While bartending has become an aspirational career—and the endgame for many hospitality professionals—for others, it’s not a lifelong pursuit.
“I wanted to be able to have a more structured life,” says Greg Wasserman, a former bartender and beverage director who previously worked at The Modern in New York and Sexy Fish and Mila in Miami. “It was also a matter of wanting to invest my time and energy where I’m actually building something bigger [and more sustainable].” Wasserman now works in sales as a remodeling consultant and team leader for Power Home Remodeling.
Natasha Sofia, the global advocacy director for Mijenta Tequila, offers a seminar called “From the Bar and Beyond” for bartenders looking to transition careers. Sofia says bartenders have innumerable skills that are attractive to various employers. “You have communication skills and interpersonal insight,” she says. “You know how to be composed under pressure. You know how to multitask. You have time management, you have organization, and you have teamwork and collaboration.”
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Many former bartenders go into other beverage industry positions, or administrative or corporate roles in bars or hospitality groups. Opportunities are also available in adjacent fields such as sales, media, event planning and production, and PR. “I’m just as inclined—sometimes even more so—to look at a resume from someone in hospitality than someone from PR,” says Sara Gorelick, the vice president of spirits and junior partner of Colangelo & Partners, who previously worked as a bartender. “We like to hire someone with a trade background, because they can offer something different.”
Whether you’re looking to make a career transition within or beyond the beverage industry, there’s much to consider when charting the next chapter. SevenFifty Daily spoke with eight former bartenders, bar mentors, industry leaders, and hiring managers about the steps people can take to help prepare to leave the bar and make a successful transition into a new role.
Mine Your Network
“The best thing that you can do as a bartender [looking to move on] is networking and meeting people,” says Leo Robitschek, the vice president for London’s Sydell Group and creator of Second Sip Gin. “That’s where opportunities arise, but then what you need to do in order to make those opportunities a reality is to recognize them, take them, apply yourself, and then also have the skills that are needed.”
Bartenders interact with brand ambassadors and distributors regularly, for example—connections that can potentially expand career options. Sofia’s move from bartending to working with spirit brands began unexpectedly when she impressed an ambassador for a genever brand. Sofia “didn’t even know what a brand ambassador was, but I gave her my full [genever] spiel,” she says, and was offered the job on the spot. “I didn’t know that the knowledge that I was nerding out about was going to be something that got me my next role.”
Bartenders typically have considerable face time with guests, and interactions across the bar can lead to unexpected connections. Wasserman began his sales career because of a positive interaction with a guest. “I was taking care of this large group, and they were ordering a ton of food and drink, and one of the guys asked about my background and basically recruited me because he liked the way I handled myself,” he says.
“Be interested, not interesting,” Wasserman adds. “Don’t be the bartender that is just telling stories and talking about yourself, but be interested in the people that you’re serving.”
Former restaurant and bar colleagues who now have other careers also create a broader network. Don’t lose sight of the people who know your work ethic and have moved into other fields. “You get people from all different genres and backgrounds in bars and restaurants,” says Amanda Moore, a former bartender with a decade of experience working with New York City’s Union Square Hospitality Group. Since moving on from bartending, Moore has worked in various administrative and production roles for engagement agency Blueprint NYC. “When I was looking to leave the industry, I had the connection of someone I used to work with who encouraged me to research the company, could vouch for my tenacity, and was like, ‘let me help you get this job,’” she says.
Leverage Your Education, Talents, and Passions
Previous academic pursuits and personal interests can also help you find a new role outside of the bar. Former experiences shouldn’t be discredited, even if they feel distant. “I went to school for finance,” says Robitschek. His education worked to his advantage when opportunities to progress into corporate hospitality arose. “I work in development now, and I was able to use a lot of my previous skill sets, like understanding accounting and being able to write a pro forma.”
You don’t need a business degree to leverage prior experience. “I used to be an artist,” says Ektoras Binikos, the cofounder and owner of New York City’s Sugar Monk and Bitter Monk, and founder of Atheras Spirits. One of his first moves after bartending was creating a beverage consultancy that specifically worked with galleries and artists. “I utilized my connections to the art world, doing a lot of gallery openings and making cocktails for artists like Marina Abramović,” he says. “Your associations, your history, your background—everything comes to play.”
If hospitality and cocktail creation remain passions, even if you’re looking to leave a full-time position, there are bartending opportunities in settings beyond bars. Night Inn Experience, for example, is a platform that places experts like bartenders in private settings. “The demand for bartenders is astronomical,” says Mike Wolken, one of the organization’s founders, who notes that both luxury real estate and corporate groups are eager to hire bartenders for private events, especially those with additional skill sets such as floral arranging or tarot card reading.
Find Ways to Broaden Your Skills
The flexible hours and shift-based nature of bartending allows time to develop new skills while still working. “Start investing in yourself now,” says Sofia. She recommends the Coursera app, which offers classes on marketing, management, and software subjects like Excel, PowerPoint, and P&L statements. “Before you’re even ready to look for a new job, the best thing you can do right now is take a class a month on your own time,” she says.
Your current bar may also provide opportunities to learn new skills or new aspects of business, help develop your resume, or even create a new role. “Within the four walls of the building where you currently work, you should try to experience as many different departments as possible,” says Colin Asare-Appiah, the trade community advocacy director for Bacardi Limited. “Raise your hand for things, and if you don’t understand how to do something, ask. If you want to people manage, take on a role that includes people management. Try to learn production or back of house.”
“Work with the private events or HR team,” he adds. “If there’s no HR team, find out why not, and maybe you should become that HR team.”
Plan Ahead and Have an Exit Strategy
No matter your post-bartending aspirations, or if you’re just feeling the first tingles of wanting to move beyond the bar, “Don’t procrastinate,” says Binikos. “You have to think about your next move sooner rather than later, and make a plan.”
“Not everybody’s gonna have a story like mine where they happened to meet someone,” says Wasserman. “You don’t have to leave the industry to start doing something. Start walking the path, even if it’s a slow trot.” He recommends updating your LinkedIn profile and making yourself searchable in the industries you might be interested in.
When carpal tunnel began to limit the amount of bartending Sofia could do, “I started planning for different career moves,” she says. “That’s when I started to think about doing brand ambassadorship full time.”
When the time to leave the bar does come, make it known that you’re making moves. “It is really important that you leave that impression of character, and make the announcement of what you’re doing,” Sofia says. “Don’t just fade out. I love it when I can go to your last shift.”
Dispatch
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Pamela Vachon is a freelance writer whose work on food, beverages, travel, and especially the intersection of those elements has appeared in Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Travel & Leisure, VinePair, and Bon Appétit, among others. She was formerly a bartender and captain at New York’s The Modern, and teaches classes at Murray’s Cheese. She splits her time between London, New York, and Castlerea, Ireland, where she hopes one day to make cheese.
