WHO WE ARE

Daje! is Lauren Bruschi, who was born and raised in Rome, Italy. She spent her younger years growing up in her family’s restaurants in San Francisco, Rome & Portland. Since moving to Portland in 2000 she’s been in the service industry. Her passion of the culinary world, wine, spirits and geography have guided her diverse journey of experiences.

Lauren loves learning - getting her Level 2 certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, as well as a BS from PSU. While working in the service industry at night, she also worked in the Green Building world on projects such as: LEED certification, Biomimicry education, waste-stream auditing for large companies like Nike, and hosting/giving tours of Portland’s sustainable infrastructure to international delegates & politicians.

Lauren has most recently opened three restaurants, as well as leading a full rebrand of a bar & restaurant. As the General Manager of said rebrand, the restaurant was awarded one of America’s Top 25 Best New Restaurants of 2024 by Bon Appetit Magazine; as well as having her cocktails written up in New York Times T Magazine.