From Michelin-starred kitchens to building a dream together: The couple behind Miami’s Ophelia

Juan: We met working at Stubborn Seed. Ana was the pastry chef, and I was the sous-chef. We were part of the team that earned a Michelin star, which was a huge accomplishment.

I’ve been cooking since I was 15, and most of my career has been in fine dining. Later, I left Stubborn Seed to open Beauty and the Butcher as executive chef, and Ana joined me there as pastry chef.

Eventually, I reached a point where I was completely burned out. I needed a break from the demands of fine dining, so I left and took some time off.

During that period, I started a small sandwich pop-up called Entrepán. It only lasted about ten weeks because the location closed, but that experience changed everything.

Ana would come help me on her days off, working the register and serving customers. We would finish the night feeling so happy. There’s something special about making the food, interacting directly with the people eating it, and building those relationships.

That’s when we really caught the entrepreneurial bug. We started going home and talking about how we could create something together.

Ana: My mom was always cooking. Growing up in Venezuela, we could be missing just about anything at home, but never food. I loved watching her cook and helping her in the kitchen.

When I moved to New York at 18, I started taking the idea of becoming a chef more seriously. I enrolled in a culinary program, and it was during an internship in France that I discovered my love for pastry.

I had tried savory cooking, but when I was placed in the pastry station, everything clicked. I loved the artistic side of it, the creativity, the precision, and the patience it required.

Ana: Everything we make is about quality, and we love taking familiar flavors and giving them a little twist. One of my favorites is actually the breakfast sandwich Juan created. It's made with our homemade bread and a really flavorful sauce. We have customers who come back almost every day for it!

I also love our chocolate chip cookie. It sounds simple, but we make it with really good-quality chocolate, and I still haven’t gotten tired of eating it.

And then there’s our take on the classic Miami guava and cheese pastry, which is really popular. We use a caramelized croissant-style pastry filled with a combination of feta and cream cheese, then finish it with homemade guava jam.

It’s that perfect combination of sweet and savory, with a little French influence.

Juan: We spent about five months looking at properties, negotiating leases, talking to attorneys, and calculating expenses. 

We were really determined to open a brick-and-mortar location.But the more we looked into it, the more we realized we didn't have anywhere near enough money.

I’ve worked in Miami’s restaurant industry for many years, so I reached out to owners I knew. They would ask how much money we had, and when I told them, they would explain that it wasn’t nearly enough to open the kind of place we wanted.

That’s when we had to rethink our plan.My family had been telling me for years that I should open a food truck. I was never particularly interested in the idea, but eventually I started thinking about how we could do something different.

I researched vintage campers and trailers and found a company that could manufacture a custom trailer for us.

I designed everything on paper, from the dimensions and windows to the materials and wheels. They built it affordably and it gave us a way to launch our concept without the enormous investment of opening a traditional restaurant.

Ana: No, and I think that’s one of the reasons having a partner was so important. 

Juan was already out of the fine dining world, so he was able to dedicate his time to researching, planning, and designing everything. I continued working at Stubborn Seed because we needed that financial stability. 

I was working around 60 hours a week, so I couldn't have managed all the planning and execution on my own. Juan really led that part of the project, and I didn’t leave my job until we were about a month away from being ready.

We supported each other in different ways, and that made a huge difference.

Juan: We used our savings. By that point, I had been without a job for several months, so I'd already used a good portion of mine. Ana was still working and had her savings, which really helped us.

We were also very conscious of keeping our initial investment as low as possible.

Ana: We went to the bank and spoke with someone who helped us understand our options and how we could use credit to support the business.

We were able to use a credit card that offered a year without interest. That was a huge help because we could purchase equipment, supplies, and other things we needed without having to pay for everything upfront. But we were very careful about it. We knew that when that year ended, the balance needed to be paid. 

It was about using credit intelligently and understanding our responsibilities.

Ana: Don’t assume everything has to be brand new. I think a lot of people get caught up in wanting the newest or most expensive equipment, but those expenses add up very quickly.

Juan is really good at researching and finding the best prices, and that saved us a lot of money.

Juan: We needed a commercial oven that would have cost about $15,000 new. I researched and found a used one for $2,000. We made approximately 30,000 breakfast sandwiches using that oven before we finally replaced it.

Ana: That’s a perfect example. Buying used equipment where it makes sense can make a tremendous difference when you’re starting a business.

Juan: Our trailer is designed for serving food rather than preparing everything from scratch, so we needed a separate licensed production kitchen.

At first, we explored shared commercial kitchens, but there were challenges with coordinating equipment and schedules when several businesses were operating in the same space.

So, we started looking for another solution and reached out to friends who had a catering business. We proposed renting space in their kitchen during times when they weren't using it. It was beneficial for both sides. They could generate additional income from their space, and we had somewhere to prepare our food without taking on the full expense of running a kitchen.

Ana: We stayed there for about a year. It allowed us to keep our expenses manageable and save money until we were ready to have our own production kitchen.

Sometimes you just have to think differently and explore opportunities you might not have considered initially.

Ana: I think it brings you closer together.When you’re building something as a couple, you know you’re both working toward the same future. 

There’s a shared commitment, and you’re both making sacrifices because you believe in what you’re creating.

I believe that’s something really special, knowing that you’re working together toward a dream that belongs to both of you.

Ana: Learning when to stop talking about work!

We spend all day working together, and then we go home and sometimes continue discussing the business.

Juan is much better at disconnecting than I am. I’m always thinking about something that needs to be done or worrying about something.

I have to remind myself that when we get home, we’re not coworkers anymore.

We're a couple, and we need to make time to nurture our relationship.Of course, we disagree sometimes. When you’re exhausted or stressed, it’s easy to bring that frustration home.

My advice to other couples would be not to go to bed angry. Talk things through, recognize when you’ve made a mistake, apologize when necessary, and start fresh the next day.

Juan: My advice depends on their experience.If you’ve spent years working in an industry and understand how it operates, I'd say go for it. 

But if you’ve never worked in a bakery, for example, and suddenly decide you want to open one, I’d recommend getting experience first. Whatever you think the workload is when you’re an employee, multiply that by ten when you become the owner.

Let’s say you dream of opening a flower shop. My advice would be to go work at a flower shop for a few years first. You’ll learn how the business operates, what equipment you need, how to take care of the flowers, and just as importantly, you’ll build relationships with suppliers and people in that industry. Those connections can make a huge difference when you’re ready to start your business.

And start as small as possible. Test your concept and see if people respond to it before committing to something that could put you in serious financial trouble.

Ana: I agree. Today there are so many ways to try out a business idea without immediately opening a storefront.

If you want to sell cookies, for example, start at a farmers market. See how people react to your product, learn what works, and grow from there. You can also go to the bank and explore what resources are available to you. 

Having access to credit with no interest for that first year was a tremendous help for us, but you have to understand the terms and plan how you’re going to repay it.

My biggest message is to start small, learn as you go, and grow when you’re ready.

Juan: One hundred percent.But it’s not easy. Since we opened, we’ve been working 16-hour days, six days a week. Even on our day off, part of that time usually goes toward the business.

It’s a huge sacrifice, and you really have to love what you’re doing.

Ana: One of my favorite parts is the community we’ve built. We have customers who come back almost every day, and we’ve gotten to know so many people by name.

We live in Coconut Grove, and sometimes we run into customers in the neighborhood and say hello. That’s something we both really love.

It’s about more than just making food. We’re building relationships with people, and that’s incredibly rewarding.