Today we’d like to introduce you to Daria Ocean (aka Daria Zhukova).
Thanks for sharing your story with us Daria. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born on May 01, 1990 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. An only child, my desire for communication was so strong that at age five, I learned English and German. My first artistic expression began as a professional dancer; it took me to compete across Europe. I attended Saint Petersburg State University for engineering and economics, studying marketing and brand management, I graduated in 2012. My main goal when graduating was to be “an independent self-made woman.” I started my marketing and management jobs that I took on while still in school, including sales for Russia’s largest bread factory “Hlebniy Dom” [a part of the largest corporation in the Finish food industry, “Fazer”] and as a Marketing Specialist for Bentley Saint Petersburg (the official Bentley Motors Dealership in Saint Petersburg, Russia). Independence was calling me, so I laid the foundation for my hospitality career with event-management courses before opening D.Event Company in 2013 providing service for unique private and corporate events.
With that enthusiasm for service and creating a unique environment, in 2014 I and my husband Alex Zhukov, with who we got married on August 08, 2011, opened our gourmet burger restaurant WAVE in Saint Petersburg (Russia). We always wanted to make everything together. The goal was to bring a fresh approach to relatively ‘stuffy’ Russian food scene. We created a new niche of organic craft burgers and other dishes. We personally created and improved every single recipe. We offered burgers of exclusive Wagyu Beef, King Crab, and other great stuff, Pitch Black Burgers served on a homemade black buns colored with squid ink, black cheese, black sauce also crafted in house, WAVE’s famous, cake-style killer size “Biggest Burger in Town”, Poke and other new for the local market food experiences that came from our extensive travels. It was an instant hit. Beginning in 2014, WAVE was one of the most successful and well-known burger restaurant in Russia. The service was just as often noted as the delicious food, and that was what keeps our guests returning.
In 2014, WAVE was nominated as the “best burger restaurant” by Time Out, in 2016 – 2018 WAVE received the Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor and was #1 restaurant in Saint Petersburg for quite some time. Travelers from around the world put WAVE on their “must visit” list for Saint Petersburg. Nevertheless, we always had a dream to live next to the ocean. In September 2016 we came in SoCal for a vacation. When we came back to Saint Petersburg we immediately bought tickets again because we wanted to know more about opportunities for our restaurant business here in States. So in December 2016 we touched down in LAX. I will never forget that feeling of happiness and joy… We were blessed! After some time our attorney suggested us to stay and start our immigration process without leaving a country. We agreed because we didn’t know that it would take such a long time.
In March 29, 2017 my Mom passed away… She was just 46 years old. She had been fighting cancer for almost over 12 years. The end came fast and unexpectedly for her and for the whole family. My Mom was the closest person to me so I was absolutely devastated, heartbroken, lost… But as the only child I had to be strong enough for my Dad and my Grandparents (my Mom’s parents). I was so thankful to Alex who supported me a lot in such a hard time, my Dad and Grandparents, Alex’s Mom (who is definitely become a second Mom for me), friends and other kind people around who helped tremendously as well. That awful loss made me stronger and wiser regardless of this bottomless void in my soul that’s here to stay forever. I believe, struggles and challenges I’m facing are tests that will show whether I’m truly committed to the life I said I always wanted or not.
In May 9, 2017 we registered WAVE in the U.S. with an idea of expansion for a first location here in California. We continued to manage our restaurant on the distance even though we didn’t want to sell or shut down our project in Russia but, unfortunately, we closed it in September 17, 2018 due to declining economy, but mostly because of our decision to stay in SoCal permanently. It was one of the hardest decisions in our life. We even thought to stop our restaurant path. On the other hand, we believe that everything happens for a reason and it’s always better to be positive and keep moving forward. The other day we realized that we missed times when we made guests happy with our dishes, service and atmosphere when we cared about others when we created something new.
