Chef with New York roots opens unique venue in former Houston County motorcycle shop

When she moved from Brooklyn to Warner Robins in the summer of 2016 to be with the man she loved, Shaleese Quintana said she had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

Today, she’s a private chef with a fledgling event venue in the Lenox Square Plaza at the corner of U.S. 41 and Gunn Road in Houston County.

The 28-year-old Brooklyn native, who’s battled health issues since she was a teenager and lives with kidney disease, earned an associate’s degree in business administration online from Colorado Technical College.

Quintana then enrolled at Helms College in Macon and earned a culinary arts diploma.

She also married the man who brought her to Warner Robins, Mark Quintana. She first met him back in Brooklyn when she was 11 and he was 13. They reconnected through Snapchat and a couple of months later, she made the move to Middle Georgia.

They now have two boys, 2-year-old Shamare and 1-year-old Amare.

Her business name, The Brooklyn Way, reflects a style of doing events in a big way, while the logo — from the apple to the peach — reflects her journey.

“It means everything, especially coming from the place that I came from and then coming through everything that I came through as far as being ill for so many years and being sick every other day, hospitalized and so many different procedures to where people didn’t think that I would get anywhere like they didn’t expect anything of me,” Quintana said.

“It was just like people pitied me, ‘Oh, you don’t have to do much,’ and then I still overcame all of my obstacles. So it just means the world to me.”

Chef Quintana

Inside a large space in Suites 100 & 200 at 901 Gunn Road, Quintana, with the help of her husband and his father, has transformed a former motorcycle sales shop into a venue for private dinners, anniversaries, birthdays and game nights. She opened in October.

The large space is equipped with a kitchen for Quintana to prepare dishes such as chicken and shrimp rasta pasta and salmon with shrimp linguine. Her husband serves. Her mom moved to Middle Georgia after retirement and helps care for the children.

The venue offers space for setting up banquet tables, complete with heart-shaped king and queen throne chairs, and areas for picture taking, watching TV or a movie and playing pool.

“Everything is just elegant,” Quintana said. “So when people come they say, ‘Wow, this looks like something that doesn’t belong here. This looks like it should be in Atlanta somewhere.’ “

One of her favorite events to host is a romantic dinner.

“When they come in, it’s usually a surprise,” Quintana said. “It’s the candles, the rose pedals, the slow music, the jazz, whatever they prefer. So it’s all about them for that night.”

A happy bride

While she’s willing to do planning on the phone, Quintana said she prefers for customers to call and book an appointment to come to the venue site “so I can show them my vision.”

“I had a bride and she was doing like a rehearsal dinner. And she was like, ‘I just want some tables and I just want to feed the people.’ I was like, what are your wedding colors?

“She had no idea how I was going to decorate. I had flowers and balloons everywhere. I think she liked it because when she walked in the door, she started crying.”

Jasmine Parks of Warner Robins was that bride.

“It was awesome,” Parks said. “She went above and beyond what we ever could have expected for a rehearsal dinner.”

Not only was the food good but the venue was decorated to the hilt, Parks said as she noted a drink wall of three different types of beverages coordinated by color, custom name plates for each guest, throne chairs for the couple, matching decor to wedding colors, a custom balloon arch, flowers, all glass plating and drink ware and silverware.

“So pretty much everything you could want,” Parks said. “We just didn’t expect that much from just a rehearsal dinner.”

Quintana’s business is geared for couples and parties of up to 20 people. Romantic dinners range from about $200 to $250 depending on services included and groups start at $15 to $20 a person depending on meals and services selected. She does not serve alcohol.

Her next event is a surprise birthday. For Valentine’s Day, she’s preparing intimate dinners for five couples at her event venue at different times.

Additionally, Quintana offers catering as well as private dinners in a home setting. Appointments can be made by calling 478-538-0438.

“I know a lot of people go through certain obstacles and they might feel like they can’t overcome them ... I like to speak my testimony. That way I can motive them like if I can do it, then you can do it,” she said.

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 12:00 AM.