Fresh From the HORNO, Chef David Sellers Heats Up Santa Fe Dining

Santa Fe’s most anticipated summer restaurant opening is undoubtedly Horno from Chef / Owner David Sellers. His last gig was as the head of the Street Food Institute in Albuquerque, an interesting organization that helps launch careers and second chapters in people’s lives. Now, the City Different awaits the next chapter in his…

SIDENOTE: If you, dear reader, are a devotee of the annual Taco Wars event, you may remember that, under that banner, Chef Sellers won the “Top Taco” title in 2019. This year, instead of one large event, The Liquid Muse Events presents a series of Taco Wars Takeovers and the first is on June 12 for a sneak peek at Horno. Get info / tix by subscribing to The Liquid Museletter.

Chef Sellers outside Horno, on Marcy Street, in downtown Santa Fe

Originally from the North East, Chef Sellers moved to Santa Fe in 1996 but he began professional cooking in college, at an organic bakery, back in 1990. While living in San Francisco, he worked with a Vietnamese chef who also was a Sous Chef at Stars restaurant under Jeremiah Tower. Inspired by this mentor, Sellers further explored the philosophies of both Towers and Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, adopting their devotion to fresh ingredients. While in California, he also learned the art of fresh pasta, incorporating eye-popping produce with the bold flavors of Italian cuisine. His long career has included winning competitions and hosting incredible wine dinners. And, before now, his most memorable moment was opening his first restaurant, Amavi.

“I walked out into the dining room towards the end of our first busy night. [It] was completely full and the energy of all the guests having a great time, laughing, loving the food and the wine, the room had a loud, boisterous and the most loving feeling. I will never forget that moment, it makes me strive for perfection, and makes my heart so full.”

This year’s shift back to Santa Fe is the culmination of his diverse experience. As he puts it, “I needed to work for myself again, to create a restaurant that takes care of my family. That’s not a job, it’s something you live. Taking this step has been both terrifying and invigorating.” And, a passion for food and the restaurant business are only two facets of being a truly great restaurateur. Making people happy is a big part of that recipe. As we impatiently wait for Horno’s doors to open in June, Sellers has shared that the concept will be global cuisine in street food form with affordable prices and local-friendly. Sellers tells us what we can expect:

“I love to cook Southeast Asian, Mexican, South American and more! All of these cuisines will be making appearances on the Horno menu…I source the best products I can get and put them together [to] create a memory of something in a way you haven’t had before, to try to get the guest to feel like that is the best they have ever had… Horno will be to deliver an incredible culinary experience with both the food and the service.”

When not working, Chef Sellers enjoys testing new dishes at home and values time cooking with his son, Mateo. “I feel like with the virus, all the culinary people of Santa Fe had a chance to step back, to not work so hard, to enjoy their families, to cook at home. For me it reinvigorated parts of my thirst for trying new things, for exploring food, and I think it has had the same effect on many in Santa Fe. Now with things opening back up I see a new creativity in my friends’ restaurants. I feel like everybody as a collective is on their A game to breathe the life back into Santa Fe as a culinary destination. I am so happy to be part of that again!”

How “What THE Truck” Feeds the Soul of Santa Fe

During the pandemic, I became familiar with Victoria Bruneni, owner of What THE Truck. She was posting on Facebook that she needed volunteers to drive donated meals for the nurses at Christus St. Vincent. I thought that was a beautiful way to honor essential workers so I volunteered to drive a few times. It was then that I realized she had also taken over THE Santa Fe Airport Grill, and I noticed her social media posts about affordable meals for the community.

I wanted to learn more about Victoria so I invited her to answer a few questions for “Famished in the Fe” so that we could all support her businesses and recognize someone who has been supporting our community…

Before becoming owner/operator/chef of her enterprises, Victoria grew up in southern California and Texas, and lived in New York and Kansas. A job with the Holiday Inn (now Double Tree) brought her to Santa Fe about 15 years ago. She started her food career in high school, working at a sandwich shop and making popcorn at a local movie theater. Over the last 30 years, she worked her way from waitress at a country club to its General Manager where she also taught herself to cook when the chef left, plating meals for 200 guests and overseeing daily grill operations. She was also the GM at Inn of Santa Fe for ten years.