Moreover, we couldn’t find WAVE style burgers in California. That’s why we decided that it’s time to introduce our burger concept to the local market. Drawing our restaurant business experience, we decided not to open a brick and mortar location first. In March 2019 we started to deliver cake style party size “SICK FUN BURGERS” (to share) and host gourmet Pop Up Events. Our project WAVE is about our passion to create choice for everyone, to fit polarized views into one concept, to unite and to make others happy. I’m on plant-based diet, Alex is “omnivorous”, but nevertheless, both of us think that everybody is unique and it’s always better to listen to your own body and in the same time to respect choices of others. To be honest, before we heard from other people that our life is inspiring, we weren’t satisfied with ourselves.
Unfortunately, lots of people concentrate on their cons instead of pros. I hope our experience can help others to think out of the box. Nobody should be shy to share own story because it can cheer someone up or help in the hardest time. We all have something within us that this world needs. We are still in the process of making our dreams a reality. And if one thing doesn’t work we always try another. Our family, our friends believe in us and support us. We feel that we are meant to be here in California and that we’re moving in a right direction. I would like to share my story with all of you because whole my life I wanted to motivate, to inspire people and to let people understand that everything we can imagine is real.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I think it depends on your own level of perception. I believe the struggle you’re facing is a test to see if you’re truly committed to the life you say you want. I think success is a series of small wins. Consistency will get you everywhere. I and Alex are still working hard, persevering, not giving up. It’s not about how many times we fall down. It’s all about how many times we stand up and are brave to keep on going and to fight for our dream.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Recently I read the phrase “running a business is a walk in the park – Jurassic Park” so it describes my work perfectly 🙂 🙂 🙂 In my opinion, the harder the better because it helps to grow and to become the better version of myself. If to be more particular nowadays we host burger events in collaboration with different bars, breweries, wineries or our own, do catering, deliver cake style party size burgers. The main goal is to introduce our product to the local market and to start a restaurant group in Southern California. Fingers Crossed!
What were some of the struggles you encountered along the way?
I’m not a moaner or anything like that, I’m always “my own motivation”. However it was hard to shut down our restaurant back in Russia, I was lost in my emotions, thoughts, feelings, I faced my true deep sorrow about loss of my Mommy, of 2 years lasting nerve-racking immigration documents process, of “who I really am”, etc. which I hid behind solving problems of our business and being busy with it. I cried a lot, my body was weak: heartaches, neuralgia… Sometimes I was so afraid because I couldn’t breathe. It was so unnatural for me that I infuriated and blamed myself making my condition even worse.
In the same time, I smiled to my family, to others who shared with me their dramas. I felt that they need my understanding and support more than I need theirs. I don’t have enough words to say how I appreciate Alex for being there for me; my friends for 24/7 chatting and care; WAVE’s guests for kind and warm words. I’m a very happy person because people around me are so responsive! Life doesn’t punish just teaches. We live for the sake of this knowledge. Any experience can affect a person but as I see negative experiences have the strongest potential for changing the way of thinking. If it feels that every experience is sent for a reason then the whole life is filled with a meaning. I feel how I changed, my personal growth and I honestly enjoy the process. All my life I’m like a hamster in a wheel – run in rush, want everything “sooner & faster”, try to be as busy as possible just not to feel guilt because of idleness, although I know that 1 hour of work with pleasure brings more results than 8 hours of work under whiplash.
After analyzing all the events of recent years, I came to the conclusion that the Universe persistently tried to teach me patience but I stubbornly opposed like an iron donkey. Finally, I learned a lesson in theory, now I’m learning to practice it! Everything happens at the right time, often we get even more than ask for, but not on our own created schedule. Moreover, it is necessary to allow yourself gracefully exit situations you have outgrown. Moving on doesn’t have to be a catastrophic dramatic event. You can simply choose to move forward with peace and clarity. It all begins and ends in our mind. What we give power to has power over us. Don’t let attached to moments. Good or bad, they all pass. And always remember that winner is just a loser who tried one more time.
Pricing:
- Cali Double Cheeseburger $10
- High End Wagyu Cheeseburger $15
- Slider Duo (chicken & crabcake) $11
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.eatyourwave.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/daria.oc
Image Credit:
Daria Zhukova
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