Recently, while writing a profile on Tomo restaurant for Seattle Refined, I had the opportunity to interview several people who have been involved in creating such a singular experience for diners in White Center. Their stories were so rich that it was an almost impossible task to edit our conversations down to just a few lines in the final story. So, without the constraints of story structure or word counts, I’m happy to share the full Q&A with the two driving forces behind Tomo – Jessica Powers and Brady Williams.

Dynamic duo: Jessica Powers and Brady Williams 

Jenise Silva: How long have the two of you known each other and/or been working together? And how did you meet?

Jessica Powers: We met at a restaurant in 2018. Brady was the executive chef and I worked with the owners. We rarely crossed paths at work but when we did, we’d find ourselves laughing at the same things which led to a friendship outside of work and eventually a romantic relationship. We started talking and have never stopped. 

Tomo is Brady’s brainchild and the restaurant he’s been wanting to open since the beginning of his career–one that rejects the formality of fine dining while remaining dedicated to craft and providing pleasure to others. I introduced Brady to his business partner, designers, architect, general contractor, etc., and assumed ‘connection’ would be the end of my participation in the project but as our daily conversations around it became more serious, we decided to formalize our collaboration. Experiencing the wilds of restaurant life together on a daily basis is a total trip! 

Brady Williams: Early on in Tomo’s conceptualization, the conversations Jessica and I had around the project surprised us, drummed up excitement for both of us, and made us realize that we could collaborate together on the restaurant in a meaningful way. We had a lot of fun dreaming and scheming which made us want to continue on this path together rather than take different routes once we opened. It’s fun to work with your best friend, your partner, and the people you love the most. 

Creative Outlets

JS: What inspired you to become a cook and/or to become part of the hospitality community?  How long have you been cooking and/or where/how many places have you plied your crafts?

JP: The majority of my career has been in mission-driven, arts-based environments. Art and hospitality are about crafting personal, meaningful, and unexpected experiences for the public so the transition was fairly seamless for me. In gallery work, you push differently. It’s more project-based… Fits and starts. In restaurants, you are ON 24/7. After my Tomo workweek, I need sleep! I love the social nature of hospitality work, the instant community/bond formed with other people who work in the industry, and when strangers become guests then friends. I love how brilliant and unemployable (I mean this as the highest compliment) people in this industry tend to be. Most are far too smart and principled to stomach working a job for a company that makes or sells unnecessary or nefarious products. 

BW: I am a self-taught chef. I was pursuing a professional hockey career and began working at my grandparents’ diner in Southern California as a way to help out while at home rehabbing a serious injury. I actually didn’t take to it at first and was turned off by the stress of running a small restaurant – long days, little money, etc. 

I grew up in a multi-generational household eating a mix of my grandmother’s traditional Japanese cooking and fast food. During my adult stint at home, I would spend a lot of time with my extended family. Much of that time was spent cooking together. We had a lot of family BBQs. Cooking as a way of connecting to people felt right to me and also provided a creative outlet. I began learning more about food and started taking cooking as a hobby more seriously.  

There was a gap between that season of my life and formal restaurant work. I had developed a passion for cooking but had never really considered it as a viable career. Honestly, through blogs and message boards like eGullet (this was the mid-aughts) I discovered a world of restaurants and chefs that were previously unknown to me. 

I was worried that I was entering the cooking game ‘late’ by industry standards. I knew I had to take a direct and persistent approach to enter the field. I started by knocking on the doors of a few places I respected to gain entry-level experience. That strategy worked and I kept seeking out the places I wanted to be and the people I wanted to learn from. Ultimately, I landed at Roberta’s and Blanca in Brooklyn and was lucky to work directly with Carlo Mirarchi who took me under his wing. It was there that I learned how to really think about food, about the quality of ingredients, about simplicity and balance in cooking. 

Eventually, I was approached by Canlis to join their restaurant as their sixth-ever executive chef. I was 28. I wasn’t necessarily looking to leave New York, but saw it as a good opportunity and challenging next step in my career. I worked there for six years before developing Tomo. 

JS: What’s one of your favorite cuisines (maybe obvious because of your concept) or individual dishes (to eat and/or to cook) and why? What’s one of your favorite ingredients and why?

BW: I’ve lived all over the country and have been exposed to a ton of regional cuisines. While my cooking has a natural Japanese influence due to my heritage, I tend to love eating and cooking comfort food regardless of cuisine. I actually enjoy cooking on my days off and am drawn to foods that I don’t necessarily get to make in the restaurant context – long braises, pasta, hearty stews, etc – or things I crave and want to recreate from places I’ve lived. I want a club sandwich or patty melt more often than not. 

JP: I’m all over the map. I wake up thinking about food and what I might eat in Seattle that day. Right now, I’m thinking about pickled vegetables from Kamonegi, geoduck from Taylor Shellfish, Brady’s carbonara, matzo ball soup from Volunteer Park Cafe, giant dirty martinis and pasta from Machiavelli, cheeseburgers from Loretta’s, salt and pepper quail from Billiard Hoang, Ezell’s… 

Champions of Community

JS: What if anything in addition to COVID prompted you two to start Tomo and why in Seattle?

BW: After a half-decade of hard work and growth at Canlis, I decided to leave and explore what a different and extended engagement with this city might look like. I came to the PNW for that specific job but decided to stay for the community. It’s the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere in my life and the place that I now call home.

I wanted to open my first restaurant in a neighborhood where Jessica and I spend our personal time which narrowed the search to White Center, the ID, South Park, or the greater Rainier Beach area. White Center is a neighborhood of independent businesses and specialists and I feel at home here. Before signing our lease, I talked to a lot of friends who live nearby, neighbors, and neighboring businesses who were excited about the addition of something vastly different opening on 16th and adding to the fabric of the community. 

