Soul & Craft

I've been in the restaurant/service industry for many, many years. Last year, I took a job as a bartender for a vegan soul food restaurant. The bar manager at this job changed my life. She became my mentor through and through and she taught me so much and opened her heart to me. I watched her leave the restaurant to start her own consulting business and I filled her shoes managing the bar. I created craft cocktail menus with ingredients I'd never used before, combining flavors I'd never have thought to combine and using techniques I'd never heard of. I suddenly had this versatile new skillset and passion and I was excited to see where it would lead. Unfortunately, this restaurant did not survive. It opened in the height of the pandemic and was pretty niche. Leaving this position, I was on the hunt for a new restaurant that would allow me to develop a bar program. I wanted to start from scratch. But more than that, I wanted to be in charge of something new so I could build a community. And I did that. I built a safe space for queer and BIPOC people and I created menu after menu that generated an immense following. My bar program was 70-80% of total sales and my drinks were being featured by distilleries - Grand Marnier even reached out. I was able to hire a staff that was diverse and offer them a safe space as well and share with them the knowledge that was shared with me by my mentor. Through this, customers began to ask for my products independently - all the things I handcrafted to accompany cocktails they wanted to take home to keep enjoying. Eventually I decided to make this happen. Every ingredient from syrups to tonics and bitters and oils, I work to bottle and sell. And I strive for sustainability and to work with local queer and BIPOC farmers to make this happen, continuing my desire to build community.