Interview with Sachiko Baez: From Secret Club to Tuskegee Legacy at Coda Rouge

☕ What happens when a historic building once closed to people of color becomes a thriving restaurant built on legacy, purpose, and community? Meet Sachiko Baez, co-owner and executive chef of Coda Rouge, Harrisburg’s best-kept brunch secret. Step inside a space where history is honored on the walls and served on every plate.

✨ “We wanted this building to be a reflection of that… This is a safe space. Everybody, from every walk of life, can come in and just enjoy themselves.” – Sachiko Baez

This is not just a restaurant. It’s a story of transformation, honoring the Tuskegee Airmen, and creating a safe space where everyone belongs. With her partner Jameson Christopher, Sachiko turned vision into reality. Building a place that blends California cuisine, family recipes, and history in every bite.

☕ In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How the name “Coda Rouge” directly honors the Tuskegee Airmen’s “Red Tails” legacy
• The unexpected journey from a contractor’s private lounge to a community-focused restaurant
• How a chef from California convinced a building owner to launch a restaurant (and found love along the way)
• Why purpose drives every detail, from the speakeasy décor to the seasonal menu
• How they’re mentoring local youth and building bridges in the community

📍 Visit Coda Rouge: 2013 North 6th Street, Harrisburg, PA | Open 8am-2pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat-Sun

Follow their journey: Coda Rouge on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

⸻

#CoffeeWithE #EricaRawlsTeam #WomenInLeadership #NonprofitWork #LeadershipPodcast #InspirationalConversations #RealTalkPodcast #CodaRouge #SachikoBaez #JamesonChristopher #HarrisburgPA #HarrisburgRestaurants #BlackOwnedRestaurants #TuskegeeAirmen #RestaurantWithAPurpose #CommunityImpact #WomenInBusiness #BrunchGoals #CentralPAEats #HiddenGems #CulinaryMentorship

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Transcript

Introduction to Cote Rouge

Erica Rawls 0:02

We are here at Cote Rouge . We have a special edition of Coffee with E . I'm sitting down with one of the co-owners , Sachiko Baez , and her co-owner , Damison Christopher . He's not with us . However , they both together have a dynamic story . You need to check this one out .

Chef Sachiko Baez 0:19

Hi , I'm Sachiko Baez . I'm co-owner and executive chef of Côte-aux-Rouges Breakfast , brunch and Lunch . We've got it . We've got that boutique style very small , intimate and great vibe . We're located in Harrisburg , pennsylvania , 2013 , north 6th Street . We're open 8 am to 2 pm Monday through Friday , 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday and Sunday , so come and check us out .

Erica Rawls 0:55

I don't know how to thank you for this opportunity to sit down with you , one of the owners at Cote Rouge . You are just so dynamic and I'm so grateful . I'm trying to think how I actually got connected with you , and I believe it was through one of mutual friends , leland . He had a surprise birthday party here . Yes , and that's the first time I ever walked through the building , I was like what is this place Literally , yes , the best kept secret ?

Chef Sachiko Baez 1:22

But you know what ?

Erica Rawls 1:22

We've blown the doors open because I think more people need to know about you , because this is a great experience . So tell us , how did you come to this point ?

Chef Sachiko Baez 1:34

Oh

Building's History and Transformation

Chef Sachiko Baez 1:35

boy , well , Jameson , christopher , actually my partner owns the building . Yeah , he is actually the first african-american owner of this building , really . Yes , um , it used to be called the clover club , which was a private uh , white establishment and they wouldn't allow any anyone of color to be on property , work here , anything .

Chef Sachiko Baez 2:00

So somehow , some way . Yeah , he was able to buy this property and own it and originally he wanted the space as his office space , um , somewhere he can come and calm after work , because he's a contractor , he has a contracting business okay , general contracting or painting , painting , okay , yes , um .