Leaving a stable position and taking the risk to branch out, conceptualize, build, and open a restaurant during the pandemic might not seem like the soundest decision, but I genuinely want to contribute to the rebuilding of an industry I care deeply about. 

JP: I have tried to leave Seattle but keep coming back. I love the PNW but think that there is a disconnect between the availability of local, high-quality ingredients and what is actually served at restaurants. Exorbitant commercial rents mean that too many restaurants are huge, corporate, and frankly uninspired. I think we can only become a *great* food city if talented staff can afford to live, work, and make independent projects happen here. We also need to prioritize advocacy and mentorship (shoutout SRU), support BIPOC and/or immigrant-run businesses (Spice Bridge/Food Innovation Network comes to mind), and we also need to make it easier for cottage food-based concepts to operate (hello, DUMPL). 

JS: Did you host any pop-ups or concept dinners before you opened?

BW: No. We purposefully were quiet about our plans. We didn’t know if we were going to be able to open the restaurant at full capacity and with the uncertainty of shutdowns/reopenings, we had to remain nimble with the opening details until the last minute. I suppose our first official “service” consisted of Seattle Dogs under a pop-up tent. Our kitchen team sold footlongs at a block party in collaboration with Moonshot to raise money for the July 5th 16th Ave fire victims two days before we opened to the public. 

JP: Brady was asked to execute a few private dinners before the restaurant opened and some members of our current team worked them. They were fun and we were… rusty if I am being completely honest! The local population was largely unvaccinated during Tomo’s planning phase and it didn’t feel right to gather en masse for pop-ups or preview events. 

Dream Team

JS: How did you source purveyors? Recruit your team?

BW: I’ve spent the last six years developing relationships with farmers, fisherpeople, ranchers, artisans, foragers – all of whom I consider collaborators. I am constantly searching for new and exciting producers to work with. The ability to work symbiotically is important. Integrous practices regarding farming, harvesting, and labor are important to me.  

JP: Some of our team members had worked with Brady in the past and wanted to continue that relationship. Other staff members are artist friends who need part-time work to allow for more time in the studio. Some of the team members are corporate expats who wanted a change of pace and a different lifestyle. We posted job opportunities on social media and online and prioritized hiring applicants who live in the neighborhood. 

BW: We have a really well-rounded/mix of staff who are passionate about their crafts and hospitality but aren’t into the idea of ‘family’ that restaurants often sell. We are building a culture based on collaboration, fun, and learning, with the goal of constant self and group improvement. 

JS: What did you learn or what’s been most surprising to you about operating your own restaurant? And where /how do you want to see it go or grow?

BW: I’ve opened a handful of restaurants for other people, so in some ways, I knew what to expect concerning the challenges, expenses, and stressors. Restaurants are organs and need to be fed *healthy things* to survive and thrive. When I think of growth, I think of the depth and quality of the food, beverage, and service but not necessarily expansion. I want our restaurant to be a leader in the restaurant and broader community and industry in the way we operate, in the things we prioritize, and in the way we treat our staff. 

JP: Restaurants are a true lesson in interdependence. Everyone is equally necessary and you really feel it when one person is out. I have also been surprised at how ‘easy’ it is to run a business without being greedy. We are definitely leaving money on the table by being open 4 days a week instead of 7 but time and quality of life are more valuable. I hope for constant revision more than growth. What can we do with less? How can we be better? How can we be more generous with the space and resources we have?

JS: What’s something you think is important to know about the way you two move in the industry/ broader community?

JP: We are extremely hands-on/involved in the day-to-day operations of the restaurant. We don’t ‘duck in’ to check up on things or spend our time traveling. We are in White Center all the time learning and failing and improving and building relationships. In terms of how we move in the broader community, I would say that we share a desire for everyone to live with dignity and that informs our actions on a daily basis. 

BW: What Jessica said really resonates. We are here almost every day. I don’t see that changing. I had a great conversation with a three-Michelin starred chef over dinner the other night about the frivolity of the pursuit of relevancy. We don’t want to play anyone else’s game and are focused on being the best restaurant that we can be right now. To us, that’s creating a restaurant for our friends and others who enjoy what we offer. We hope it becomes a local favorite, a place you can’t wait to return to. 

JS: What were your worst/best jobs before you began feeding people?

BW: I’ve had a few bad ones. I worked as a pool boy and ended up running the pool service company after a week during college. I worked for a children’s car-seat start-up. I still don’t know what my role was there. I worked for Chili’s for two days. I didn’t even make it through training. 

My best job was definitely playing juniors in hockey but that didn’t really pay outside of per diems, housing, and stipends. It was more of a career track. 

JP: I loved working in a collaborative, academic environment and really enjoyed my time as an art curator at Seattle University. In high school, I cleaned up a lot of fecal matter as a lifeguard. Working at the Gene Juarez ‘confirmation call center’ during my teens was a nightmare, too. 

JS: What’s something people might not know about you two or your restaurant that you wish they did?

BW: The buildout looks refined but it was VERY DIY. The materials are humble and largely recycled. Many friends came together and offered their skills, hands, and time to help bring the interior together over a compressed time frame. 

JP: Asking guests to book Tomo reservations one month in advance helps us place accurate orders from local farms, eliminate food waste, schedule staff with ease and reliability, and pay our team members a higher wage. I also wish the general public would consider reservation-based dining as an event. If you miss a Kraken game or a rock show, you don’t get refunded. In order for small, independent restaurants to survive, we need to become more accepting of cancellation fees.