Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellie Thorn.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kellie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been in the hospitality industry for nearly nineteen years. I began as a hostess, then a server, and eventually found myself behind the bar around sixteen years ago. My early bar days were in dive bars and nightclubs. I popped PBRs, poured out whiskey shots, and free poured Long Island Iced Teas and Vodka Soda. Curating cocktail menus and musing over distillation styles wasn’t part of the job. Being fast, capable of multitasking, and excellent hospitality was. It was the hospitality and creating experiences for my guests that originally drew me into the industry (along with money and flexible hours), and I feel the hospitality and guest aspect of this industry is still what excites me most still today.
That being said, around ten years ago while I was the lead bartender at the TAP in midtown, I took the Bar Smarts Advanced, and through that, I was introduced to a more intensive side of bartending. I began to learn about classic cocktails, more techniques, and delve more into spirit categories and the processes that go into making them. I had already been in charge of training and developing materials on our beer program for our staff, so research and education was something that I enjoyed doing. The realization that there were so much history and information related to my industry was very exciting for me.
This coupled well with my love of cooking and sourcing local ingredients. I started developing recipes in my off time based off these Classic formulas. As Empire State South was about to open, I was approached by the opening chef and manager both of whom I had worked with at TAP. They felt like my mentality aligned with Hugh’s and that it might be a good fit for me to apply as the bar manager. That was eight years ago. I am still the bar manager of Empire State South, however, my role in the company has grown. Around five years ago, I took on the role of Beverage Director for Hugh.
In addition to Empire State South, I help guide the bar program at Five and Ten in Athens, Achies at The Battery, and I act as trainer and consultant for the bar to other projects we work on including operating projects. In addition to that, I am a BNIC Certified Cognac Educator as well as a WSET Level 2 Spirits Educator. I have served two terms on the Atlanta Food and Wine Advisory Council. I am on the Bev Con Advisory council. I help to organize charity events for both Wholesome Wave and Community Farmer’s Markets, and I was most recently on the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s inaugural Grants Committee.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I first started, there weren’t a lot of the resources that are available now, and unfortunately, I did not have a mentor. There has been a lot of on the job learning, which means that I have made a lot of mistakes and there have been setbacks along the way. The best that can one do is to be humble, admit fault, and turn these mistakes into learning opportunities.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I work for Hugh Acheson. He was one of the first chefs in Georgia to commit to using local agriculture at the Five and Ten. We specialize in serving quality product with authentic and genuine hospitality. We have always considered the Empire State South to be a community restaurant, not only as a part of this city but within its doors as well.
We foster talent at our restaurants. We are a learning environment. People who are serious and committed to hospitality and quality of product have a lot of room to grow. I certainly have.
What were you like growing up?
We moved around a lot when I was growing up and often those moves took place during the summer. That meant a lot of time on my own, and as much as I love people and creating experiences, I still find it necessary to have a good bit of recharge alone time.
I was imaginative and I was adventurous, I played outside a lot riding my bike and exploring the woods or swamps (in my dresses to my mother’s dismay). I also loved to read and to raid my father and mother’s vinyl collection. My parents took me to the library at the beginning of the week, I would check out and devour books immediately while listening to my dad’s Bowie and Fleetwood Mac albums and my mother’s Patsy Cline and Beatles records.
My first boy band was the Beatles, I was like ten and obsessed. I was also in dance, gymnastics, chorus, and I played clarinet and cello at different times in my childhood, and I loved art. My mom loves to tell the story of my ballet recital when I was five or six.
The other little girls weren’t standing in the correct order, so I broke out and in my little green tutu began to direct them and herd them into form. She has it on video. I guess I was always a director
I never watched much tv, but the tv I did watch were classic movies starring the likes of Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn, and Cary Grant, or Labyrinth. My Bowie obsession also began young. I always thought I would make movies, and I actually worked in film and television production briefly in my twenties, but I ultimately decided that I loved restaurants and bars more.
I also really loved to cook. Bless my parents and the stuff they would eat to entertain their young daughter’s interest. When I was seven or eight, I made them ‘egg soup’. My dad said I essentially cracked whole eggs into boiling water and called it soup. By high school, I was making homemade marinara though, so there were some improvements.
Contact Info:
- Address: 999 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta, Georgia, 30306
- Website: empirestatesouth.com
- Phone: 404.541.1105
- Email: kellie@hughacheson.com
- Instagram: @essouth @kellie_thorn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmpireStateSouth/
Image Credit:
Andrew Lee
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