By Anna Yoder | Columnist

When a new friend shared a tip that she worked at a Spanish-influenced restaurant with a Bulgarian flair nestled on an overlook in Brighton Heights not far from the St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, I simply had to try it!

“Eat. Cook. Travel.” is the theme of this restaurant, aptly named De Pan Y Queso Bocadillos Bar — an “off the beaten path boutique music, craft cocktail and super interesting food venue” as described and owned by Chef Tzveti Gintcheva.  Tzveti found the “mixed use building” (and former neighborhood landmark) when searching for a duplex as a business venture. Tzveti refers to the discovery as a “happy accident” yet had to “remodel the whole building herself” before Bocadillos Bar (as it is affectionately called) was born. Although its location is not that much off the beaten path, its concept is, with its unique approach to dining.

Tzveti opened the existing concept of Bocadillos Bar in November 2021; yet her story began many years prior. Born and raised in Sophia, Bulgaria, Tzveti came to the United States to earn her bachelor degree in international business and worked in the “corporate world.” Yet, she felt a tug of her heart drawing her to a new career to work in restaurants. Over the next 24 years, Tzveti did just that by working in the “front and the back of the house” of several well-known restaurants including Café Zinho. To further her culinary experience and with hopes of opening a place of her own, Tzveti landed a one-year culinary internship in Madrid, Spain. This internship was the inspiration from which she adopted “the European way” to eat a relaxing dinner later in the evening by nibbling on appetizers with a light beer or glass of wine.

Check out the September issue of The Northside Chronicle for the full story.