The Industry

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279

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Oct 2026

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EN-US

About the show

A discussion with people working in the Service Industry - Bar, Restaurant, Hospitality - Front of House, Back of House, all aspects of what is commonly referred to as The Industry.

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November 9, 2026Episode 28143 min

E281 De'Qustay Johnson

In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with De'Qustay Johnson , founder of Mobile Bar ATL and a brand ambassador for The Perfect Purée . Joining from Atlanta , she opens the conversation fresh off the Bourbon Women's SIPosium in Kentucky, where she attended as a scholar. A Birmingham, Alabama native with a medical science background, she worked in a histology lab before landing at Cheesecake Factory to fund graduate school, and the bar there kicked off her hospitality career. De'Qustay explains how a "militant" corporate training ground (full white uniforms, secret shoppers, and shift "sharking") gave her service habits she still can't turn off. She then walks through how guests asking about private bookings pushed her toward entrepreneurship, how she unofficially launched Mobile Bar ATL in December 2019, and how the COVID-19 shutdown led her to start delivering to-go cocktail pouches after Georgia loosened its rules. Her first month brought in several grand, all through word of mouth and social media. The conversation then widens to the state of the industry: Atlanta's growing recognition on the national cocktail stage, why the same big cities keep winning awards, the new cocktail show coming to the E! Network, and why De'Qustay believes bartending is finally being respected as a craft. She also shares what's next for Mobile Bar ATL, including a dedicated office space, a branded work van, and a continued focus on mentorship. Also in this episode - Alabama's cocktail scene versus Atlanta's, and the "college town" stereotype - Serving on the Atlanta Chapter Council of the Bartenders' Guild - Lessons from Tales of the Cocktail, including the CAP program as a Red Coat and Gray Coat, and BCB - Tips for planning your schedule at big industry conferences - Working full-time hours part-time at Carrie's Conservatory, a Hilton property in Alpharetta, Georgia, and leading the Miracle pop-up bar program with Peachtree Group - Building a go-to team and contracting industry professionals for events - Brand ambassador work with The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley - Why there aren't more cocktail shows on TV, and why booze brands should back them - The growing wave of Canadian cocktail festivals and bartending talent Notable Quote > " We have to continue to remember to be a community, lift one another up, support one another, because that's how we grow ." > — De'Qustay Johnson Connect with De'Qustay - Website: mobilebaratl.com - Instagram: @mobilebaratl - Facebook: Mobile Bar ATL - LinkedIn: De'Qustay Johnson A big thank-you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and build by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features of the platform include the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more.... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links: kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast contact us: info@theindustrypodcast.club If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, follow, and leave us a rate and review. It helps more than you know. Interested in sponsoring the show or being a guest? Reach us at info@theindustrypodcast.club

October 26, 2026Episode 28039 min

E280 Inez Goodwine

From bottle girl to competition winner and co-chair of the United States Bartenders' Guild Atlanta Leadership Council, Inez Goodwine shares how competitions, mentorship and Mexico-sourced lessons shaped her career. In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Inez Goodwine , Atlanta bartender, cocktail competitor and self-proclaimed Agave Princess. Inez started out as a nightclub bottle girl at 26 while holding down a tech job, then worked her way through a cigar lounge, a seafood staple and an Italian craft restaurant, where a great GM helped her find her footing behind the bar. Her first competition was an internal contest to replace the restaurant's best-selling cocktail, and it sparked her passion for agave spirits. From there, Inez won her West Midtown round of Rellie's Mixologist of the Year (MOYA) competition as the only woman in the field, and she credits the many competitions she has lost with teaching her even more. She talks about how competitions, brand activations and pop-ups built her network, and how COVID-era Zoom classes helped her sharpen her skills. Inez also shares the stories behind her favourite travel experiences, including a chef residency at Casa Jacaranda in Mexico City and a hacienda visit where she got to puncture an agave herself. The conversation also digs into Atlanta's cocktail scene, which Inez describes as in a revamp stage, and into the lack of mentorship that held it back. Inez shares tequila picks and favourite brands, the 100% blue agave controversy and what it could mean for tequila laws, and how she stretches ingredients with a sustainability-first approach. She also explains the role of the United States Bartenders' Guild (USBG), a nonprofit community of bartenders with chapters across the U.S. that offers education, brand connections, competitions and support, and the work of its Atlanta Leadership Council, which she co-chairs. Also in this episode: - Why the classics are the foundation, and how competitions taught Inez to build on them - A hard lesson about sharing ideas and building trust in the industry - Turning pineapple and strawberry into syrups, tepache, oleos, garnishes and even fruit roll-ups - Choosing tequilas by mood: blanco and reposado for mixing, earthy volcanic profiles for sipping - Why price does not guarantee quality - Brands that support everyone, and why Inez likes to shop women-owned - Inez's recent career change and what's next Notable Quote > "Networking is probably one of the most powerful tools in this industry." > — Inez Goodwine Connect with Inez Goodwine - Instagram: @freshnique A big thank-you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and build by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features of the platform include the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more.... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links: kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

