When Crystal de Luna-Bogan and her husband Joseph moved from Southern California to Nashville 16 years ago, our dining scene was still in its infancy.
It took time for this Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef to find her footing. She found that first at Cha- Cha, working under Chef Arnold Myint. He introduced her to other chefs around town, as well as the international fare found along Nolensville and Charlotte Pikes. She could see the possibilities.
In 2010, Crystal struck out on her own. Elevating nostalgic comforts, she and Joseph launched The Grilled Cheeserie food truck to an almost overnight success. As the business flourished, the couple partnered with Fresh Hospitality, opening their first brick-and- mortar shop in 2017 in Hillsboro Village.
This was followed by shops in Franklin and East Nashville two years later. The pandemic took its toll, and in 2022, they severed ties with Fresh Hospitality. That meant shuttering both Franklin and East Nashville locations. However, the Bogans retained their food truck, the original shop, and crucially, their recipes and brand. That change was unnerving, but ultimately worked out. The much-loved Grilled Cheeserie continues to melt the hearts of Music City. And, they have a new venture in partnership with the Frist Art Museum. Under Crystal’s direction, they’ve introduced a “fromage- focused” bistro, Cafe Cheeserie, inside the museum’s restaurant space. It’s a beautifully designed dining room and display counter, showcasing her baguettes and croissants, pastries and cookies, espresso and tea service, along with her delectable soups, salads, sandwiches, and specials.
Crystal shares her journey and excitement in creating this new concept at The Frist.
Culinary Roots
I come from a large Mexican-American household in California, and my grandmother, the matriarch, was the center. As her eldest granddaughter, (and there were 32 of us grandkids!) I can remember standing on an inverted lard bucket in her kitchen, watching and helping as she prepared meals for our extended family. I loved it. As a teen, I enrolled in a cake decorating class and would bring my creations to share at school. I learned, when it comes to caring for people, food delivers! It set the path for my career. I enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu and focused on fine dining. I was intent on building my resume, getting all the experiences to hone my craft.
Mentors and Cooking Philosophy
While in Southern California, I was so grateful to cook in some high-end kitchens. I was just 19 years old, working at Disney’s Napa Rose. I then went to Four Seasons Beverly Hills, where I started on the grill, learned all the stations, and trained all the new cooks. After I got married, I transitioned to Santa Monica, did some private chef work and catering. That led me to Clementine, where I worked with Annie Miler as her sous-chef. I admired everything that she did — her simple comfort food made with finesse, her zero-waste ethic, and most of all, how she treated people, customers, and employees alike. It gave me the courage to start my own business. It also made me realize what I really cared about in my cooking. It wasn’t fine dining. I wanted to tap into nostalgia, making comfort foods — but done well, using fine, sustainably sourced ingredients.
The Food Truck
When we were still in California, my uncle in Long Beach, who owned a food truck commissary, said, “I’ll lend you a food truck.” We weren’t ready, and besides, we were relocating to Nashville to be closer to Joseph’s parents. It was months after the move that we got serious about this food truck business. What would we sell? Food memories are the most powerful. Give people things that bring them joy! And who doesn’t love grilled cheese? We found a truck on Craigslist for $15K and drove to Arkansas to buy what turned out to be a hunk of junk. But when something is supposed to happen, other things move fast. Within two months, we got it functioning and launched The Grilled Cheeserie the day after Thanksgiving, 2010. Back in the heyday of Twitter, we could simply tweet out our location and folks would show up. We were off and running!
Cafe Cheeserie
We had catered a few themed events at The Frist, where we prepared dishes to complement the exhibitions, when they approached us about taking over the restaurant. It was so exciting to me to design something that was our brand, yet different from The Grilled Cheeserie. In a way, it needed to be opposite. Come here and stay a while! Of course, you can get our grilled cheese and tomato soup — it’s still our best seller. But we have charcuterie boards, baguette sandwiches, a terrific burger, and daily seasonal specials. We are approachable for families and have a kid’s menu. We’ve included delicious baked goodies, too. Our hours run concurrent to the museum’s, so you can come in for a full meal or a cappuccino and salted chocolate chip cookie. Online ordering is available as well.
Farm to Table
The museum has two wonderful farm-related exhibitions on view through May 4. One is about farming, food, and identity during the Impressionist era with works by great French artists like Gauguin and Monet. The companion show is Tennessee Harvest, depicting rural life in the 1870s-1920s. We will be highlighting many points of view in farming and cultures, the labor, the bounty of the harvest, the relationship of the farmer and the chef. Also, those who have been overlooked: Black farmers, immigrant farmers, women farmers. We plan to have dinners celebrating them. As a parent, I’m happy to be teaching kids cooking classes, how to respect food, have zero waste, and nourish yourself. We’ll even be painting with fruit and vegetable scraps — natural dyes — in culinary artist classes. Our goal is to align with Frist Art Museum to engage our community. It fits with the Cheeserie’s ethos, which is all about the customer experience and employee satisfaction.