Leanne Favre

Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

At Dolores in Brooklyn, co-owner and Beverage Director Leanne Favre has created a cocktail world where curiosity, culture, and craft all collide. What started as bartending to fund her travels evolved into a full-blown love affair with spirits, ingredients, and the stories they carry. Today, she’s the force behind Dolores’ inventive, agave-forward menu, championing Mexican culinary traditions, and pushing herself to unlock entirely new ones.

Full name, age, and where are you from?
Leanne Favre, 39, born in Sparkill, NY, grew up in St. Petersburg, FL.

What is your title at Chez Nous?
Co-Owner & Beverage Director.

What inspired you to get into this industry?
After graduating from college, I took some time off to travel. I started bartending to fund my trips and quickly fell in love with it. The more I traveled, the more I was exposed to different cultures and flavors. I saw the way drinks and food bring people together. From there, I became deeply passionate about spirits and the craft of creating cocktails.

What is your most blissful culinary moment?
For months, I worked on creating a fresh corn “milk” to use in cocktails. I could never get the texture or consistency right and kept shelving the project. One day, I finally figured out the right way to strain it, and it was such a satisfying breakthrough. Getting to use that ingredient, after all that time of trying, felt like unlocking a secret flavor I had been chasing.

What do you wish more people understood or appreciated about Mexican cuisine?
I wish more people understood how diverse and deeply rooted in regional traditions Mexican cuisine is. It’s not just tacos and tequila, it’s centuries of history, technique, and culture expressed through ingredients like corn, chiles, herbs, and wild plants.

Are there any traditional Mexican ingredients that are especially hard to source here?
We’re lucky to live in New York City, where almost anything can be found if you look hard enough, but some ingredients are still tough to source consistently. My business partner, Emir Dupeyron, mentioned huauzontles, a wild bitter green which needs to be ordered directly from Mexico. Fresh huitlacoche is also very difficult to find here, it’s often only available in jarred form.

How do you adapt or substitute them in your drinks?
If we can’t find the exact ingredient, we layer flavors to capture its essence and adjust with what’s available.

What restaurant, café, or bar do you find yourself frequenting most after work?
It depends on my mood, but I usually stay local in Brooklyn. Bad Luck Bar is a favorite, it’s right around the corner and has great drinks in a relaxed setting.

How do you relax outside of work?
I love hiking or sneaking away somewhere tropical to go scuba diving.

 If it’s my first time stopping into Dolores, what’s your order recommendation?
Start with our house margarita, it’s a staple for a reason. Pair it with an El Rey taco, which has quickly become a guest favorite. From there, you can dive deeper into the cocktail list where we showcase agave spirits in fresh and unexpected ways.