Behind the Counter: Daniella Senior, Bar Nuestro

I love when I get to sit down with Daniella Senior, because it means she’s up to something new again, and it’s always delicious. Daniella is a good friend, and she’s also one of the very few female restaurateurs not just in DC, but in the entire country, building an actual hospitality empire.

Her story starts at 13, launching a catering business in the Dominican Republic, and it hasn’t slowed down since. She’s a Culinary Institute of America grad and a Certified Sommelier who trained under Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin, ran operations for José Andrés at Zaytinya, and served as regional director for Richard Sandoval Restaurants before striking out on her own. In 2016, she founded Colada Shop, now seven locations deep across the DMV. In 2017, she opened the Michelin-starred Bresca. In 2019, she launched Serenata at La Cosecha Market, which evolved into Elegancia earlier this year. She’s a Forbes Next 1000 honoree, a James Beard Women’s Leadership Fellow, a Culinary Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State, and one of the most vocal advocates I know for women and minorities in this industry.

And now, her newest concept: Bar Nuestro, opening at Urby in Navy Yard, a Latin-rooted, European-inspired bistro that, true to its name, is meant to belong to everyone who walks through the door.

I got Daniella behind the counter to talk about how one concept leads to the next, what actually goes into opening a restaurant before anyone ever sees the dining room, and why she decided to let all of us watch this one come together in real time.

Behind the Counter With Daniella Senior

How did the evolution of Colada Shop lead you to open Elegancia, and now Bar Nuestro?

Colada Shop was the beginning of everything for me. It was the moment I trusted myself fully, my instincts, my background, my voice, and built something that reflected who I am and where I come from. Once that trust was there, it became easier to imagine what else could exist inside that same spirit. Elegancia let me explore a different side of hospitality, something a little more elevated and cocktail-driven, while still holding onto the warmth and culture that started it all. Bar Nuestro feels like the next natural step in that evolution. It’s Latin-American roots meeting European inspiration, a bistro that’s both nostalgic and contemporary, built by a team that’s grown alongside me. Each concept has taught me something that made the next one possible.

What is the spirit and vision behind the ecosystem of restaurants and bars that now make up 5C Hospitality Group? What are its core values?

5C Hospitality is a platform for everything I believe hospitality should be: culturally driven, community-rooted, and grounded in real storytelling. The vision is to grow thoughtfully, without losing the spirit that defines each concept. At the core, it comes down to joy, warmth, and a sense of belonging. I want every space we build to be a place where people feel seen and cared for, whether that’s a guest walking in for the first time or someone on our team who’s been with us for years. Hospitality is an art, but it only works if the people behind it feel supported. I lead with empathy and honesty, and that’s the foundation everything else is built on.

How do you maintain each concept’s unique identity while still communicating the same core values?

Every concept needs its own soul. Colada Shop, Elegancia, and now Bar Nuestro all look and feel different, they have different energy, different menus, different design languages, but they’re all built from the same values underneath. That’s intentional.

As we’ve grown, we’ve made very deliberate choices about our people, our spaces, and how we show up in each community, so that growth never feels generic. I think of it like family: everyone has their own personality, but there’s a shared way we treat people and a shared standard we hold ourselves to. Protecting that soul is just as important to me as expanding it.

Bar Nuestro is your most recent project. What’s the vision you have for it?

Bar Nuestro is meant to feel like exactly what its name means in Spanish: “our bar.” A place that belongs to the neighborhood as much as it belongs to every single patron that comes through its doors. It’s a Latin-rooted, European-inspired bistro opening at Urby in Navy Yard, where our Culinary Director, Claudio Foschi, and Executive Chef, Harper McClure, will bring together classic European technique with vibrant Latin flavor. The design, led by Shawn Hausman, draws from mid-century Latin America, retro charm, warm textures, playful color, so the space itself tells the same story the food does. I wanted to build somewhere people can have a lively night at the bar, share plates with friends, or sit down for a celebratory dinner, all in one room that feels rooted in heritage and refreshed for today.

How does Bar Nuestro complement your other concepts?

Each concept speaks to a different part of who I am, and Bar Nuestro fills a piece that felt missing. Colada Shop is our everyday joy, approachable and rooted in Cuban identity. Elegancia is a more elevated cocktail experience. Bar Nuestro sits in its own lane: a full neighborhood bistro with a global spirit, blending European technique with Latin heart. Together, they reflect the full range of how I think about hospitality, from a quick café moment to a celebratory night out, but they’re all speaking the same language of culture, connection, and community.

You’ve been sharing many behind-the-scenes decisions leading up to the opening of Bar Nuestro on Instagram. Why did you decide to pull the curtain?

This goes back to the literal meaning of “Bar Nuestro” in Spanish, as I mentioned before. People are genuinely curious about what goes into opening a restaurant, and they deserve to see it, even before we open its doors. So much of what guests experience on opening night comes from hundreds of small, unglamorous decisions made months in advance. I wanted to invite people into that process, not just the finished product. It also felt true to who I am as a leader. I try to be clear, consistent, and present, and sharing the real process, including the messy parts, extends that same honesty.

What are some of the decisions that people tend to overlook, but are crucial to opening a hospitality operation?

People see the final dining room and the finished menu, not the hundreds of decisions that got us there: how we costed every dish, how we built the labor model before hiring anyone, and how we chose vendors we could actually rely on when supply gets unpredictable. Design decisions like Shawn’s retro-modern vision for the space take just as much planning as the food does. None of it is glamorous, but it all determines whether a restaurant can stay open and take care of its people once the doors are open.

What do you wish people knew more about these behind-the-scenes decisions, and what do you hope they take away from this content, as well as from Bar Nuestro once it opens?

I wish people understood that a busy restaurant isn’t the same as a successful one. Hospitality is an art, but survival is math, and every behind-the-scenes decision is someone trying to make that math work without losing the heart of the place. What I hope people take from the content is a little more appreciation for everything that goes into building a space like this, and a little more connection to it before they’ve even walked through the door. And when Bar Nuestro opens, I hope they feel exactly what the name promises: that it’s theirs too, a place rooted in heritage, built with intention, where they feel like they belong.

To find out more about Daniella and her concepts visit, here.