We talked to: Cassidy Bowman, new owner of GOMBO NOLA Kitchen & Oyster Bar

We had the pleasure of chatting with Cassidy Bowman, the new owner of GOMBO--along with his family--in downtown Northampton! Check out what's coming up for the restaurant and what you can expect when you dine with them. (all photos by: Dan Little Photography)

Hi, Cassidy! We hear you have some exciting news regarding GOMBO! Could you please fill us in?

Yes! I (along with my family) just purchased the restaurant from John Piskor, who did an excellent job running it this past year, but is ready to pass the torch. Happily for our team, he has agreed to stay on as culinary director. I am excited about what’s coming up, and it feels good to push myself in a new direction. Part of this decision is related to staring down the next decade of working life and asking myself: “Do you want to be comfortable or do you want to be properly scared?” Ultimately, I opted for the latter. Yes, things are challenging, but when they are I remind myself of that decision.

To put this into context, I’ll share the backstory. Our son Des is a yo-yo champ and attends classes at A2Z on Friday and Saturdays . We’d drop him off and then Lucy, our husky, and I would need to find something to do downtown for an hour. When we heard about GOMBO opening, we were there within a couple of days and it was truly love at first sight—for both of us. Lucy jumped right up in the chair (we dine al fresco) and made herself at home. GOMBO quickly became my “third place” and over the course of a year, I became close with John and the amazing staff. We’d crack jokes about Lucy buying the restaurant one day, which seemed far-fetched at the time. Then this past summer, John texted me letting me know he was ready to move on to the next chapter. He said, “The staff thinks you should buy the restaurant.” I forwarded his text to my wife Tamara and her rapid response was simply: “IN.” It took me about 48 hours to get to “in”, as it’s a big decision and I had to mull it over. But once I got to that point, I haven’t looked back.

When I am sitting out there with Lucy, the micro-interactions we have with people as they walk by are so incredible—it’s the peak of humanity and reaffirms my feeling that Northampton has some of the most amazing humans. I’ve opted for fun in this lifetime, and I want to bring joy and fun to others, giving them a place to go where they can laugh, socialize, eat well, and listen to live music. I feel like as a person who doesn’t carry around a lot of anxiety or trauma, it’s my responsibility to try to alleviate that in others. We don’t expect to get rich from owning GOMBO, but we do expect to brighten people’s lives.

I also have to give a shout-out to the amazing staff, including manager Nyah, who has amazing business intuition at only 23 years of age and is running the place. I am really looking forward to working with her and making the place go viral—we are both committed to that goal. Our servers and kitchen staff are also dedicated, hard-working, and focused on the mission. Like all great leaders, Chef John has trained his successors Eric and Stone, and they are running that kitchen at a high degree of excellence. I’m excited to further develop our team, learn more about each other, and keep things moving forward.

What are some exciting events, menu updates, and more that we can look forward to?

We’ve got a wide range of ideas, from small to big, and some that we’ll be putting into place very soon. First and foremost, the mission will stay the same. The core of GOMBO is offering incredible food and drinks, created and delivered by exceptional people in a place where everyone is welcome.

Some changes include dropping Sunday brunch, but adding Sunday dinner. There will still be special brunches, such as for Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and other special occasions. We’re planning to add lunch Friday through Sunday, with the hope of adding it Wednesday through Sunday ultimately. Our vision is to offer lunch so that the people who work downtown, from retail to food service, can hang out at GOMBO for an hour on their break. We do plan to expand the menu a bit, including regular specials that people can count on.

We also want to have regular live music, such as two nights a month of jazz, New Orleans funk, or other styles—we’ve been contacted by quite a few local musicians, so we’re keeping our options open. We would also like to do theme nights, such as one night a month of breakfast for dinner so that people can try items from the brunch menu. We know that going out to dinner can be tricky, from being cost prohibitive to securing childcare in order to plan a night out. We’re in the business of giving an exceptional experience, from staff to food to entertainment, so that people feel like it’s worth it to dine out.

This week we have three things going on: the 30th is the first day of GOMBO 2.0. On Friday, we’ll have a not-your-normal ribbon cutting at 3:45. We’re trying to gather as many people from the community as possible and make it a little bit more of a unique experience. We’re also going big on Halloween, starting at 3-5pm for downtown trick-or-treating and leading right into dinner where we will offer an opportunity to win gift cards for the best costumes.

What is your current favorite dish and beverage at GOMBO?

For a dish, I’d say it’s a tie between the exceptional fried chicken po’ boy and the incredible catfish, which the kitchen makes taste like Chilean sea bass. Lucy’s go-to is the double chicken. For a cocktail, I go with the Devil’s Kiss, which is a spicy margarita. We have an extensive mocktail menu that my wife and daughter love, and the kids adore the fried chicken with mac & cheese, of course.

And finally... What’s your favorite thing about Northampton?

I moved here from San Francisco in 2008 and quickly felt at home. I’ve now lived here for 15 years, and I just love the constant influx of young people who keep the town vibrant, alive, and moving forward in a beautiful way. I also love living in a place where the LGBTQIA+ community is strong and vital.