October 12, 2026Episode 27949 min

E279 Bree Keeney

In this episode of The Industry Podcast, hosts Dan and Kypp sit down with Bree Keeney , a Huntington Beach , California bartender who started behind the stick at 21 in the dive bars of Lakewood and Long Beach . Bree came up in tight-knit neighborhood bars where she was the bartender, bar back, security and manager all at once, and where regulars became family. Today she works the day shift at Little Misfit in Huntington Beach, a bar she says finally feels like home. Bree explains what the bikini bar world in Orange County is really like, and how she carved out a spot in it by wearing short shorts and crop tops while out-working everyone on the floor. Bree shares why bars that hire on looks alone leave money on the table, and why the relationships between bartenders and regulars are what actually keep a bar alive. Along the way she tells some of the wildest stories we've heard on the show, including a Friday night in San Clemente that ended in a 40-minute freeway pursuit, and a one-shift stint at a cash-only dive that went sideways fast. The conversation also gets honest about the long-term side of the job: being a single mom in the industry, the emotional exhaustion of being "on" all day, why the day shift works for her family, and the bar she has been planning to open one day. Bree also talks about learning to lean on her regulars' trust rather than fake it when memory gets tough. It's funny, raw and full of hard-earned bar wisdom. Also in this episode: - Why a one-person bar demands constant hypervigilance - Solo bars vs. big-team bars, and which job is actually harder - Why new bar owners should let a business run for three months before changing anything - Why long-time staff and regulars are the real value of a neighborhood bar - The strange reality of never being able to go out without being "on" - Why guests shouldn't expect you to remember them outside the bar - Bree's near-purchase of her longtime home bar and the lessons from it - Why forcing a bar dream never works, and letting the timing find you Notable Quote > "Chaos is the environment, and I'm okay with it." > — Bree Keeney Connect with Bree Instagram: @_breekeeney A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and build by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features of the platform include the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more.... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links: kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

September 28, 2026Episode 27842 min

E278 Christin Marvin

In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Christin Marvin , founder of Columbine Hospitality , author, and host of The Restaurant Leadership Podcast . Christin started as a line cook at 15, worked her way through fine dining and high-volume concepts, and eventually helped scale a Denver restaurant group from six locations to 48 before burning out. She shares the honest story of how that growth cost her — including a period of heavy drinking she eventually walked away from — and how the process of rebuilding her own life became the foundation for the company she runs today. Christin now leads Columbine Hospitality , where she and a small team of coaches help independent restaurant and bar owners build the leadership teams and systems needed to run a business that doesn't require them to be in it every hour of every day. She walks through how that work actually happens — remote coaching, digging past the surface-level complaint to the real problem, and rolling out change gradually so owners don't lose their sense of purpose in the process. She also gets into why she started writing (her first book, The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap , and her second, Multi-Unit Mastery ) how self-publishing actually works, and her plan to grow her coaching team over the next decade. - Growing up in the industry and the "highlight of her career" moment that hooked her on hospitality - Scaling a restaurant group from 6 to 48 locations and what private equity changed - Burnout, losing her voice as a leader, and the drinking that came with it - Getting sober and rebuilding a life and business around her core values - How Columbine Hospitality coaches independent owners remotely - Writing and self-publishing *The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap* and *Multi-Unit Mastery* - Hosting The Restaurant Leadership Podcast and building her coaching team - Why "structure" is no longer just a corporate word for independent operators Notable Quote " There's gotta be more intention and more clarity and more systems, and systems used to be a very corporate word, but there's gotta be more structure to the business than there used to be in the past, because it's so hard to find experienced people ." — Christin Marvin Connect with Christin Marvin - Columbine Hospitality - LinkedIn: Christin Marvin - Instagram: @christinlmarvin - The Restaurant Leadership Podcast — available wherever you listen to podcasts - Books: The Hospitality Leader's Roadmap and Multi-Unit Mastery A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and build by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features of the platform include the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more.... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links: kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

