Whether you think of them as resolutions, intentions, or vows, the start of a new year is an ideal time to kickstart new plans. January offers a fresh beginning, for goals both personal and professional.
But what do on-premise beverage professionals hope to accomplish in their restaurants and bars in 2025? Some see opportunities to improve internal operations, while others are pausing to rethink their beverage programs altogether. As the final holiday push comes to an end, SevenFifty Daily spoke with on-premise beverage professionals about their hopes and plans for 2025.
Investing in Education
In 2024, Stacey Gibson opened her first wine bar with Parallel, an evolution of the wine-centric pop-up she started with husband and chef Joe Gibson in 2016. An alum of Momofuku Má Pêche and Corkbuzz in New York City and Park Avenue Fine Wines in Portland, Oregon, Gibson has long believed in wine’s ability to connect with guests, and she’s doubling down on that concept in 2025.
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“In 2025, one of my key focuses is to expand the wine flights we offer at Parallel, diving deeper into specific regions, varietals, and winemaking techniques,” says Gibson. “Flights offer a unique opportunity for our guests to explore a range of wines. By curating themed flights—whether it’s a deep dive into a particular region, a comparison of vintages, or an exploration of different winemaking methods—I aim to create more meaningful and engaging experiences for our guests.”
Education is a key tenet of her wine program. “Providing maps and overall context is a great way to allow guests to continue learning after they leave,” says Gibson. “This focus on wine flights will not only elevate the guest experience but also enhance the knowledge of our staff, allowing them to share more insightful stories and recommendations.”
At Corkbuzz, one of Gibson’s alma maters in New York, education has also long been at the forefront. “I’ve always felt strongly about community, social sustainability, and inclusivity in wine,” says Amber Rill, a partner, assistant beverage director, and director of special projects at Corkbuzz. In 2025, she plans to expand its virtual wine education curriculum to take hospitality beyond the wine bar’s physical space.
Corkbuzz has already published hundreds of classes filmed between 2020 and 2022 on YouTube, which brings wine education to those who cannot physically attend in-person classes. “We are also working with colleagues in our industry to film Wine 101 classes in other languages,” says Rill, “so they can be a resource to professionals in our industry who are interested in learning about wine or training up to new positions, but may be more comfortable learning in a language other than English.”
Streamlining Operations
As Braithe Gill, the corporate beverage director for Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group in New Orleans, looks to the year ahead, she sees opportunities to make beverage operations more efficient across the company’s five restaurants, which include spots like the casual Café Noma and the landmark Brennan’s.
“Company-wide, I want to find more time and efficiency for my beverage managers,” says Gill, who notes that Brennan’s alone has seen a 50 percent growth of its list during her 10-year tenure and now counts 18,000 bottles in its cellar. “We ask a lot from beverage managers running wine and bar programs: maintaining service, running inventories, managing COGS, purchasing, creating menus, and more. My goal is to carve out more time for them to do their jobs.”
And in the City of Saints, there’s an extra emphasis on drinks programs. “Because beverage revenue is so crucial to the restaurants, the beverage managers deserve more admin time to keep up with their programs,” she says. “Two ways that I’m looking to improve time and efficiency is to research inventory management systems to find the quickest and most efficient way to run inventory. I would also like beverage managers to be scheduled for at least eight hours of dedicated beverage management time each week.”
At Jungle Bird in New York City, owner and beverage director Krissy Harris plans to streamline her decision-making process for new SKUs. “There are so many spirits and non-alcoholic offerings these days, I feel that I’m asked to bring some new item in the bar every day,” she says. While price is important, Harris values brand integrity above all else. “There are countless times where I’ve chosen to work with a product almost twice the cost because I know the product is legit and the people behind it care,” she says.
For 2025, “I want to lean into and focus on maintaining the relationships I have with the creators, distillers, and brand ambassadors who have integrity and are genuine,” says Harris, who has developed many close bonds over her 25 years in the industry. “It’s not all about bringing the price down. There has to be a real person and product for me to bring something new in.”
