Chef George Rodrigues on bringing the heart of Spanish tapas to Maryland

I’d say a lot of what you do in this industry involves luck. Hard work is essential, of course—there’s always a level of hard work and opportunity involved. But I’d estimate it’s at least 50-50, maybe even more on the luck side.

When I first came from Brazil, I landed in Chicago and was supposed to work at a top hotel, but that fell through. My first job ended up being at a restaurant owned by the same company that ran Bubba Gump restaurants. They had an Italian branch called Cappy’s, and that’s where I started.

The real turning point came when I saw an ad for a Spanish tapas restaurant opening in Chicago. I applied without knowing much about it, and it turned out to be from Chef Jose Garces, an Iron Chef winner with many accolades. Working there was life-changing. I was a fast and skilled cook, and Chef Garces noticed that right away.

At first, I was overwhelmed. The level of the operation was intimidating—an award-winning chef, a high-profile restaurant—it was a lot to take in. I was a good cook and enjoyed working the line, but when Chef Garces asked if I wanted to be a sous chef, I was too scared to say yes. For months, I hesitated. He kept asking, and eventually, I said yes. That’s when everything shifted.

That experience gave me the confidence to move from line cook to sous chef, then to chef. Chef Garces not only noticed my skills but also pushed me to grow and take on leadership roles. That foundation was crucial for me when I eventually started my own restaurant. It helped me realize I wanted to create a space where I could combine my love for Spanish cuisine with a more relaxed and creative vibe.

Absolutely. Growing up, my family was very big. Everyone lived in the same city, so every weekend, we’d have big barbecues with 40–50 people.

The men—my uncles—would handle grilling the meat while the women, led by my grandma, prepared sides, salads, and desserts in the kitchen. 

My grandma was the matriarch and ran the family. I always loved being in the kitchen with my mom, grandma, and aunts. That’s where my passion for cooking started, which came directly from those experiences.

While I love Brazilian food, I never worked with it professionally. My inspiration came after I decided to pursue culinary school, which was about 25 years ago. Back then, in Brazil, leaving college to pursue the culinary world wasn’t common. There weren’t many culinary schools, just short courses. 

Early in my career, I became interested in Spanish cuisine because I read books about the best chefs and restaurants in the world. So many were Spanish—Ferran Adrià, Andoni Luis Aduriz, and the Roca brothers. Their food has always fascinated me, and I realized that Spanish and Brazilian cuisines share many similarities due to their ties with Spain and Portugal. And then working with Chef Jose Garces, I fell in love with tapas and paellas. That’s how I became drawn to Spanish cuisine.

Even with over 20 years of experience, opening your own restaurant is a completely different experience. The biggest challenge was managing the finances and assembling a reliable team. 

When you’re a small business, you don’t have the resources of a large corporation. Everything has to be carefully planned and executed. 

People are your biggest asset, but they’re also the hardest part to manage on a daily basis. Building a strong, cohesive team has been key to our success.

They have been essential! As a small business owner, you rarely have all the capital you need upfront. Access to credit lines and financial tools like business credit cards has been crucial, especially in the early stages. They allow you to manage cash flow, handle unexpected expenses, and invest in the business as you grow. Without those resources, opening our first location would have been nearly impossible.

Your staff is your most important asset, but managing them is also the most challenging part of the job. It’s about finding the right people, ensuring they understand and believe in your vision, and keeping them motivated. 

At the same time, you have to focus on operations, customer service, and the creative aspects of the restaurant. It’s a balancing act, but having a great team makes all the difference.

It’s tough. I spend more time managing the big picture now than in the kitchen, but I still make it a point to be creative, create new dishes, and work on the line when I can. 

The key is having a solid team you trust so you can delegate and focus on what’s most important. That balance allows me to keep the creative side alive while ensuring the business runs smoothly.

We feature a selection of classic tapas with a creative twist on some dishes. I love paella, and we enjoy experimenting with it to keep it exciting. Our most popular tapas are simple yet flavorful—Patatas Bravas is a crowd favorite, and Gambas al Ajillo is another top seller and one of my personal favorites.

When we visited Spain, particularly Madrid, last June, every restaurant we went to seemed to highlight the same top dishes: Patatas Bravas, shishito peppers, Padrón peppers, and croquetas de jamón. 

These staples inspired us to stay true to some traditions while still putting our own spin on the menu. One of our most popular dishes is our unique take on changurro, a traditional crab dish from Galicia. We’ve reimagined it in a way that stays true to its roots but makes it uniquely ours at El Mercat.

Flamenco nights were part of the vision from the beginning. We wanted to create an atmosphere that truly captures the spirit of Spain. By chance and luck, a flamenco group visited the restaurant shortly after we opened, and everything fell into place. Now, we host monthly flamenco nights, and they’ve been a huge hit with our guests.

As a chef, one of the biggest reasons I wanted to open a Spanish tapas restaurant was my experience working in high-end restaurants in Chicago, Boston, and D.C., which wasn’t always enjoyable. Those places were very precise and rigid, leaving little room for creativity.

When I decided to open El Mercat, I wanted it to be different—casual, laid-back, and not strictly traditional Spanish. I wanted the freedom to experiment, like incorporating flavors from Mexican cuisine, which I love.

The goal was to create a space where the decor and atmosphere would transport you to Barcelona, as that’s where El Mercat is inspired by—specifically, the Catalonia region. Being located in Maryland, just outside the city, I didn’t expect much attention from outside the local area since we’re slightly off the main restaurant circuit.

I was wrong. During our first week, Tom Sietsema, an important food critic for The Washington Post and one of the most influential critics in Virginia, D.C., and Maryland, came to our restaurant.

We opened on a Monday, and he showed up on our first Sunday. It felt like pure luck. I was in the kitchen making paellas, and there’s a small window in the door leading to the kitchen. I glanced through it and saw a familiar man. At first, I thought, “That looks like him,” but dismissed the idea. Why would he come all the way from D.C. to us?

But it was him. He wrote an incredible piece about us in The Washington Post. To me, that’s the most memorable moment—it happened in our very first week.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that opening your own business is much harder than you think. There are so many challenges you don’t anticipate, but resilience is key. When you have everything on the line, you just have to keep pushing forward.

I read this quote that stuck with me: “Being an entrepreneur is like jumping off a cliff with a blueprint for a plane, and as you fall, you try to build that plane before you hit the ground.” That’s exactly what it feels like. You must act even when you’re not fully prepared—waiting for the “perfect” time will only hold you back.

Another favorite quote of mine is, “You do it first, and then you build the courage.” That really resonates because sometimes you just need to take the leap and figure it out as you go. Follow your passion, give it everything you’ve got, and remember—you’ll get out what you put in, both personally and professionally.