September 14, 2026Episode 27744 min

E277 Ryan Foley

Ryan Foley, publisher of Bartender Magazine , joins the show to talk family legacy, print media, and the Bartender Hall of Fame. In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Ryan Foley , publisher of Bartender Magazine . Ryan grew up inside the publication his father, Ray Foley, launched in 1979 — after Ray left a career as a comedy writer for Johnny Carson to chase what he loved most: bartending. As an only child, Ryan says the magazine has been "his sibling" his whole life, and he stepped in to run the business full-time after his father passed away. The conversation traces the magazine's roots as a scrappy New York/New Jersey zine to its current run of 50,000 print copies per quarter , distributed at major industry events like Tales of the Cocktail. Ryan opens up about the pressure and privilege of carrying on a family business after his father's passing — from Ray's two unbreakable rules (never change the logo, never stop printing) to the emotional weight of stepping into his dad's shoes while raising two young kids of his own. They also dig into the Bartender Hall of Fame , a program Ray started in 1985 to honor bartenders who might otherwise be overlooked — not just industry stars, but the person who tended the same bar for 60 years. Ryan also shares the story behind Bartending for Dummies , the million-copy bestseller his father wrote in 1999 that Ryan later took over rewriting, along with Running a Bar for Dummies and his own book, Non-Alcoholic Drinks for Dummies . Additional topics discussed: - How Ray Foley bought bartender.com , mixologist.com , and roughly 450 other domains in the 1990s (including budtender.com ) - Balancing a growing digital presence with the cost and tradition of print - How the magazine finds and features under-the-radar bars and bartenders, not just the famous ones - The layout and editorial process behind each quarterly issue, including regular contributors like Christine Wiseman and John Jakuru - Recent Bartender Hall of Fame inductees, including Julie Reiner and Chris Hannah - Life as a family business — travel, cover shoots, and running things day-to-day with his mother Notable Quote " I hustle so hard because I care about it so much ." — Ryan Foley Connect with Ryan Foley Bartender Magazine @bartendermagazine https://bartender.com A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and build by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features of the platform include the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more.... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links: kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

August 31, 2026Episode 27637 min

E276 Michelle Freed

In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Michelle Freed , a bartender currently behind the stick at The Mermaid in Downtown LA's Little Tokyo. Michelle traces her hospitality career back to age 15, working at Polly's Pies, through a stint as a general manager at Panera Bread, and into her first cocktail bar job in LA roughly a decade ago. She credits the Long Beach cocktail scene — and a mentor she met there — with pushing her to take craft cocktails seriously and start entering competitions. The conversation centers on Michelle's run in Diageo's World Class, where she advanced from an initial field into the Top 15 this year. She walks through the multi-round format — a pantry-list cocktail, a free-choice Diageo-portfolio cocktail, a classic, and eventually a six-cocktail themed menu and live presentations in front of judges. Michelle also opens up about how the competition experience previously outpaced the support she got from her former bar, and how that contributed to her decision to move on to a new role. Dan and Kypp dig into the bigger picture too: why competition culture matters for the wider bartending community, how the industry has shifted from secrecy to openness around recipes and technique, and Michelle's evolving plans to eventually open her own bar — including a scaled-down mobile/pop-up concept as a lower-risk way to build an audience before committing to a full build-out. Also discussed: - Michelle's move from El Segundo's neighborhood-bar scene to Downtown LA - Her Speed Rack Fast Track experience - The pantry-list and prompt-based rounds of World Class judging - Foraging local ingredients (loquat syrup) for her competition menu - The disconnect between "global" bartender-community recognition and local bar culture - Using scotch as a base spirit in tiki-style drinks - Social media strategy for an eventual bar or pop-up launch Connect with Michelle Freed @m.f__ck A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and build by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features of the platform include the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more.... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links: kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

