La Cocina Port Townsend opened its doors in downtown Port Townsend in 2021 serving authentic Mexican American food. Michelin-trained Chef, Lissette Garay, and Luxury Event Planner, Cassandra Garay, opened La Cocina Port Townsend to bring authentic Mexican cuisine with freshly made tortillas and traditional cooking techniques to the Pacific Northwest representing Lissette’s heritage and recipes passed down from her grandmothers and family. Cassandra’s father is a native born Washingtonian and wanted to connect her business to her family in the Pacific Northwest. Cassandra and Lissette worked with Rick Dickinson, one of CIE’s Business Advisors.
About La Cocina
La Cocina makes everything from scratch including the sauces, salsas, bread, and those delicious fluffy hand rolled flour tortillas that wrap around the new Port Townsend’s favorite burrito! Their specialty is the tortilla- both the corn and flour tortillas are made from scratch. The corn tortillas are made with organic corn (blue and yellow) that have undergone the nixtamal process which is an ancient practice in Mexico. The flour tortillas are rolled out by hand in big stacks each week, just as Lissette’s grandmother did every weekend for her family growing up. Their biggest focus is with community connection and using the closest products available including farms, brewers, wineries and coffee roasters! Using ingredients from their own backyard is important to support their local ecosystem and community alike.
Working with CIE
After completing the Start Simple Business Course CIE continues to support La Cocina Port Townsend during the start up process. According to owners Lisette and Cassandra, “The course provided us worksheets to help lay out our business plan and find focuses for a sound business. With one on one and group training sessions we were able to gain tools and receive advice to help assist us along with our beginning journey of opening our first business. CIE also connected us with many other local businesses and participants which have connected us to the community, including Juri Jennings of PT Peddler, a new partner and CIE client. CIE still checks in on us and provides assistance whenever we have questions beyond our reach.”
Lessons from Starting a Business
“There are a million lessons that both Lissette and I learned from opening La Cocina Port Townsend. Opening a restaurant and renovating the space we went into was a huge undertaking, but despite all of the challenges we persevered. Remember to always budget more than you think, work and put in the effort as if your life depended on it, and be kind to yourself - mistakes happen but learn from them.” -Cassandra Garay
Address | 221 Taylor Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368
Website | www.lacocinapt.com
Facebook | La Cocina Port Townsend
Instagram | lacocinapt
Soon to have products at PT Farmers Market & Chimacum Corner Farmstand