Tell us about your journey into the hospitality industry.
My hospitality journey wasn't a conventional one. My first job was as a hostess in a restaurant. I accidentally became a server on a random Saturday when all the servers were scheduled, but one was late and another no-showed. My GM gave me the smoking section (showing my age here, lol). That day I made over 200 dollars and didn't look back. Everyone eventually made it in, but the rush was gone, and I was now a server. I then went on to work at other restaurants, went to college, got married, and worked for a staffing company as an administrative assistant at an accounting firm. Soon I realized that I don't conform well, lol. I took a job with a New Orleans-style Restaurant in Buckhead, an upper-class area at the time. A short time after that, I discovered I was pregnant. My GM there thought I should start serving again to make extra money, and he thought guests would tip a married pregnant woman a lot; he wasn't wrong, lol.
When I came back from Maternity leave, my GM thought I should train to become a bartender. He thought it would be a good fit because I would have a set schedule as the lunch bartender, and I already know the regular guests and menus back and forth. And that's how I got started on my bartender's journey. I later ended up at a French concept where Eric Simpkins led the bar program. Eric took an interest in me because he was impressed with my knowledge of drinks and spirits, even though I didn't let them know about my bartending background at Trois. I was going through a divorce and was the mom of 2 kids. I didn't want to work late nights to keep some consistency in their life. Eric saw something in me that no one else did. He told me there are not a lot of bartenders doing what he is doing at that level that looked like me, and he wanted to help me with that as his mentee. After a year, I agreed. Now, look at me.
What was the inspiration behind A Sip of Paradise Garden?
A Sip of Paradise Garden came off the back of me being a finalist off Bombay Sapphire. A Bartenders community garden was my idea as part of the competition. I just wanted a safe space to play in the dirt with my friends. The simplest idea of having a place for my bar friends and me to be ourselves turned into this.
Tell us about your journey into the hospitality industry.
My hospitality journey wasn't a conventional one. My first job was as a hostess in a restaurant. I accidentally became a server on a random Saturday when all the servers were scheduled, but one was late and another no-showed. My GM gave me the smoking section (showing my age here, lol). That day I made over 200 dollars and didn't look back. Everyone eventually made it in, but the rush was gone, and I was now a server. I then went on to work at other restaurants, went to college, got married, and worked for a staffing company as an administrative assistant at an accounting firm. Soon I realized that I don't conform well, lol. I took a job with a New Orleans-style Restaurant in Buckhead, an upper-class area at the time. A short time after that, I discovered I was pregnant. My GM there thought I should start serving again to make extra money, and he thought guests would tip a married pregnant woman a lot; he wasn't wrong, lol.
When I came back from Maternity leave, my GM thought I should train to become a bartender. He thought it would be a good fit because I would have a set schedule as the lunch bartender, and I already know the regular guests and menus back and forth. And that's how I got started on my bartender's journey. I later ended up at a French concept where Eric Simpkins led the bar program. Eric took an interest in me because he was impressed with my knowledge of drinks and spirits, even though I didn't let them know about my bartending background at Trois. I was going through a divorce and was the mom of 2 kids. I didn't want to work late nights to keep some consistency in their life. Eric saw something in me that no one else did. He told me there are not a lot of bartenders doing what he is doing at that level that looked like me, and he wanted to help me with that as his mentee. After a year, I agreed. Now, look at me.
What was the inspiration behind A Sip of Paradise Garden?
A Sip of Paradise Garden came off the back of me being a finalist off Bombay Sapphire. A Bartenders community garden was my idea as part of the competition. I just wanted a safe space to play in the dirt with my friends. The simplest idea of having a place for my bar friends and me to be ourselves turned into this.
