Tell us about each of your hospitality journeys.
Brenna: I worked as a bartender, brand rep, and spirits judge for over a decade in New York and California before pursuing a career in mental health. I started in LA in college. After being on tour with a circus company overseas and completing my Master's in Gastronomy while living in Montreal, I lived in NYC, Rochester, and Oakland working in various industry capacities. I am now a licensed therapist who continues to stay connected to the hospitality industry by providing individual and institutional mental health education, counseling, and consulting.
Matty: I have worked in the industry for about 2 decades, starting as a server and quickly realizing I was much happier with 3 feet of space between customers and me. Before moving to Minneapolis in 2021, I was in the Bay Area for most of my career, bartending, managing, and consulting in nightclubs, restaurants, and cocktail bars. I spent 7 wonderful years bartending and cutting ice at a beloved cocktail joint in Emeryville. When we moved here, I managed 3 bars at a new distillery in the Twin Cities and am now again happily behind the bar at a neighborhood cocktail bar.
What has been the biggest change/challenge to your lives since having a kiddo?
Brenna: Honestly, I think we were pretty prepared for the normal challenges, like weird hours, being screamed at, and sleeplessness (talents all honed in F&B). What I wasn't as prepared for were the feelings of boredom and isolation - Matty was opening a huge undertaking at a new distillery when we had Reyna, we had only moved to Minnesota 2 months prior, and I really didn't realize how lonely being a parent of a young one is. Going from a vibrant social life connected to an awesome industry community in the Bay into Covid life into parenthood was just a ride of isolation. It takes a lot more intentionality to plan new ways to connect with people when your life turns off at 7:30 pm when your kid falls asleep.
Matty: For me, I felt that the benefits of working in this industry would mean that I was available during the irregular hours of a young baby being awake and needing someone. But the reality was - especially when running a bar - that even though I was getting home at those times, it was difficult to be physically or mentally available, so the largest struggle for me was feeling that I had let go of the balance between work and home. I felt that I was not holding up my end of the partnership and parenthood, which is why I had to make a change away from unrealistic 60-hour work weeks to a more balanced week, making those late-night closes not such a drain on us both.
Tell us about each of your hospitality journeys.
Brenna: I worked as a bartender, brand rep, and spirits judge for over a decade in New York and California before pursuing a career in mental health. I started in LA in college. After being on tour with a circus company overseas and completing my Master's in Gastronomy while living in Montreal, I lived in NYC, Rochester, and Oakland working in various industry capacities. I am now a licensed therapist who continues to stay connected to the hospitality industry by providing individual and institutional mental health education, counseling, and consulting.
Matty: I have worked in the industry for about 2 decades, starting as a server and quickly realizing I was much happier with 3 feet of space between customers and me. Before moving to Minneapolis in 2021, I was in the Bay Area for most of my career, bartending, managing, and consulting in nightclubs, restaurants, and cocktail bars. I spent 7 wonderful years bartending and cutting ice at a beloved cocktail joint in Emeryville. When we moved here, I managed 3 bars at a new distillery in the Twin Cities and am now again happily behind the bar at a neighborhood cocktail bar.
What has been the biggest change/challenge to your lives since having a kiddo?
Brenna: Honestly, I think we were pretty prepared for the normal challenges, like weird hours, being screamed at, and sleeplessness (talents all honed in F&B). What I wasn't as prepared for were the feelings of boredom and isolation - Matty was opening a huge undertaking at a new distillery when we had Reyna, we had only moved to Minnesota 2 months prior, and I really didn't realize how lonely being a parent of a young one is. Going from a vibrant social life connected to an awesome industry community in the Bay into Covid life into parenthood was just a ride of isolation. It takes a lot more intentionality to plan new ways to connect with people when your life turns off at 7:30 pm when your kid falls asleep.
Matty: For me, I felt that the benefits of working in this industry would mean that I was available during the irregular hours of a young baby being awake and needing someone. But the reality was - especially when running a bar - that even though I was getting home at those times, it was difficult to be physically or mentally available, so the largest struggle for me was feeling that I had let go of the balance between work and home. I felt that I was not holding up my end of the partnership and parenthood, which is why I had to make a change away from unrealistic 60-hour work weeks to a more balanced week, making those late-night closes not such a drain on us both.