Chef Sachiko Baez 2:22

So he wanted a place upstairs , you , he thought it was perfect for his office space . And then he thought , hey , why not have like a lounge space for my employees so they can come here and relax and , you know , shoot some pool or just , you know , watch sports ? And that just developed into more , you know . Then he has one of those minds like mine we match pretty well where they just keep rolling with creativity . So then he thought you know , why not actually have cigars ? Let's have cigars , yeah . So he ended up making that a private cigar lounge . Really , maybe his friends , yeah , yeah . So for Mario it .

Chef Sachiko Baez 3:05

It was membership members only . Um , this space that we're actually sitting in was like a business meeting space that he wanted to um give to his members as an opportunity to just come in and have their meetings privately . It never got used . Never , ever once , did anyone have a meeting in here . It was just a table long business table chairs , okay , um , and the room out in the dining room , which you'll you'll be at later on , yeah , uh , was , like we called it , kind of like a wine room . Um , the wine was on the wall as the core and then you can just lounge there , yeah , and just hang out . You know , if you wanted to , if they brought guests or something . So this space here wasn't really being used for a lot and I had moved here from California . We met through my uncle . My uncle asked me to help him at Crawdaddy's . He was , he's the original girl , yeah , my uncle Diane , and she's so much yeah , they're the original owners of crawdaddies .

Chef Sachiko Baez 4:08

And , um , he asked me to come help out for a little while . This is right after pandemic , like this is the time where you can start taking your masks off , right , um ? And this is when I met jameson . So from there he said you know , I have , originally , that kitchen was built for his mother . She wanted to own a bakery , the kitchen for the business . Yes , okay , she wanted to own a bakery . That's her dream , his mother's dream , okay .

Chef Sachiko Baez 4:37

So he said I have this kitchen and you know , originally it's for my mom . She doesn't want to be down here anymore , like they're from carlisle , okay . So she didn't want to drive to and from , and I have this empty kitchen . I have no idea what to do with it . Can you help me ? So that's how we kind of started off . Yeah , I'll help you . Put things in the kitchen . That's what you need , this is what you need . And from there we just um , our relationship blossomed into more , more personal , romantic , romantic relationship than business as well . So I said , hey , what do you think about making this a restaurant ? And then I convinced , him .

Chef Sachiko Baez 5:14

Yeah , I convinced him somehow . So here we are . He has a beautiful mural outside by Brian King . I saw that , yeah , brian King , prolific , it meant some dedication to his grandfather . It was almost like , you know , like a memorial .

The Meaning Behind Cote Rouge

Chef Sachiko Baez 5:33

His grandfather was a big , big part of raising him , you know . So it was just one of those things where let me , let me show the world my grandfather , which he was a Tuskegee Airman , his grandfather , his grandfather was so the mural outside , the face , the largest face you see on there , that is his grandfather , charles Petty Jr . Yeah , wow , so it's beautiful too .

Erica Rawls 5:57

I mean it's absolutely beautiful , absolutely beautiful . Yeah , thank you , I appreciate that .

Chef Sachiko Baez 6:04

So everybody , it was just a popular mural , you know , drive past 6th Street , everybody stopped wanted to take pictures . So we thought it would be great to kind of have the concept , part of the concept of the restaurant , reflect the Tuskegee Airmen and their grandfather . So the name of the restaurant , cote Rouge , actually derived from the nickname Red Tails , which were the Tuskegee Airmen nickname . So red is rouge in French and coda is tails in Italian .

Erica Rawls 6:38

Talk about a business with a purpose .

Chef Sachiko Baez 6:40

Yeah , and that's where that came from . Yeah , that is awesome bar lounge area that we're in right now . We wanted to make it look like the 1940s , kind of speak easy-ish , and really reflect , you know , that time period where his you know grandfather was hanging out . You know we have pictures on the wall where you see other airmen hanging out together at a bar similar , setting playing cards and just having a good time . It's kind of how we wanted things to be here . Um , and this bar is called 332 , which was their 332 okay , their squadron number really .

