Last month, Boscat Kitchen & Reviations co-founders John Reed and Leslie Nguyen celebrated the restaurant's 10th anniversary with a party for a few close friends — 850 of them to be exact.
“The party was surreal but we're so grateful to everyone who's supported us over the last 10 years,” Reed said.
Boss Cat, a whiskey bar concept the business partners started in Newport Beach in 2014, is just one brand in the newly named restaurant group, Daily D's Hospitality. The parent company also includes Ten Sushi + Cocktails, Byblos Cafe and Boss Cat, the latter of which has two locations in Orange County and two in Texas.
Boscat's Irvine location, a 5,000-square-foot space in the Lakeshore neighborhood, hosted an anniversary party in May, where guests enjoyed menu favorites like 12-hour braised short ribs and mashed potatoes with crispy onions, as well as whiskeys including Johnnie Walker, Oban and Maker's Mark.
New Bosscat Kitchen & Libations in Irvine. Daily Dose Hospitality has grown to include not only Bosscat Kitchen & Libations, but also TEN Sushi + Cocktail and Byblos Cafe.
(Don Leach/Staff Photographer)
The Bosscat concept was born from a sports bar called Daily Dose that Nguyen opened in Irvine in 2009.
“I was a regular customer from the moment she opened,” Reed said, “and I watched her work and loved her work ethic, because I work the same way.”
The two friends became business partners and began dreaming up a new concept that would expand on the special atmosphere of Daily Dose.
“The kitchen at Daily D's wasn't a real kitchen, it just had a convection oven, a sandwich station and a microwave,” Nguyen said. “We wanted to create a bigger bar with a real kitchen and serve good food. We wanted to have good food and a good bar.”
At the time, Nguyen and Reed envisioned a place that could bridge the gap between customers interested in upscale craft cocktails and those more inclined to order shots of Jameson and Coors Light.
“Craft beer and gastropubs were all the rage at the time, so everyone was going for that, but Leslie said, 'Let's do whiskey and be ahead of the curve,'” Reid said.
Today, each Boscat store has its own whiskey room, stocked with hundreds of whiskeys from around the world, from high-end to low-key, and staff are trained in whiskey knowledge, and Nguyen says that even after 10 years, the company still holds weekly meetings and masterclasses to help team members stay educated.
Reed said their honesty and dedication to providing a quality experience without pretense is what has kept the concept going strong.
“Authenticity is the cornerstone of our success,” Reed said. “Leslie and I realized early on that we just needed to be our true selves.”
During their journeys with BossCat, Reed and Nguyen have both successfully gotten sober, and they both agree that overcoming their addictions has strengthened their businesses.
“I think it's easy to run a bar without drinking,” Nguyen said.
Founder Leslie Nguyen sips coffee at the new Bosscat Kitchen & Reviations in Irvine. Daily Dose Hospitality has grown to include not only Bosscat Kitchen & Reviations, but also Ten Sushi + Cocktails and Byblos Cafe.
(Don Leach/Staff Photographer)
Reed and Nguyen believe the secret to the restaurant's longevity is its ability to adapt, as they're constantly evolving every aspect of the brand, from the space to the food and even social media.
“When we first started, social media was me posting memes and pictures from my phone. Ten years ago, Instagram was just starting out, and now we're creating amazing content,” Nguyen said. “Technology has changed, and we've had to change with it.”
Reid added that when the establishment first opened it was known as a whiskey bar for men, but the clientele has changed.
“We've learned to make the most of different meal times, and we're now more known for brunch,” Reed said.
On most weekends, Boscat is packed with diners ordering dishes like French toast with a Fruity Pebbles crust and condensed milk glaze, and the Ultimate Cinnamon Roll, an oversized version of the classic pastry made with croissant dough and Vietnamese cinnamon.
While the couple wouldn't divulge all of their plans for Bosscat over the next decade, they do plan to open two more Bosscat Kitchen & Libations locations in 2025, in Las Vegas and Paradise Valley, Arizona.
But Reid said the growth the companies plan for Daily Dose Hospitality is greater than BossCat.
“Our goal with our hospitality group is to expand into communities that we feel are underserved,” Reed says, “whether that's Boscat Kitchen, Ten Sushi or Byblos Cafe.”
Founders John Reed and Leslie Nguyen in the dining room at Bosscat Kitchen & Reviations in Irvine. Daily Dose Hospitality has grown to include not only Bosscat Kitchen & Reviations, but also Ten Sushi + Cocktails and Byblos Cafe.
(Don Leach/Staff Photographer)
