Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Clare Watson Bartolomei. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Clare, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Who is Lola? Are you Lola?

It’s a question we get a lot. The truth is that Lola is not just one person.
She is a figment of our imagination.
An amalgamation of powerful, bold, creative, original women. She is here, but also everywhere. She is an idea.

The next part of the conversation is my favorite, because everyone knows a Lola and they are excited to tell you all about her. And I love to hear it!

Lola is you. She is me. She is your grandmother. She is your daughter. She is your nephew.
She comes in so many endearing identities.

When we sought to find a name we wanted a single word, with well structured typography that could communicate the strong female energy that is the driving force behind our business.

Clare, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Lola’s is a women owned restaurant. Friends Corina Figueroa and Clare Watson Bartolomei opened Lola’s in October 2019 to create a concept in Omaha, NE that was everything they missed from New York City. By day this sunny daytime cafe is the place to go to work, have meetings, or lunch with friends that has it all — great espresso as well as healthy, fresh lunch options. By night it is a farm-to-table Mediterranean inspired restaurant and wine bar. It is very European in the idea that no matter what time of day it is you can walk in and find amazing food and drink and also in the integrity of the ingredients. It is elevated and refined, but still approachable and casual. Lola’s makes everything from scratch, including the sourdough bread and pastries made fresh every morning. It is a very vegetable forward concept without be exclusive to any one dietary preference.

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Our food journey together began back in 2008 when we shared a copy of In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. An inspiring book with a message that was simple and clear, yet somehow revolutionary: eat real food.
From this we each began a new relationship to food. Corina cooking, creating new recipes and starting a catering company. Clare wrote her a masters thesis on the importance of local food movements. While our journeys were separate they have often overlapped in our pursuits of beautiful, delicious, real food.
The concept for Lola’s is inspired by a decade of countless dinner parties and eating through restaurants, cafes, and bakeries in New York City where we both lived until recently. In that concrete jungle, simple, made-from-scratch, ingredient-driven food is not only expected it is celebrated.
Originally from Mexico City, Corina now calls Omaha home. Clare was born and raised in eastern Omaha. We are happy and excited to open Lola’s. Our first restaurant, but a concept that comes from a long history of being inspired to cook and eat.

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Our favorite thing about the restaurant is the opportunity it provides to create a space for people to gather to enjoy life’s most essential pleasures of food and human connection. The business is also proud of the way that we build our team on foundations of respect and support, working every day to improve the standard for how workers in this industry are treated.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think honesty, integrity, and hard work.
From the beginning we’ve had an unwavering commitment to quality of ingredients and production. We have stayed true to this throughout because we are willing to put in hard work to make it happen.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Being socked with a global pandemic five months after opening was a real blow that threatened our existence. We had built our concept on the idea that we would have foot traffic through our cafe. We had to find our resolve to continue and make it work in order to be open to exploring all of the ways our business could pivot to stay afloat.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lolasomaha.com
• Instagram: @lolasomaha
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lolasomaha/
• Yelp: https://www.facebook.com/lolasomaha/

Image Credits

Katie Largent