About Santiago’s Bodega

The idea for Santiago’s Bodega was born out of a childhood dream and a quest for adventure.

Founder and Operator Jason Dugan knew he wanted to open a restaurant from an early age.  His idea was to create an atmosphere where a welcoming staff would host a giant party each evening.  Jason believed that a tapas-style dining experience could only compliment this vision, and would give guests the opportunity to taste a wide variety of dishes.  

Inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, in which the main character, Santiago, closely links his life’s work as a fisherman with his own core values, Jason set out to turn this dream into a reality.   Continuing with the Hemingway theme, Key West, Florida seemed as good a place as any to begin this adventure.  In 2004, armed with love and support from family and friends, and equipped with a trailer crammed to the brink of explosion, Jason traded Kansas City for the Southernmost City of the Continental USA.  

Two years of hectic hurricane seasons and the usual difficulties in opening a restaurant threatened to shut down the dream before it had a chance to get off the ground.  But, like Santiago, the team persevered, and Jason’s vision flourished.   

Now, over a decade later, Santiago’s Bodega is the embodiment of Jason’s dream: a welcoming neighborhood restaurant where you can enjoy great food with family and friends who turn into family.  

Please take a moment to look around you and note the love and dedication that goes into creating each Bodega. Creative Director, artist Robert Henry Thompson, is responsible for not only the remarkable artwork, but also for the look and feel that so acutely defines Santiago’s Bodega.  Under Robert’s leadership, the tables and bar have been built using reclaimed wood, the stained-glass doors have been uniquely pieced together, and the floors have been hand-laid.  Even the outdoor signs are handcrafted, built by family out of wood harvested from an old barn at Jason’s childhood home.  As with his food, Jason believes that building each restaurant from scratch provides a quality not attainable with ordering preassembled product.

Stained glass and extraordinary flooring may help set a tone, but the staff at Santiago’s Bodega is, without a doubt, the number one reason for success.  These team members are here to welcome you to our house, and to throw the best party each and every evening.  Thank you for enjoying our neighborhood restaurant. The entire team wishes you good health and great food.

Thank you for sharing.

Bodega Life

What is Bodega Life?  It is approaching every day as a new adventure.  It is ordering all the appetizers off a menu and making every dinner tapas-style.”  It is hanging out with teammates on your days off.  It is making friendships with both co-workers and patrons that last a lifetime.  It is traveling to a different Santiago’s locations for lunch, even though they serve the same food at your location. 

Bodega Life is having somewhere to belong, no matter what color your hair, how many tattoos you have, or who you love.  Bodega Life is being one of the Santiago’s Bodega family.  

Without a doubt, the team at Santiago’s Bodega is the backbone to our success.  These team members are here to welcome you to our house, and to throw the best party for you each and every evening.  Please take a moment to read through some of their stories below.  

Key Members of Our Team

Jason Dugan
Owner – Santiago’s Bodega

Owner and Operator Jason Dugan was born and raised in Kansas. An entrepreneur from a young age, his parents knew it was only a matter of time before his ideas took him far. As it turns out, Florida is not really that far from Kansas. But it was in the Sunshine State where, in 2004, Jason first opened the doors of his dream restaurant, Santiago’s Bodega. Jason brought over ten years of hospitality experience with him when he arrived in Florida, and not much else. Using ingenuity and approaching every problem as an opportunity, Jason turned his restaurant concept into the Santiago’s Bodega you know and love today. When not at the Bodega, Jason enjoys watching his son Jared perform on stage and his son Oliver play baseball creating larger-than-life bonfires, and dabbling in small-scale farming.

Jessica Popovice
Chief Financial Officer, Santiago’s Bodega Corporate Office

Jessica is the nearly nocturnal CFO who prefers emails to phone calls and hates when people lose their receipts.  Jessica has worked with Santiago’s Bodega since 2006; it is her dream job, and she cannot imagine doing anything else.  Jessica graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami in 2006 and earned her Masters’ of Professional Accountancy from the University of South Dakota in 2015.  She will complete her Masters’ in Business Administration with special studies in Supply Chain Management in 2021.  In addition to being a giant nerd, Jessica enjoys spending time with her dog, Teddy No String, running, and creating all sorts of art.  

Tanya McMillan
Beverage Director

Tanya has arguably the best job at Santiago’s Bodega – she gets to taste wine and decide which delicious varietals get added to our extensive wine lists!  Born in Tucson, Arizona, Tanya has called Orlando home for decades.  She began her wine training when she worked as a bartender, slowly familiarizing herself with vineyards, varietals, and vintages.  Since her bartending days, Tanya has traveled extensively with wine distributors to places such as Portugal, Argentina, California, and Spain to learn about the complicated process of wine production.  When not sipping and swirling during a wine tasting, Tanya enjoys Pilates, traveling, watching her son Jared preform on stage and her son Oliver play baseball.

Jennifer Sanchez
Executive Assistant, Santiago’s Bodega Corporate Office

After nearly 20 years in the industry, Jennifer Sanchez knows the ins and outs of restaurant life better than most.  She started her service career as a hostess at Applebee’s before spending nearly ten years with Tijuana Flats.  (There is still a picture of Jennifer on the wall at TF’s so be sure to look for it whenever you are there next!)  Jennifer joined the Santiago’s Bodega family in 2017 and transitioned to the corporate office team in 2018. She is now an integral part of the efforts to coordinate the back-office operations for the Bodega family.  She enjoys getting to see the inner workings of the restaurants but HATES scanning receipts.  When not auditing files, Jennifer enjoys, music, time with family and beating the pants off everyone in Friends trivia.

Tolibjon Karimov
General Manager, Santiago’s Bodega Key West

Tolibjon Karimov was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and moved to Key West in 2008 with his family. Tolib is a graduate of Key West High School, where his favorite subjects were history and algebra. Tolib joined the Santiago’s Bodega Key West team in 2008, when his first employment contract was sealed with a fist-bump. Having worked nearly every position in the restaurant since that time, Tolib is now General Manager at our restaurant in Key West. Tolib is a celebrated two-time Top Tapa Award Winner, winning first in 2011 and again in 2015. He is very close with his family, and spends as much time as possible with his beautiful wife, parents, nieces, and nephews.

Andy Tuttle
General Manager, Santiago’s Bodega Orlando

Andy Tuttle was born and raised in the rolling hills of the bluegrass state of Kentucky. Andy had several years of high-volume restaurant experience under his belt before starting with the Santiago’s Bodega family in Key West back in 2012. In 2015, Andy received “the call” to move to Orlando and serve as the General Manager of Santiago’s Bodega Orlando, which he happily calls home to this day. Drawing strength from his epic beard, Andy successfully navigates Happy Hours, Brunches, and everything else thrown in his path. His karaoke rendition of “Gin and Juice” is the stuff of legend. When not at the Bodega, Andy enjoys competitive canoeing and making salads at home with his beautiful wife

Daniel Rouffa
Executive Chef, Santiago’s Bodega Orlando

Bio Coming Soon

Jeffery Cambridge
Executive Chef, Santiago’s Bodega Key West

Bio Coming Soon