Ricky Gomez

Coming Up

The role calls for cocktails that move with the meal and the room, and his program is built to do both. The goal is not only refreshment but structure: a menu that gives each drink a clear place in the experience, with New Orleans texture carried through the glass. In trade terms, it is a balance of pace, hospitality, and narrative, with each pour doing a job and saying something at the same time. That same utility shows up in his advice. Gomez keeps the language practical: “relax, smile and learn how we pronounce New Orleans and some of our well-known streets. I.e. Tchoupitoulas [chop-ah-too-las].” The point is not gatekeeping. It is orientation. Names, pronunciations, and local reference are part of the service work, and he treats them that way—something to hand over cleanly so guests can enter the place with less friction.

Where They Are Now

At Palomar in Portland, Oregon, Ricky Gomez brings the same service logic to ownership. The move changes the address, not the method: keep the room easy to read, keep the welcome intact, and keep the experience from tipping into stiffness. Ownership, here, is less about distance from New Orleans than continuity in the fundamentals that make a bar work. His outlook stays practical in Portland as well. Ease comes first, then atmosphere, then memory. The New Orleans reference remains specific rather than decorative, and that precision matters in a trade where language carries culture. Whether at Compère Lapin or Palomar, Gomez works from the same premise: make the room accessible, make the drinks memorable, and let the menu do some of the talking.

Career