16 JUNE 2021 I was a first-grade teacher in the Isaac School District. After that, I worked in mortgages for a while, and then I started working with pastries. This industry isn’t always fun; it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done! You have to make sure you have the right mix of people in your restaurant to help it flow smoothly. When you’re not at the restaurant, what are you doing? JULIE: I manage my dad’s businesses. And I have six kids – so that keeps me pretty busy. JUSTINE: I’m probably hanging with my daughter. What is the best part of working in the industry? JUSTINE: Easy to answer this one. It’s my team. It’s the people I get to work with every day. My customers are pretty amazing, too, so maybe that’s a tie. Tell us about the pop-up taco shop that’s recently taken up residence at Jewel’s. JULIE: Yes! The Tru Taco pop-up shop is every Thursday through Saturday from By Mallory Gleich J ulie Moreno and her daughter, Justine Dachel, are Arcadia-born- and-bred restauranteurs whose goal is to change the game when it comes to gluten-free food. After Julie’s second daughter, Sophia, started experiencing food allergies, she and Justine started creating traditional and new recipes sans gluten. What started as an in-home operation grew to become Jewel’s Bakery & Café, located at 40th St. and Thomas Road – an endeavor that continues to grow in popularity since they opened eight years ago. What’s the story behind Jewel’s Bakery? JULIE: My nickname is Jewel, so that’s where the name came from. We started baking pastries out of my kitchen, thanks to cottage law (a regulation that permits people to make homemade products and commercially sell them). We made pastries and bread, and it just got so busy that we decided to open a restaurant. Sophia was sick with a lot of food allergies and gluten sensitivity, so I started researching different recipes because I had a big family to feed, and it was hard to keep her stuff separate and make different meals. I started messing around [with the recipes] because when I tried to serve my whole family a gluten- free meal, they would get mad at me! Plus, it’s expensive, and back then, there wasn’t really a variety. That’s where we started – in 2013 – and we’ve been here for around eight years. Justine took over fully in January 2018. Justine, how did you get into the restaurant business? I started working in restaurants when I was 16. I worked every position, from host to dishwasher. Cooking has always been in my blood, so it was easy for me to just fall in love with the entire operation. To this day, you will still find me washing dishes, cooking on the line and talking with my customers. I’m a third-generation restaurant owner, so it was really just a natural step. But we did farmers markets for three years to build our brand before we opened our brick and mortar. I love just to do it all. 6 p.m. until they run out. My daughter is married to the kitchen manager here, and his father worked at Tacos Chiwas for many years. After he lost his job there, he started the pop-up, and since we have the space, we offered for them to do it here. They offer various tacos, like the al pastor or the carne asada. There’s even one with a Flaming Hot Cheeto tortilla. What’s in store for the future of Jewel’s? JULIE: People are always asking us to expand – but one place is a lot, so that’s a maybe. We’re also working on getting my flour line produced. It will have brownie and cake mixes and all kinds of stuff that’s better than what’s out there. I also plan on starting up my baking/decorating classes again. In May, I did a Mother’s Day-themed class and hope to come up with another one soon. JUSTINE: We launched Tru Tacos pretty recently. They stay true to our roots of being 100% gluten-free. So many Mexican foods are naturally gluten-free – most people don’t realize that. It’s been going really well, so we plan on growing that the same way we did with Jewel’s! In the Kitchen Justine Dachel & Julie Moreno, owners of Jewel’s Bakery & Café What kind of cuisine is at your restaurant? JULIE: I would say it’s homey food mixed with healthier options. Home- style with a tie to New Mexico because that’s where my mom’s side of the family is from. A lot of chilies – a lot of Southwestern things. JUSTINE: It’s comfort food for sure, but it’s all handmade and fresh to order. We use local and all-natural ingredients. What sets us apart is that it is all food you wouldn’t think would be gluten-free. Tell us about the most popular item on the menu. JULIE: We sell so much chicken. Our chicken and waffles, the Nashville hot sandwich and the ones served on waffle buns are definitely the most popular. Where do you get inspiration for your dishes? JULIE: Right now, I mostly handle the pastries – so weirdly enough, I watch a lot of reels on Instagram to see how other people are cooking and find and learn different techniques. I just got a new mousse cake mold, and they have insane shapes. I made a geode cake, too, and it’s really cool. JUSTINE: The inspiration is giving our customers something they haven’t been able to have in a long time, or maybe never had. I’ve had people cry over eating our fried chicken because it had been years since they’ve gotten to eat it. Julie, where did you learn to cook? From my mom and grandma. They’ve always cooked and baked. My mom’s mom was really into cakes, and my mom made cakes, so I started teaching myself. That’s the main thing I do here now – help with cakes and pastries. Every pastry – gluten and not gluten – I basically taught myself how to make. Savory dishes always came naturally to me, ever since I was a kid. But you weren’t always in the restaurant industry… No – before I had my second child, 4041 E. Thomas Road • jewelsgfcafemenu.com

Phoenix Country Day School Celebrates the Class of 202 1 ! We are so proud of our PCDS Seniors and can’t wait to see the wonderful things they do next. Our 75 graduates will attend 51 different colleges and universities across 2 3 states and 2 countries. This year’s graduating class includes 5 NCAA college athletes, and 18 “lifers” who began their PCDS journey in either pre-K or Kindergarten. Hats off, Seniors! We are so proud of you! Congrats AD PV Independent.pdf 1 5/ 20/21 1 0:00a.m.