Sueño, located 607 E. 3rd St. in downtown Dayton, directly next to its sister operation, Tender Mercy, opened last year in July. Behind both Tender Mercy and Sueño is The Idea Collective, a multi-disciplinary concept development and design firm.
“It doesn’t take a nomination to know that he’s super talented,” said Lauren Gay, Sueño’s general manager. “But this is just confirmation of what we already knew — that he’s a gem and we’re so fortunate to have him, you know, working and feeding Dayton.”
Guzman, residing in Minneapolis with his family, is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and owner of Petite Leon restaurant. His heritage runs through the entirety of Sueño’s menu. Born in the Yucatan in Mexico, Guzman’s cuisine is built from scratch according to authentic Mexican traditions.
This isn’t Guzman’s first time as a contender for the James Beard Award. He was a semi-finalist in 2016 for his work as executive chef at Minneapolis’s Surly Brewing Company. In 2017, Guzman was a finalist for his now-closed restaurant inside the brewery called Brewer’s Table.
The James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards were established in 1991. The New York City-based foundation is a nonprofit with a mission to “celebrate, support and elevate the people behind America’s food culture and champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity and sustainability,” according to the James Beard website.
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