August 17, 2026Episode 27551 min

E275 Sean Goodchild

A former touring musician and lifelong bartender turned brand director and bar owner, Sean Goodchild joins the show to talk beer, bands, and bringing a century-old Kitchener landmark back to life. * In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Sean Goodchild , co-owner and program director of The Boathouse DTK in Victoria Park, and director of brand development for Farm League Brewing in Galt. Sean traces his path from bartending and touring in a band across 15 years in London, Ontario, to a graphic design role at Waterloo Brewing. in 2020, a partnership manager position through the Carlsberg acquisition, and eventually a jump to Farm League — the "blue collar craft" brewery known for collaborations with acts like Greta Van Fleet and Mount Joy, and for running the Meadows and Fest2Fall music festivals. The conversation digs into the two-year process of transforming The Boathouse — a heritage-designated building on city-owned land dating back to 1896 — into a modern bar and venue, including how the ownership group became the first in the city to win unanimous Heritage Committee approval to expand the patio. Sean and the guys also get into the state of the live music industry post-pandemic, why charging a cover matters for musicians and venues alike, and why supporting independent bars and restaurants is more important than ever. - The sales lessons Sean picked up moving from bartending into corporate sales at Waterloo Brewing - What changes when a craft brewery gets bought by an international giant like Carlsberg - Why a good lager is harder to brew than a hoppy IPA - Building The Boathouse ownership group and navigating city bureaucracy on a heritage property - Balancing a touring musician's life with running two hospitality businesses - The economics of live music venues and why cover charges protect musicians - Why the pandemic permanently changed drinking and spending habits Connect with Sean Goodchild - The Boathouse DTK boathousedtk.com @boathousedtk - Farm League Brewing farmleaguebrewing.com @farmleaguebrewing - Meadows Music Festival meadowsfest.ca @meadowsfergus - Fest2Fall Music Festival fest2fall.com @fest2fall A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and built by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features includes the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more...... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links: kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

August 3, 2026Episode 27449 min

E274 Patrick McMurray

A conversation with Guinness World Record holder Patrick McMurray on merroir, the art of the perfect shuck, and building a career around one ingredient.* In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Patrick McMurray , a Toronto-based oyster sommelier, restaurateur, and two-time record holder — 2002 World Oyster Shucking Champion and current Guinness World Record holder at 39 oysters shucked in a minute. Patrick got his start as a teenage butcher's apprentice before working the front and back of house at some of Toronto's top restaurants in the late '80s and '90s, eventually opening his own spots, Starfish and Ceili Cottage. Patrick walks through the concept of merroir — how oyster flavour shifts based on species, region, and season, in a direct parallel to terroir in wine — and breaks down North America's five oyster species along with French affinage, the process of "finishing" oysters in high-tide clear pools. He also shares the story behind his namesake oyster knife, now carried by Zyliss and *The Oyster Companion *, his book on oyster tasting and technique. The conversation covers his Guinness World Record training, including the head-to-head challenge against Gordon Ramsay on Ramsay's show, and the proper technique for eating an oyster — no sauce, a two-bite chew, and retronasal breathing to pull out the full range of flavour. Patrick also discusses: - The Oyster Master Guild , the sommelier-style learning platform he co-founded with Julie Chu - Toronto's lack of local oysters, and how that pushed him to become an expert in importing and logistics - Growing regions in Baja Mexico and Dubai, and how climate and depth change flavor - Pairing oysters with wine, beer, and whiskey — including his oyster shell whiskey pairing method - Finding "your ingredient" — the mindset he teaches his students at Centennial College Notable Quote "It's the first 50,000 oysters that are tough — after that you either get good or you become a pillow stuffer." — Patrick McMurray Connect with Patrick McMurray Website: shuckerpaddy.ca Instagram: @shuckerpatty ShuckerPaddy Oyster Shucking k nife: zyliss.com/products/oyster-knife-shucker-paddy Book: The Oyster Companion A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and built by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features includes the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more...... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

July 20, 2026Episode 27344 min

E273 Nicole White

In this episode of The Industry Podcast, we sit down with Nicole White , a bartender currently working at OPA , a Greek and Mediterranean restaurant in Waterville, Maine . Nicole traces her path through the hospitality industry — from her first job at Panera Bread and serving at Ruby Tuesday, to learning the craft behind the bar at The Speakeasy in Waterville, to becoming a full-time bartender in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Nicole's career eventually took her to San Diego, where she spent six years working at spots including Urban North Park (a New Haven-style pizza bar) and the now-closed Magic Dinner Theater in the Gaslamp Quarter, a speakeasy-style venue accessed through an escape room, known for elaborate, intentional cocktails like the smoked "Smoking Elephant" and a Manhattan served through a bullet-pierced glass. She also worked at a comedy club, giving her a unique window into hospitality under very different crowd dynamics. A pivotal early moment in her career was attending Gaz Regan's Cocktails in the Country in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, in 2016 — a four-day intensive she credits with shaping her approach to mindful, service-first bartending. The conversation also covers Nicole's deep involvement with Camp Runamok ( Lush Life Production ), where she's participated three times — first in the low-ABV Pathfinder cabin during her sobriety journey, then running the Suze-themed cabin, and most recently joining the beverage team, which included an R\&D trip to the Monin facility in Nevada and a seven-day stretch making over 10,000 cocktails for 150 bartenders at camp. Nicole also discusses: - Moving back to Central Maine after her mother's stroke, and rebuilding her career and creative outlet from the ground up - Her certifications, including the ABCs of Canadian Whiskey and the Executive Bourbon Steward program through the Stave & Thief Society - Attending Behind the Barrel distillery experiences at Wilderness Trail and Wild Turkey - Her honest reflection on her relationship with alcohol and sobriety, and how that shaped the direction of her career - Her favorite bars and restaurants across Maine (Portland, Bangor, Rockport) and San Diego (North Park, Little Italy, Gaslamp) - Why she loves doing thoughtful riffs on classic cocktails as a way to make craft drinks approachable to guests Connect with Nicole White - Instagram / all platforms: @NicoleXTayl0r https://www.instagram.com/NicoleXTayl0r A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and built by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features includes the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more...... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . https://malivoire.com/ Links kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club