In 2015, she had the idea to cater special events, and purchased a broken down 1961 milk truck. Victoria says, “In hindsight purchasing a 57-year-old vehicle may not have been the best business plan. But I fell in love with the vehicle and that is why it’s also my logo, and maybe my spirit animal.” To use her words, the truck serves “a mash up of American Diner, New Mexican and specials range from Italian, to Thai, to Indian food…But most importantly I cook from the heart and that comes across in every meal we serve.”

Victoria left the hotel in 2018 when she found success catering to the film industry, weddings and nonprofit events. Because her team is small with minimal overhead, she is able to offer competitive pricing which is especially helpful for schools and community fundraising events. And, her mission includes those causes, as she explains:

“I have always worn my heart on my sleeve and strive to help out wherever I can, which means when a client comes to me with a fixed budget that might only cover the cost of the meals, I work with them…I wanted to start a company that mixed my passion of food with my passion for my community, looking always for ways to give back. I work with a group of students at Capital High school for the last 8 years and we donate to Adelante every Thanksgiving and it was Gail, who worked for them years ago, that said the saddest thing she ever had to do was turn away families on thanksgiving because they ran out of food. That stuck in my heart and inspires me to give whenever I can. It also always comes back, as they say Do Good and good will come back to you.”

Victoria says that she has also served on boards for Rotary, the Rape Crisis Center, St. Elizabeth’s Homeless Shelter, the city the Occupancy Tax Advisory Board, and currently PARC and chair the Santa Fe Veterans Alliance. She believes that the Rotary motto “service above self” is a way of life. And, she also experiences good karma as a cyclical give/get continuum.

“It is nothing new for me to donate meals to shelters, homeless, or even the public schools. As a teacher appreciation in May 2019 we donated lunch to over 1300 staff and teachers. [And] I have found it always comes full circle-that donation will always come back in some form of business. I have two weddings on the books for next fall, one was a nurse at St. Vincent’s when we donated the meals to the COVID unit. I donated meals for the Life Link Outreach for 6 months. When they had funding to house and feed 30+ homeless, I was the one hired to help feed them.”

At the start of quarantine, last March, someone posted on Facebook about their finding food for their elderly father. From that, Victoria spearheaded a fundraiser that brought in $22,000.

“My challenge was that I had a catering company, primarily serving the movie industry and the restaurant at the airport. With no customers, and no travelers I needed a plan. At that time, I had several employees that could not qualify for unemployment for various reasons…so I had to come up with a plan to keep them employed and used this fundraiser as an opportunity to serve seniors in quarantine, the covid unit, and many others. I donated my time to prepare the meals but was able to cover the cost of the food and packaging and keep these employees with jobs…Donations ranged from individuals in the community of Santa Fe, to a Community Foundation grant, and support from Santa Fe Feeds First Responders & the Santa Fe Frontline food project. Altogether, with the help from our community [and volunteers from Earth Care] we were able to donate over 5000 meals over a 90-day period.”

The pandemic itself has subsided but Victoria now provides “pay what you can” meals and other affordable menus which can be found on her Facebook page. She says that these are designed for people on a fixed, low or no-income to be able to have a good, hot meal.

So, what can we expect from the restaurant at the airport? Victoria says, “the biggest challenge was to make a name for a restaurant that no one ever ate at unless they were flying out of town, and to try and create business for a catering company in which social gatherings were banned. I continue to try and find our niche, where we fit in to the grand culinary scene in Santa Fe.” This year, she is also taking over THE Cafe at Genoveva Chavez Center, where she will offer specialty coffee drinks, pizza, nachos and other fun items.

For Victoria, all of this bustle during the most trying of times made an impact on our community… and at home. As she explains:

“The most significant moment of my life happened this year…My daughter was in her online class and the discussion was “Who is your favorite Super Hero.” Out of curiosity, I asked who was her favorite super hero of course expecting Wonder Woman or something of the sorts, but instead she said "you." I still tear up thinking about it. I also received recognition from Senator Udall’s office last spring as a "Hometown Hero."

Well deserved, Victoria!

Learn more about Victoria’s businesses at the website and follow them on social media: Facebook: @whatTHEtruckcatering @santafeairportgrill Instagram: @what_the_truck_santa_fe

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