Reimagining the Beverage Menu
Other beverage professionals are rethinking their approach to their programs as well. Steven McDonald, MS, the executive wine director of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Houston and Dallas, has curation on his mind at this trio of steakhouses. “One of my goals for 2025 includes reevaluating each section of all three wine lists and trimming down selections so they reflect a range of the best vintages and price points while maintaining a range of producer styles we believe are excelling in their category,” he says.
It’s a strategic move for a wine program with over 73,000 bottles in inventory and more than 60 by-the-glass selections—but one that allows him to bring in more offers at a great value to guests. “Throughout the last half of 2024, there were many price reductions across the distribution and importation chains,” he explains. “I think 2025 will allow us an opportunity to pass some of those savings along to the guests as current vintages will show better value.”
The menu transformation is somewhat opposite at Bar ’Cino, which has locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The wine program has been intentionally small since inception, “to match the simple, little food menu,” says beverage director Shawn Westhoven, who has been with Newport Restaurant Group in various roles for almost three decades. But as the Italian-focused wine bars gained a loyal clientele, repeat customers started requesting something new.
“Over the years we’ve collected quite a few regulars looking for more high-end wines. Since we have the space and knowledge, we are going to do it,” says Westhoven. “We hope this will be one more way we can connect with our guests and create experiences.”
The benefits extend beyond customers; Westhoven sees it as an opportunity to further engage the Bar ’Cino staff. “It’s exciting not just for the potential increase in sales but as a team, we can’t wait to do more training and tasting,” he says.
Since Katie Forstner, the sommelier at Urban Hill in Salt Lake City, joined the restaurant in August, she immediately noticed a growing guest request. “One challenge we’re eager to meet is elevating our beverage program to be inclusive to our guests who want to engage with more non-alcoholic and low-ABV selections,” she says.
The cocktail menu now features several zero-proof options and the program includes non-alcoholic beer; the team plans to continue to evolve what’s on offer. “We are very lucky to have one of the most talented bar teams in the city, and they have dedicated themselves to creating cocktail menus that reflect this industry-wide change,” says Forstner.
For Kaleigh Brook, the manager of The Thief Fine Wine and Beer in Walla Walla, Washington, 2025 won’t be as much about overhauling the shop’s selection as it will be about overhauling her focus within it. “I work in a truly epic wine shop,” she says. “We have thousands of wines from all over the world.
“It’s so easy to get caught up in the esoteric, drinking on the fringe, dabbling in oddities,” she continues. But for the average shopped, the “oddballs,” as Brook calls her recent favorites—Syrah from Hanspeter Ziereisen in Germany’s Baden region, and Rhône Valley Chasselas from Pierre Gonon—hold little appeal.
“So, my challenge to myself is to drink horizontally as well as vertically this next year,” says Brook, who uses The Thief’s selection as a study guide for her Master Sommelier and Master of Wine exams. “Not only to drink upwards—looking to try the benchmarks or the next weirdest thing—but to drink broadly.”
Brook points to the breadth of Côtes du Rhône or Albariño from Rías Baixas (“a style which often gets pigeonholed but really explores an insane spectrum”) as examples. “These are the wines our customer base is most often asking questions about,” she says, noting that meeting customers where they are “is the best skill I can have.”
Dispatch
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Shana Clarke is a wine, sake, and travel writer, and the author of 150 Vineyards You Need To Visit Before You Die. Her work has appeared in Saveur, Fortune, NPR, Wine Enthusiast, and Hemispheres. She was shortlisted for the Louis Roederer 2020 International Wine Writers’ Awards and ranked one of the “Top 20 U.S. Wine Writers That Wineries Can Work With” by Beverage Trade Network in 2021. She holds a Level 3 Advanced Certificate from Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is a Certified Sake Sommelier. She will always say yes to a glass of Champagne. Learn more at www.shanaspeakswine.com and follow her @shanaspeakswine.
