Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaye Beckford.
Hi Kaye, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I went to the University of Miami to pursue a bachelor’s degree in theatre. During my time there, I needed extra money to pay for books, school supplies, and my rent. I saw on Craigslist that TGI Fridays in South Beach was hiring for servers, and I figured how hard could it be. I got the job, and definitely was hard, but it was the most rewarding job. I was able to pay for rent, school books, my own groceries, my own car, etc. About a year and a half in… a bartender randomly quit, and I was the only server who knew all the drinks and had been there for a while. So they stuck me behind the bar, and I fell in love. Making drinks, the customers who sat at the bar were such a vibe. I got to learn under some OG flair bartenders, and it was a real treat. While in college too on a college girl’s budget, I would buy $2 bottles of wine from CVS to pregame with. I started to fall in love with the taste of $2 wine, crazy I know? But then I started venturing to the $5 bottles. Then, I began to start wondering what grape I was drinking. Then, all I drank was wine. And I began to teach myself about all the different grape varietals and geographical regions of wine. After the clientele of South Beach began to change, I challenged myself and while saving to move to Atlanta, I got a job at a hole-in-the-wall Italian fine-dining casual restaurant and a Japanese fine dining restaurant. Both expanded my spirit and wine knowledge and taught me craft cocktails.
Moving to Atlanta however, I experienced the shock of my life. I didn’t realize until moving to Atlanta that racism/sexism in the food/bev industry existed. Until I started my job at Punch Bowl Social in the battery. This was the company’s first location in Atlanta, and it seemed they were as shocked as I was that there were so many talented black waitstaff and bartenders. Over the year I worked at Punch Bowl, I worked my way up to bar lead, but it wasn’t a walk in the park. I watched several black female bartenders quit under the pressure and unfair circumstances we were placed under or the way we were treated versus our male counterparts. I myself, was working under two way less qualified bar leads who made $12 and $15 per hour while I made a measly $8. My interest began to buzz about how to change the industry. My time at Punch Bowl came to an end, but my restaurant work shifted as I went on to work in the glamorous ATL nightlife for a while. By glamorous…I definitely don’t mean that… as I completed late nights, I woke up early mornings to study to become a certified sommelier. A field that less than 0.001% of black woman have entered. Because I realized the only way to change the game was to enter the game from every angle. Once I passed my test, I went to work for Seed Kitchen & Bar in Marietta as a wine/spirit lead and gained even more spirit knowledge.
While at Seed, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse to manage a bar in Fairburn, GA. I wasn’t in the nightlife anymore and had now become accustomed to the life of a refined food/bev worker with healthcare, free meals, 401k, and off at 9pm. But the experience and the challenge intrigued me. While working for this cigar lounge, I realized that there was something that Atlanta’s Food & Beverage scene needed more than security, 20% grat, and hookah…it was a beverage consultant…one who was black. I realized that there were Punch Bowls who had all the means to run a successful restaurant but weren’t making the space for black workers…then there were Studio Cigar Lounges that made the space for black workers but didn’t have the knowledge of bars to be successful. That was where my beverage consultant firm spun from. I wanted to use my talent and my vast knowledge for the good of black-owned restaurants. So, I merged my consulting firm with my mobile bar business to create a one stop shop. I’d heard so many horror stories from black workers who worked for black businesses that didn’t have a clue what they were doing.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. It’s never a smooth road running your own company. Alot of the struggles are developing a trustworthy team because even as someone confident in your own talent, you have to realize that you are stronger with a team. There’s no possible way you can give your clients your best if you’re handling everything on your own. But with that being said as a business owner, you need to know how to do every aspect of your business on your own. Even though you can pay someone to do something, there should be no aspect of YOUR business that you’re not able to do yourself or wouldn’t do yourself, and if that’s the case, then that business isn’t for you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We specialize in Mobile Mixology, Private Wine Tastings, Cocktail Lessons, and Beverage Consulting. We’re known for our unique specialty cocktails and Brunch (Let’s learn about the Bubbly) Wine Tasting. We’re also known for LOLA, the portable bar. Lola is not only a beautiful bar, but she’s a joy to work behind because she’s equipped with everything built in that a bartender would ever need.
I personally think what sets us apart is how we treat our clients. I want every experience that a client has with us to be a unique experience tailored to who they ARE and their vision for their event. From the garnishes on the signature cocktails to the cocktail menu, we want to be the highlight of the event. Also, because of my Jamaican heritage, I use alot of product that reflects that tropical purees and ingredients that are unique but an ode to my culture and who I am as a mixologist and cocktail curator. Our wine tastings are made to be fun to. We make learning about wine a vibe and a more personal experience.
I’m most proud of how versatile my brand is. We don’t have a specific type of clientele or only do specific types of events. We’re shaking it up at backyard bbqs one minute, then we’re in a law firm teaching successful black woman about sparkling wine, then we’re at a barn wedding reception. I love that! My goal is to not have a set clientele. I want them to know all that we offer. We offer mobile mixology services that will exceed your expectations. We offer beverage consulting for restaurant owners who need anything from inventory/cost control, internal audits, seasonal menu development, and bar design. And we also offer fun wine tasting for as little as two people or as many as 40. Our brand believes in being there to shake it up all for all the celebrations that life has in store for you, but we also believe that WHAT and WHO is behind your bar are the most essential aspects of it.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in God. I believe in the placing of people in my life by God who have been a blessing to my business and who have helped shape me as a business owner. There is no such thing as bad luck in my books because a mistake, a set back all of that is a chance to PIVOT. The PIVOT is a huge thing for me. If something doesn’t go right, you have to start thinking of how to pivot…what can we learn from this and do differently next time to improve or how do we prevent this from happening again or how do we improve this situation? There’s never a problem that there isn’t a solution for. “Bad things” will happen when you run a business; things will break, workers will fall through, costs will arise out of nowhere, you’ll have a slow season. But these aren’t bad luck instances…these are chances to take a pause and redirect.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.itskayebehindthebar.com
- Instagram: @itskaye_behindthebar
