Cafe Juanita, Our Staff

Dawn Smith Wine Director/ General Manager

Dawn Smith is currently the Wine Director and General Manager at Cafe Juanita in Kirkland, Washington. Prior to joining Cafe Juanita, she was the Wine Director and Sommelier for the Heavy Restaurant Group in Seattle, Washington. As Wine Director she oversaw the wine programs at Purple Café and Wine Bar, Barrio Restaurant, and Lot No.3 Restaurant, all located in Bellevue, Washington.
Dawn was nominated in August of 2011 as Sommelier of the Year by Sunset Magazine.

A professionally trained chef, her passion for wine emerged as a direct result of her experiences in the kitchen. The daughter of a chef mother, Dawn grew up in the restaurant business. Formal culinary training led to an interest in wine, which led to formal wine training, and opportunities in wine followed.

Prior to becoming Wine Director for Cafe Juanita or Heavy Restaurant Group, Dawn was already on tenure track in 2005, instructing dining room and management courses in the Culinary Arts department at South Seattle Community College. Dawn concurrently served as coordinator and part-time instructor for the school’s Northwest Wine Academy teaching classes in food and wine pairing and sensory evaluation. An invitation to join the Canlis Restaurant team in 2005 turned her attention to wine for good, and she went on to be promoted to Assistant Wine Director and Lead Sommelier. Dawn also served as opening Wine Director at Bin Vivant Restaurant.

Dawn holds a diploma level certification with the International Sommelier Guild, an Advanced Certificate from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust and is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. In 2009, Dawn was honored to be named “Sommelier of the Year” by Seattle Magazine.

Lauren Thompson Chef de Cuisine

Lauren Thompson took an unorthodox route to becoming our Chef de Cuisine. She graduated from Texas A & M University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. After working for several years in the IT industry, she decided to turn a serious hobby and burgeoning passion into a new career and enrolled in culinary school. Lauren graduated from the Art Institute of Houston in 2003 and began her culinary career at Aries in Houston, working under Scott Tycer and Jason Gould.

In 2004, Lauren packed up her bags and moved to Seattle with her husband and two dogs. She was drawn to Seattle for its being at the national forefront for its emphasis on local, organic, and sustainable foods and its’ amazing culinary environment and top caliber chefs.

Upon arriving in Seattle, Lauren worked at the newly opened Lark under Johnathan Sundstrom. Lauren learned a great deal about cooking at Lark and was introduced to a wealth of local farms and artisans. She left Lark to help open the short-lived restaurant Fork with Jared Stoneberg and Tyler Moritz.

After Fork, Lauren came to work at Cafe Juanita as a line cook. Lauren always had a great deal of respect for Holly and her food. Working for Holly had been a goal of Lauren’s since her time in Houston, and she even did a brief stage at Cafe Juanita when she first moved to Seattle.

A year later, Lauren became pregnant with her first child, and despite a tenacity to excel and persevere, she acquiesced to the physical demands of a full-time line job. After returning from maternity leave, Lauren took the job of pastioli, which was a perfect fit for her role as a new mother, as well as indulging her passion for making fresh pasta. Lauren worked as pastioli for less than a year before becoming pregnant again. She took four months off to spend time with her husband, daughter, and newborn son. Shortly after returning to her pastioli position, Holly offered Lauren the Chef de Cuisine position in late 2009. Excited about the amazing opportunity, Lauren quickly accepted and is thoroughly enjoying her role, constantly learning about food and business as well as meeting local farmers and other artisans.