Erica Rawls 7:20

Yeah , I don't know why I keep getting goosebumps just hearing you tell the story , because it's like everything had there . So I am a big person , a big proponent of doing things with purpose . So when you just talk about the building a mural , the name , the look , the atmosphere is all with intentional purpose . Yeah , definitely . So . In the experience too that you all give like , seriously , it's just , it is , it's . It's a really good experience , thank you even the name of the building .

Chef Sachiko Baez 7:50

So we named , like , each part of , like , every room has a different name to it . Yeah , the lounge upstairs is called charlie's lounge trust fathers , charles . So , um , the building in its entirety . We actually named the continental . The continentalinental HBG is the name of it . Okay , and he actually came up with that name from the movie John Wick . I don't know if you've ever seen John Wick movies , why ?

Erica Rawls 8:16

is John Wick coming up all the time lately ? I know I know that's like one of his favorite movies . I didn't know until my son told me yeah .

Chef Sachiko Baez 8:22

Yeah , so in the movie you always see John Wick going into this big building , this big , grandiose building .

Chef Sachiko Baez 8:28

It's called the Continental , and in that building , all like it doesn't matter if you're like the leader of the triads or , you know , the Russian mafia , whichever , they all came together in that one building . There was no animosity against each other , no grief , nothing was going on . You just came there to enjoy yourself

Creating a Bridge in the Community

Chef Sachiko Baez 8:47

, have a good time all together , okay , okay . So we wanted that building to be a reflection of that , where , you know , we are uptown but it's becoming gentrified as well . We have our , our locals and we have people coming out from all over the US coming into this . You know this neighborhood , yeah , and we wanted to kind of be the middleman , almost like a bridge between . We're still here , right , we're . You know we also are gentrifying . Yes , you know refining . You know our business as well , yeah , so this is that place . This is a safe space we can all be . You know everybody of every light come in and just enjoy themselves . Yeah , and thank you for telling me , you know , when you come here , like the vibe is that . It is that .

Erica Rawls 9:32

So you probably have the best fan in my husband Like he . We literally went away on a vacation and he was telling my in-laws hey look , I have this brunch place I want you to go to . I'm like that's how much you had impressed him , and he's not easy to impress when it comes to food because he's such a foodie . Yeah , so yeah , he's like yeah , we should go on .

Erica Rawls 9:55

I'm like , babe , I don't want to go every weekend , I don't . I mean , I'm sure they would enjoy it , but I want it to be something special . Can we just wait a couple weeks ? Yeah , so we'll be back very soon , thank you for sure this is become one of those like special occasion places .

Chef Sachiko Baez 10:08

Yeah , people come here to announce something to the parents , or engagements , or birthdays , anniversaries , we can get a lot of that , um , so I feel like it has become one of those like special occasion type atmospheres . But we also have been getting a lot involved with the community we were with . I don't know if I was telling you the last time you were eating here , but this summer it just ended this week . Last week actually was the last week , but we were in collaboration with Harrisburg Housing and they do a youth program in the summer and it's about 100 kids and it's pretty much all summer long . It ends in August , the first week of August , okay , and they actually choose a neighborhood and they clean the neighborhood and after they clean the neighborhood , they come in and eat and it kind of introduces them to meals that they probably would not have been exposed to somewhere else . What type of menu ? Yeah , just how to order . They have a budget . You know how to stay within your budget . You know when you're ordering . Yeah , things like that , trying something new .

Erica Rawls 11:20

So this is our second summer doing that with them that is so good and I bet the children are like , wow , we're going to this fancy place , yeah .

Chef Sachiko Baez 11:29

And then they get the history lesson on top of it , because we will tell the story .

Erica Rawls 11:34

Yeah , that's awesome , that is so good . So then

Youth Programs and Restaurant Experience

Erica Rawls 11:37

when someone walks in your doors , like what's the experience that you want them to have ? Like we know the intentional and the purpose behind the building and everything , but what do you want them to feel when they walk ? When they walk into the doors , like what's that one thing ? Yep , we got them . You know , you won them . You won that customer over . What is that thing ?

