) Building out the team at Oren’s Hummus
(31:55) Building out the corporate “resource” team started at 3 locations
(35:57) Oren’s Hummus location strategy – “be where the tech companies are”
(37:55) Franchising as a growth strategy
(39:25) How Oren’s chose their growth channels
(41:50) Full service vs. counter service
(45:40) The most common mistakes she sees brands make when trying to grow
(46:55) How Oren’s tactically implements employee training
(48:13) On The Fly Segment