July 6, 2026Episode 27251 min

E272 Marina Ferreira

Inside the remote desert resort redefining hospitality, one cocktail at a time Guest Bio Raised between Brazil and New York, Marina Ferreira developed a deep appreciation for how food, drink, and hospitality bring people together. With more than 12 years in the industry, she's built a career rooted in creativity, connection, and guest experience — growing from host to beverage director along the way. She currently leads the bar team at Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel in California's high desert, where she builds intimate hospitality experiences and thoughtful cocktail programs. Known for mentoring her bar teams and for believing that any great conversation can be elevated by a well-made martini, Marina blends operational know-how with an artistic approach to beverage development. Episode Summary Marina joins the show to talk about her unconventional path into the industry and her current chapter running the beverage program at one of the most remote hotels in Southern California. She digs into what it's like building a cocktail program in a town with no grocery store, why she came in as an SOP-and-systems consultant before stepping into the beverage manager role, and how a dive bar bartending job taught her more about hospitality than any craft cocktail bar ever did. The conversation covers her early restaurant-industry upbringing, her time in New York City bars, opening Botanica, running community events in San Diego, and what she's building next at Jacumba — including a new mocktail program and an upcoming cocktail menu overhaul. Key Topics - Life in the middle of nowhere : Living and working in Jacumba Hot Springs, where groceries require a 45-minute to hour-long drive and deliveries only come twice a week - The history of Jacumba Hot Springs : From a railroad boomtown to natural mineral springs to the hotel and bathhouse standing today - Consultant to beverage manager : How a three-month SOP-focused consulting contract turned into a full-time role - Building for a destination, not a neighborhood bar : Designing a beverage program around hotel guests, pool bars, weddings, and cabana service rather than walk-in traffic - Launching a mocktail program : Using adaptogens (Aplos, lion's mane, African black pepper) to build a non-alcoholic menu that doesn't feel like an afterthought - Growing up in restaurants : Marina's parents' own service-industry and entrepreneurial backgrounds, and how that shaped her path - Brazilian heritage and flavor : How growing up identifying plants, herbs, and berries in Brazil shows up in her cocktail-building today - From hosting to bartending in NYC : Her early days on the Upper West Side and how watching a bartender work pulled her behind the bar - The dive bar lesson : Why working at a no-frills dive bar taught her more about real hospitality and conversation than any cocktail bar did - Building Botanica : Opening a genever-focused bar from scratch, learning to manage and hire for the first time, and the toll — and growth — that came with it - Running industry events in San Diego : Building a 250-person industry group chat to coordinate events and avoid oversaturating the same night - Letting go of ego : Why she now actively seeks out feedback from people earlier in their careers and treats every conversation as a chance to learn something - What's next at Jacumba : Plans for a new cocktail menu, more community takeover events, and growing programming to bring people back to the property Guest Links - Marina Ferreira (Instagram): @marinimartinisd - Jacumba Hot Springs Hotel (Instagram): @jacumbahotspringshotel - Jacumba Hot Springs Presents (events/concerts/pop-ups): @jacumbapresents A big thank you to Jean-Marc Dykes of Imbiblia . Imbiblia is a cocktail app for bartenders, restaurants and cocktail lovers alike and built by a bartender with more than a decade of experience behind the bar. Several of the features includes the ability to create your own Imbiblia Recipe Cards with the Imbiblia Cocktail Builder, rapidly select ingredients, garnishes, methods and workshop recipes with a unique visual format, search by taste, using flavour profiles unique to Imbiblia, share recipes publicly plus many more...... Imbiblia - check it out! Contact the host Kypp Saunders by email at kyppsaunders@gmail.com for products from Elora Distilling and Noble Estates . Links kyppsaunders@gmail.com @sugarrunbar @the_industry_podcast email us: info@theindustrypodcast.club