Restaurant Brings Louisiana Flavors to Valley

Since taking over the 32-year-old Van Nuys restaurant Mom’s Haus in May 2020, Executive Chef Brandon Baker, with business partner Marc Davis, have built on the restaurant’s foundation as a soul food kitchen into a Louisiana-style restaurant with franchise aspirations.

What are some of your signature dishes?

We do a lot of Cajun dishes, Creole dishes. Our smothered oxtails are a huge best-seller. Our jambalaya, our gumbo. 

What inspired you to start your business?

The restaurant was originally run by Geneva Fontenette (for 32 years). She was originally from Louisiana as well. Just before the pandemic, her restaurant fell on hard times. My partner and I, we used to frequent the restaurant, so we didn’t want to see the doors close. She had put a big stamp on the BBQ community, won awards, worked for everyone from Redd Foxx to Stevie Wonder, (catered tapings of) “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Martin.” My partner and I, we purchased the business in April 2020 and opened in May 2020. The menu was a little antiquated. So we wanted to take the foundation that was there and build on it. With my background, I grew up in New Orleans, so this was right up my alley.

What’s the best aspect of running your own business?

It’s really to be able to find and cultivate those individuals who have that same passion and drive. Essentially, that’s what my partner did with me. I was a district manager for a restaurant group in Hollywood. We fostered (a friendship) over three or four years and he was a very successful businessman and “Hey, I have a project I want to talk to you about. You know restaurants, I know business. Let’s come together and take on this venture.” The ability for me to extend that to this next generation of chefs and (business people), for me, that’s the most rewarding part.

And the worst?

Having to rewire my thought process from being an employee to now being a business owner. The ownership, it’s a lifestyle. This is the world of business, it moves at the speed of light and if you miss it, you miss it. We couldn’t afford to miss it.

What’s the biggest challenge your business has faced?  

 (In the restaurant industry), there has been a steady decline in the quality of the food and the process of cooking. It’s more so about the quantity over the quality. So one of the first things I did was get rid of the freezers and microwaves. It’s a scratch kitchen. We source product daily, we prep daily so everything’s made fresh every day. One of the things I noticed moving to Los Angeles was there was a lot of fusion with the cuisine. People would take the concept of Louisiana or New Orleans as a theme but didn’t really stay true to the recipes. So, we wanted to do an authentic experience and foster our culture as well.

How has the pandemic affected you and your business? 

We opened up May 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. We had riots three blocks up the street. It was all of these things essentially in play that could’ve worked against us, but we were able to not only survive that but thrive.

How did you recover?

It was a matter of really believing and trusting in our process and staying consistent in what we were doing. We wanted to change the perception of black-owned businesses. We wanted to provide a great product. Consistency was the biggest driver of that.

What’s next for your business?

We want to elevate (Mom’s Haus) to a corporate level. We’re looking at putting up three locations in the next five years, essentially franchising out from there. We’re going to lock down the Valley and move eastward

 from there. 

What advice would you give someone who wanted to start their own business?

 Do it. There’s literally nothing stopping you but you. 

– Michael Aushenker