GUEST SHIFT: TISEAN DANIELS, AMA COCINA
Tisean Daniels. Credit: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Tisean Daniels, General Manager of Ama Cocina talks to The Dishing about Ama 2.0, tacos, tattoos + cold-brewed tequila.
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
Guest Bartender: Tisean Daniels, General Manager + bartender | IG: @the1tisean
Restaurant/bar: Ama Cocina | website | IG: @ ama_cocina
Hometown: Newark, NJ
Current city: Albany, NY
Personal style (overall style, any brands you like to wear or what you wear for work): Street Wear Casual with a fitted and coordinated look. I like to wear a button down with jeans and a nice pair of Jordan 1’s to work
Listening to (music at home or at work): 90’s-2000’s R&B/Hip-hop. Classics of all genres.
Favorite spirit: Tequila
Favorite classic cocktail: Caiparinha
Favorite bar ever:”Pianos” NYC + “Whiskey Pickle” Troy
Biggest cocktail influence (bar or person): PDT (Please Don’t Tell), a speakeasy in NYC
Drink trend that should end: Skinny Margs.
Tisean Daniels. Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing
The Dishing talks with tastemakers in the hospitality industry + trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture + art.
When Ama Cocina opened in a popular downtown block in 2015, it was immediately a hit for its huge tequila list, vivid wall murals and fast-casual Mexican taqueria fare. Its pandemic closure lasted 32 months - longer than most - while operating firm BMT figured out how to bring it back. Enter Tisean Daniels, an industry veteran with two decades experience in hospitality. Daniels, who is originally from Newark, NJ, but grew up in Bennington, VT, moved upstate from NYC to Albany in 2020. After bartending at Cafe Hollywood (Albany) and Toro Cantina (Colonie), he joined the Albany-based BMT restaurant group as GM of sibling restaurant The Point. When BMT moved another restaurant, Cafe Madison, into The Point - a space four times larger than the cafe’s original location - Daniels was the obvious choice to revive Ama Cocina 2.0 in its existing downtown spot as GM and managing partner.
The Dishing caught up with Tisean to talk hospitality, tacos + get the tea on cold-brewed tequila.
Hey, Tisean. Thanks for talking to The Dishing! You’re the managing partner of Ama Cocina, have 20-years experience and are often found behind the bar. How did you get into the industry?
I moved from Bennington, VT to Boston to enroll in ATP, a commercial pilot aviation program when I was 20 years old, but I landed a bartending gig at a Mexican restaurant and fell in love with the service industry. It felt natural for me to create relationships and deliver a personalized experience. And then I moved to NYC for a better nightlife experience and was there for 13 years bartending and managing everything from mom and pop restaurants to renowned farm-to-table restaurants. So I worked at BLT Bar & Grill Financial District (FiDi), Low Country West Village, Kashkaval Midtown West, The East Pole (Upper East Side), Mermaid Inn (Upper West Side), Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster in Harlem, and GM of Nur, a modern Middle Eastern restaurant. Covid brought me to Albany. I was just trying to find the middle ground between big city and small town. And yes, I am currently managing partner, GM and only bartending when needed.
I know you consulted the old menu and cocktail list when planning for Ama Cocina 2.0. But the menu overall is smaller now. Which dishes made the cut and what’s different in concept and on the menu?
To be honest, I looked at the old menu and felt it was too many obscure options — creative, yes, but if COVID taught the industry anything it's to stay in your lane and limit over-ordering and waste to help the already low profit margins.
Ama Cocina was famed for its tequila and mezcal selection. How large is the tequila program now?
I’d say about 60%. The reason being that post-Covid, the majority are asking for what they know and like, but more importantly, and unfortunately, a lot of great (not so well known) tequilas are sold by smaller distributors that come with minimum costs to get delivered, which can turn into what we call dead stock — product that isn’t selling. Again, we have to focus on margins.
Photo: Konrad Odhiambo/The Dishing.
Who is running the kitchen at Ama 2.0?
Jose Fernandez is responsible for all this delicious food. He was with Ama Cocina pre-Covid and was a kitchen manager at Juniors on Madison Ave until we reopened in August 2023.
The space is gorgeous as ever with the urban street feel, retractable garage doors open on the street and over-sized Frida Kahlo wall mural, but restaurants are still reporting reduced foot traffic and downtown Albany has not had a revival of its pre-pandemic days. How’s Ama Cocina doing overall?
Ama is surviving. We opened for lunch Fridays and Saturdays to add revenue but we need more help from Albany in general. MVP and The Palace booking more big names would be a game changer, as would be less red tape for other small businesses to open down here. There are too many vacant store fronts and apartments in the area. I will say that relocation isn’t off the table (given the BMT property portfolio), but moving uptown is just an idea at this time. We love this space.
Ama Cocina’s cold-brewed tequila was originally known as Pancho y Lefty, but you have revived again, albeit without the name. You also created a sweeter cold-brew martini drizzled with caramel that could rival any dessert. What’s the backstory here on the cold-brew tequila?
So I couldn’t get any details on the original Pancho y Lefty so I don’t know anything about the name or strict recipe. But we still had the Yama cold-brew tower so we pour in 3 bottles of tequila blanco that drips over a few scoops of ice in the upper chamber through the coffee grounds. It passes through a glass coil in the slow drip which can take up to 30 hours. The cold-brew tequila is finished with brown sugar simple syrup and a touch of chile. We serve it poured straight up over a large ice cube. For the shoot, we sprinkled cinnamon because it sparks when lit, but that’s optional.
Read more about the Pancho Y Lefty / Cold-Brewed Tequila here.
You have a newborn, you just celebrated your 41st birthday and you are a full-time GM. How do you manage your work/life balance and avoid burnout? What do you do to relax?
Luckily my wife and I work opposite schedules which allows us both to be with our son with no need for child care. It’s a gift and a curse because we only are all together on the weekend mornings/afternoon. I’m not only the GM but also the only floor manager. Socializing on the floor in an attempt to create regulars and get 5-star reviews is a full-time job. My balance is going home and binge watching a show with my wife or turning on the PS5 which she loves so much! [Laughs.]
When you go out to eat or have a night out, where are 3 your favorite places to go for drinks or dinner in the Capital Region or Hudson Valley?
That’s tougher to answer than it should be since a lot of desirable restaurants and bars are closed at the same time we are on Sundays and Mondays. We love to hit Albany Ale & Oyster and Sake Cafe. For casual drinks we go to Lark Street bars or the Allen Street Pub.
Where do you see yourself - or Ama Cocina - in the next 5 years?
Ama is great. It deserves more customers and recognition - so hats off to my team, for real. I see multiple locations and well as a food truck and/or a casual window service taqueria.
Lastly, can you tell us about the tattoos on your right arm?
They’re a play on “I wear my heart on my sleeve.” So there’s the date of my mother passing, a cross to represent my godly side, a pitch fork for the devil, my moral compass (instead of north, west, east, south—- it’s integrity, compassion, respectfulness, forgiveness.) The anchor extends from forgiveness to my mother’s passing. We had a rocky relationship…
I appreciate that, Tisean. Thanks again for talking to The Dishing + we hope to collaborate soon!
*This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length. - SDP