Meet Justine Dachel of Jewel’s Bakery & Cafe in Arcadia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justine Dachel.

Justine, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started working in restaurants when I was 16, I took the first job I ever interviewed for, and I never looked back. I started as a host and quickly wanted to learn every position in the place. I washed dishes, worked salad, tried to work the line as much as a 16-year-old 5’4 girl could work, I served tables. I was in love with it. The industry has always been in my blood though, my great grandparents owned a tiny little cafe in New Mexico. My grandparents opened a restaurant with my mother here in the valley in 2014. And now I’m fourth generation restaurant owner. Though to be honest, I never expected I would be owning my own restaurant at 28 years old.

When I was growing up my family loved to cook, my grandmother passed down her skills to me. Her father had taught her when she was little to make fresh tamales, red chile sauce for enchiladas, carne adovada, to name a few of his specialties. Some of the best memories I have are waking up in NM, walking in the kitchen, and my grandmother and her mom already started a batch of fresh tortillas. They would teach me how to roll them out in perfect circles, making it look so effortless. I always loved to cook, but I never thought I could be a chef, that was a dude thing to do. So I went to college for business, but after working in restaurants to put myself through college, I knew that was my passion.

So I quit college and worked my way up to management. I worked in a bunch of restaurants here in Phoenix, and also for a year in Denver. I even worked with Pillsbury Wine and sold wine to restaurants before I landed a General Management position working for Press Coffee’s new food & wine location on McDowell and Central. I loved working for Steve, he’s brilliant and I still use a lot of the things he taught me about running a business.

In January of 2018, after four years, my mother was ready to throw in the towel with the restaurant she had opened with her parents. So I used my 11 years of restaurant and management experience and took over the family business. But six months in I lost my Chef, and I was kinda freaking out and scrambling to find someone to replace him. After placing ads, and asking my industry friends, I found some pretty good candidates. But I wanted to change the perception of gluten-free food, I wanted a name in the valley, I wanted more than what my parents had left behind. So I knew I had to do it myself because I was going to be the only one who knew what direction I wanted to go. I jumped in the kitchen, started creating my own recipes, restructuring everything. It wasn’t easy, the only time I had been on the line was to help when I was needed. I had to dig deep and remember that I actually knew how to cook, I just had to apply it to my restaurant. Here I am today, launching my second menu, working on new projects, finally loving what I do and every single moment of it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Restaurant life for my mother here in Phoenix wasn’t easy, and after four years she was ready to sell it. I don’t blame her, the restaurant was in crisis. It was losing 30k a month and the bank account had zero dollars in it when I took over. I didn’t know how I was going to pay my staff, or the past vendors she owed, let alone have money to invest in the small things I needed to, like a working oven. I would imagine from the outside it looked like I was gifted this awesome family restaurant. And it was awesome, it IS awesome, but on the inside it had a lot…I mean a lot of core issues. But I struggled through it, I put on my big girl pants and I wasn’t afraid to work 120 hours a week to get it back to a point where it was profiting. I ended the 2018 year with a 10% profit margin, and nothing has ever felt so good in my life. I found my passion, I found myself, and I gained so many great friends in the process. Everyone in the industry has been so kind to me, and so helpful, this community is amazing and I’m very lucky to be a part of it.

Jewel’s Bakery & Cafe – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
When my sister was ten, she was diagnosed with Celiac disease, so my mom started baking and experimenting with gluten-free flours. That is when she created our flour blend we use for everything in the cafe. She started baking for farmers markets, and we became popular very quickly. I’m not gluten-free, I eat anything and everything, so when I took over I knew everything we served couldn’t taste like it was. Gluten-free has this stigma around it, that it all tastes bad or that it’s bad for you if you’re not Celiac. So many things are naturally GF. People will come into the cafe and say “wow how do you make bacon and potatoes gluten-free?”, they don’t understand it. So it’s our job to educate, to show them it doesn’t have to taste like cardboard. This restaurant is for everyone, food allergies or not. It’s a safe haven for people with allergies or intolerances to come and feel like they are normal, they don’t have to order off of a special menu that contains salad and rice bowls…it’s real food. I always challenge people who can eat gluten to come in and try my food, tell me you can taste the difference. I want people to come here and walk out with a different perspective on food allergies.

As a chef, I hear so many other chefs say, “I hate catering to people with food allergies, just don’t go out to eat if you can’t eat my food”. I think they are just afraid of a challenge. I love the challenge, I strive to conquer it. Tell me your gluten-free and dairy-free and you don’t eat meat either, I will make you a meal that will change your life….and bring your friend that eats everything and tell me they don’t love it too. I’m out to change the game, one GF hater at a time.

Tell us about your favorite and least favorites things about our city.
I’m born and raised in the 480! I love everything about this city, the people, the growing food scene, the uniquely Arizona culture. Where else can you get amazing local wine with grapes grown in our own backyard, then go take a stroll downtown and pick anything from Thai food to gourmet hotdogs? I used to think it was boring growing up, but as I got older, I started to appreciate everything we have here. The Arcadia orange trees that grow such beautiful fruit, we can grow almost anything here, the local produce is endless! There really isn’t anything I don’t like, even the weather. When it’s 120 degrees out, it’s time to head to the pool with a cold one!

Contact Info:

• Address: 4041 E Thomas Rd Phoenix, AZ 85018
• Website: jewelsgfcafe.com
• Phone: 602-714-5243
• Instagram: @justdachef @jewelsgfcafe
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jewelsgfcafe/

Image Credit:
@iamchanelle

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