Chef Sachiko Baez 11:54

I feel like when you step into inside Coderoo or inside the Continental Building itself , it almost takes you away from your reality of things . So when you come in here , your expectations , you don't know what you're going to . Just being in the location where it's at , you know outside , you know coming into it , it's the wow factor . So just taking them kind of away from , yes , we are on 6th Street , but also making you still feel Almost like you're at home , very comforting , yeah , that you belong here . You know , you do it , you do it .

Erica Rawls 12:32

I promise you , because if you look outside , right , you don't expect this experience inside . So yeah , you're doing the darn thing .

Chef Sachiko Baez 12:39

You are , you're really doing the darn thing .

Erica Rawls 12:40

Thank you so much so let us know what your hours are , because , ok , y'all , you need to come to Cote Rouge . Ok , need to come to Cote Rouge . Okay , they're open . So , very conveniently , you can have work dinners here , you can have brunch , you can have date night , I mean , the list goes on . And the cuisine , y'all , I'm not kidding , I'm not exaggerating , it is one that you do not want to not experience , okay , so yeah , share what your hours are , yeah , are , and just share a little bit what's on your menu too , because I like .

Erica Rawls 13:14

Well , I'm not going to share , I'm not going to steal it .

Chef Sachiko Baez 13:16

Okay , you tell it . You tell it . Our hours right now are seven days a week . We're open eight to 2 PM Monday through Friday , and then Saturday and Sunday . We're open for brunch 10 AM to 4 PM . We have social media . We have Tik for brunch , 10 am to 4 pm . We have social media . We have TikTok Instagram . We have Facebook and I periodically put out invites to a pop-up that we do and it's a dinner pop-up , five-course dinner with live entertainment . It's something very elevated , very fine dining , something that we don't have here in Harrisburg . I also do private events , so you know you can contact us and we are looking forward to opening for dinner in 2026 .

Erica Rawls 14:01

So that is awesome , I love it . I love it . Ok , so if you're you're looking to become a chef and you're trying to figure out how to become one , like seriously , you need to contact , yeah , Sashiko , because she is the one she said that she likes to mentor . Here's the thing . It comes with a cost , so don't come with her and say , hey , show me how to do a thing , and you're not ready to do that thing right , or to hear and be open to it , because she is one that has actually earned her stripes , has worked with Wolfgang Puck Jameson , is a great co-owner too , so I applaud you both . So thank you so much for your

Hours and California-Inspired Menu

Erica Rawls 14:38

time . Thank you .

Chef Sachiko Baez 14:38

Thank you Really quick . The menu it's based on California . I know you asked me . It's based on California cuisine , so it's a little bit of different cultures . We have an omurice omelette , which is a Japanese traditional omelette . It has New York steak in it as well as rice peas , a little bit of a tomato jelly that I add to it , and it's wrapped in an omelette , french style omelette . We have so many great if you have a sweet tooth so many great French toasts . I can go on with peach cobbler . We have blueberry strawberry cheesecake stuffed French toast . It's not fair . Yeah , jameson's mom , you know before I said she wanted to be a baker . She is our baker . So all of our baked goods , all of our coffee cakes , all of my fillings for the French toast are of her creation as well . So it's a joint family affair .

Chef Sachiko Baez 15:43

I am changing the menu . I actually change the menu seasonally . I do a spring summer and then I'll do um a fall winter , just to , kind of , because I use a lot of local ingredients , fresh ingredients . I like to try to keep it , you know , seasonal . So this menu , the spring menu , is changing . Probably in a week or so I'll probably have the fall menu . Some favorites will stay , but then there will be some new options yeah , yeah , that's awesome .

Erica Rawls 16:10

I , I love that . No , thank you for your time . I appreciate it Y'all . Please , in the comments , let us know what you thought of this dynamic woman and co-owner , jamison , and the whole just idea of Cote Rouge . I think it's amazing . And when you stop by , come back to the comments and say , yep , you were right , the food is absolutely amazing . So until next time , see ya .