From celebrating individuality: Lake Inez

Lake Inez was never meant to be static.When Zac Schwartz met Dennis Kimeda and Patrick Ciappara, he wasn’t planning on becoming a restaurateur. He was paying his way through university. He wasn’t a lifer in the industry. But when Dennis - who had already built The Wren - asked him to partner on a new venture, Zac made a choice that would change everything: he gave every penny he had to something that didn’t exist yet.From the very first night Lake Inez opened, Zac felt something different. When he bent down to pick up a napkin off the floor, he realized he wasn’t stepping into someone else’s concept - he owned it. Every decision. Every risk. Every success. Every failure.Named after a small lake Zac’s grandparents once bought in Michigan - a sacred place rooted in love - Lake Inez became a space built not around culinary pedigree, but around creative permission. None of the three owners were chefs, but they believed there had to be someone out there waiting for carte blanche. Enter Robbie Hojilla, a second-generation Filipino chef trained in high-end European kitchens, who was given full freedom to cook food closest to him.That philosophy stuck. Today, Lake Inez is less about continuity and more about evolution. Menus shift. Dishes come and go. Fermentation programs emerge. Darlings get killed. The constant isn’t the food, it’s the culture. A place where individuality is celebrated, neighbourhood energy is amplified, and creative freedom is the thread that binds it all together.This is a story about risk, ownership, reciprocal gratitude, and believing that if your sensibilities change, your output should too.Follow the podcast on Instagram and TikTokFollow Sam Jen on Instagram