Meet Emilio Dominguez | Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emilio Dominguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emilio, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
While contemplating how to explain the spirit of our first successful concept, The Modern Rose, we discussed what made our organization and approach unique. The light bulb went off when we realized that what we do stems from the spirit of Cleopatra – bold, uncompromising, intelligent. It all made sense, and we knew the metaphorical glue behind our hospitality group’s approach had become easily definable. Thus was born Cleopatra Royal Coffee.

What should our readers know about your business?

Cleopatra Royal Coffee is a coffee shop experience like no other. It was crafted specifically to invoke emotions and wow our guests with each drink and dish served. Our recipes, aesthetics, and item names are inspired primarily from the Middle East and ancient Egypt, but the astute observer will find gems from other cultures artistically tucked in. The intent is simply to showcase the majesty of faraway cultures through the medium of coffee, tea, baked goods, sandwiches, and bowls. Our approach to hospitality carries over from our other concepts, and always will into future concepts, of treating our guests like Royalty.

Our journey here has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. We began in September of 2019, having acquired The Modern Rose from its original founder. It was in a 600 square foot space and losing money every month, but it was beautiful in its nature, and having grown up in the restaurant industry, I was able to see right away which changes were of top priority, and implement them immediately. Then, COVID hit. This impacted our entire industry. Call it fortuitous timing, but after closing for a couple months in the beginning of the pandemic, we grew 10-20% month-over-month for a year and a half. The growth was exponential, and allowed us the opportunity to open the second location in Delray Beach.

This location started out so well, with a lot of resources dedicated to our success. It became a high-volume unit very quickly, and taught us new aspects of our operation. Unfortunately, the food hall/market it was located in failed overall, so we closed up and consolidated while looking for the next opportunity.

Now, we have our sights set on Ft. Lauderdale, where we launched Cleopatra Royal Coffee, and also have our newest location of The Modern Rose slated to open in the coming weeks.

We’re also actively pursuing opportunities in other parts of South Florida, for both The Modern Rose and Cleopatra Royal Coffee, as well as pending new concepts we’re developing.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife, Jimena Dominguez, and my brother-in-law, Rafael Avalos, have been along for every step of the way, and really deserve all of the operational management credit. Rafael is the operational partner in Cleo, and has really taken it upon himself to make this his baby and ensure its success. He’s shown incredible drive and determination and we’re very proud of what he’s accomplished so far, and what’s to come.

Website: www.CleoRoyal.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/CleoRoyalCoffee

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cleopatra-royal-coffee-fort-lauderdale