Cinthya Cisneros the Founder of La Cheve Bakery and Brews in Napa.
As a child Cinthya Cisneros never told her family: “I am going to be a business owner when I grow up.” In fact, Cisneros did not even have an inkling that she would one day be the proud owner of La Cheve Bakery and Brews in Napa.
“As a kid I was a big planner, but I think life kind of throws things at you to kind of get comfortable with not following a plan,” says Cisneros.
“Also, I think because I was undocumented for such a long time, I didn’t have a plan,” she says about her family immigrating from Michoacan, Mexico to Napa when she was 4. “I was playing it day by day; I would just work really hard that day and then the next day I would do it again and the next day and the next day.”
That hard work led her on a path to earning a BS in chemistry from Sonoma State University—she proudly declares herself “a big science nerd”—a degree she parlayed into stints working with the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office, teaching chemistry at a Sacramento High School and, upon returning to Napa in 2018, a part-time position at Stone Brewing Company in Napa. Her interest in brewing stems from her teaching days when, wanting to learn a new skill during one winter break, she and her father picked up a new hobby, brewing beer.
The pair read up on the ins and outs of brewing and Cinthya became fascinated by the water-quality aspect of the process. She explained how two beers can have the exact same recipe yet taste completely different based on the water chemistry. Beyond the pure intrigue in the science behind it, Cinthya was overjoyed that she could bond with her dad over something like beer. Eventually, she and her dad’s hobby turned serious—developing recipes and brewing small batches at local facilities. Soon, Cisneros was scouting out locations to open La Cheve, the Spanish word for beer.
In 2020, La Cheve Bakery and Brews opened in a renovated adobe on 376 Soscol Ave., serving all-day brunch with a menu mixing savory Mexican-inspired brunch/lunch specialties and pastries and an extensive beer menu. Cisneros, 33, runs a true family operation with her mom and dad on board, and several extended family members joining the team as well.
Visit ilovelacheve.com for more information on La Cheve Bakery and Brews.
What inspires the makeup of the menu?
My cultura, honestly. Literally what my parents cooked at home and what we enjoyed at home is what you are enjoying. There are some things that we married at La Cheve. Once we saw La Cheve’s personality come about and what people really liked about it, we went kind of crazy with it.
What’s a menu item you ‘went crazy’ with?
We always enjoyed chile verde by itself but I thought how cool it would be if we marry it with the eggs Benedict. And that’s when we thought: Oh, this could be a hit. And sure enough it’s a hit and people love it. It’s something super different but also carries the classic flavors that we know in our Mexican cultura. We also wanted to make sure that all of our items were made with vegetable shortening so that way if someone is vegan we can still invite them into our casita to enjoy a meal.
Who are your role models?
I feel so cliché saying my parents, but it really is my parents. I think having the guts to leave everything behind for your kids is just—wow. I put myself in their shoes, it’s like if I left right now to live in China and have nothing, no money, not knowing the language. That’s scary. But then being very willing to learn from their daughter—to still get uncomfortable and leave their 30-plus year jobs and do this crazy thing with me, I admire that a lot.
Name your menu favorite.
I have my six-month benders with all of my items. I eat something and I’m like, “OMG!” and then I get it every day for like six months. I think right now the hit for me is the chile verde, I’ve been eating it every day. I’ve done that with my chilaquiles; I’ve done that with the huevos rancheros. I’m a brunch girl so this is all my jam, but right now it’s the childe-verde Benny for sure.
Has your culture influenced how you conduct business?
I think it’s [influenced] everything about my business. I think in our cultura, family is everything and I think you always have that one person in your household who kind of runs the family. And for me, it’s always been my grandma, she is the lead. When I was creating La Cheve—obviously the name says beer—but I wanted to create a space that even your abuelita can go and drink a beer. And that was like the root of it all. When my cooks are making the food I want them to envision as if their grandma was eating that plate. When my servers and runners are running the food, I want them to serve it as if it was to their own abuelita. With that respect, joy, comfort and warmth you should feel as though you are at your grandma’s house. Our slogan is literally “where you can bring your abuelita for a beer or two.”
Have you been getting community support for the restaurant?
What I really love is that I have been getting a lot more [media] interviews where people are creating a list of women-owned businesses, or they are creating a list of Latino-owned businesses. And I think that is cool that people are trying to actively search for these places. Or even people just on the search bar on [social media], you know I ask people how they find us and they are like—I looked up Latino-owned restaurants in Napa. And we are of the ones who pop up.
What do you like about being a business owner?
I guess I fell in love with how powerful having this kind of business is for our comunidad. I love how my business has changed me and how it’s allowed me to grow and expand the way I think. I feel like the way I think is a lot more broad.
How do you like working with your family?
Naturally it’s going to have its challenges, but I think it made our relationship really strong. It’s been really cool to see how much they have fallen in love with their talents. And having a space to do what they want. I love when my mom comes. For example, she recently suggested a “bun͂uelo cheesecake,” and I was like, “man that sounds hella good.” And seeing her getting excited about that—and my dad gets really excited about the specials we roll out, he’s my specials guy. He’s always going on YouTube and seeing how people in Zacatecas cook certain things or in Oaxaca—he’s a virtual learner all of a sudden, which was born because of La Cheve. I’m really proud of that.
