Being Black in the Hospitality Industry - Part I with Charles St. Clair (Black Horizon Brewing Co.) & Hope Johnson
Release Date: 07/13/2020
A Chef’s Journey Leads to Giving Back when it Mattered Most - Chef Diana Dávila of Mi Tocaya
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
Everyone knows the restaurant industry is difficult even without a pandemic! One Chicago chef found a way to not only survive this but to give back. Chef & Owner Diana Dávila of Mi Tocaya is busy running her restaurant and part-time food bank for hungry undocumented hospitality workers. The Beard-nominated, Michelin-recognized, “Chef of the Year” had one more lesson to learn - how to lead during a pandemic. We sat down with Chef to learn about the experiences that shaped her, Todas Ponen, and what’s
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Innovation In The Industry - Part I: From Distillation to Hand Sanitization with @MRDistilling
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
As devastating as the pandemic has been to bars & restaurants, it has also been a call for us to innovate, bond together, and solve problems. In this first episode of the new series, “Innovation in the Industry,” we sit down with Mississippi River Distilling Company to learn about the massive shift many distilleries underwent in converting their production facilities into hand sanitizer factories at a time when we were running dangerously low. We also get to talk with Forbidden Root Restaurant & Brewery
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Nightlife Under COVID Pt. 2 - The DJ Perspective with Chicago-based DJ Silkee (Shannon Currie)
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
In the second episode of our series Nightlife Under COVID, we interview Chicago-based Shannon Currie, AKA DJ Silkee. Hear how he adapted and innovated to survive during the government-mandated coronavirus shutdown; which brought his world and livelihood to a screeching stop in March. Shannon also shares how he came to throw a weekly Sunday afternoon balcony party to entertain and bring cheer to his South Loop neighbors (as well as keep his skills sharp) during a time of isolation and stress for many of us.
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Nightlife Under COVID Pt. 1 - The Nightclub Perspective with Chicago-based Le Nocturne
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
In this first episode in our series “Nightlife Under COVID,” we interview the owner and GM of Chicago-based nightclub Le Nocturne. They have done everything they can to use the government-mandated shutdown the best they can, from making physical improvements to the club to launching a successful streaming channel, Nocturne Chicago Live. They are on a mission to keep house music alive and thriving and are now reaching people around the globe. Be inspired by their resilience and tenacity!
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Being Black in the Hospitality Industry - Part III with Black People Eats and Chicago Food On The Run
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
To close out What’s On Tap’s “Black in the Hospitality Industry” series, we sit down with Jeremy Joyce, founder of Black People Eats and Kristal Long, Business Manager at Chicago Food on the Run, a newly opened black-owned restaurant. Although the end of the series doesn’t mean our listening phase is over, we certainly hope that we have a better understanding of the experiences of our friends and coworkers. This episode brings us to a Chicago neighborhood that many “foodies” normally wouldn’
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Being Black in the Hospitality Industry - Part II with Chef Brian Jupiter (Frontier, Ina Mae) and Kurtis Lott (Cajun Boil & Bar)
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
We sit down with Kurtis Lott, Co-owner & Chief Operator of Cajun Boil & Bar, and Brian Jupiter, Executive Chef & Partner of Frontier and Ina Mae Tavern. They both have been in the bar & restaurant biz since they were teenagers and share their unique experiences and perspectives on what it is like coming up “black in the hospitality industry.” We also discuss the challenges of having black-owned restaurants, mentorship, and they provide simple tips on what we can all do to make the world a better place.
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Being Black in the Hospitality Industry - Part I with Charles St. Clair (Black Horizon Brewing Co.) & Hope Johnson
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
What’s On Tap was created in response to the shock bars & restaurants were facing during COVID19. Amidst the pandemic, the video of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police came to light and the Black Lives Matter movement swelled. TappedIn decided to pause our coronavirus-focused episodes and listen to what it is like to be Black in the hospitality industry. We recorded the first episode in this series on Juneteenth at the only active Black-owned brewery in IL with 2 industry veterans. #listen
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The Voices of Hospitality Industry Employees in the Midst of COVID-19
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
Although What’s On Tap represents the entirety of the hospitality industry, our first few episodes featured owners. On this episode, we hear from 3 Chicago bar & restaurant industry veterans on the employee side who share their experiences navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. We touch on everything from unemployment, to concerns about reopening, to the difficult career choices they are facing. This raw, unfiltered conversation is both challenging and lighthearted, as multiple perspectives are heard
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Food & Bev Lawyers Unpack COVID-19 for The Industry
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
Not all bar & restaurant owners and most employees can afford high-powered lawyers, especially when their businesses are shut down or they’re unemployed. Yet, in a time when the stakes are higher than ever, having sound legal advice is critically important. We gathered two legal titans who specialize in the hospitality and alcohol beverage industries to discuss the most important topics facing this group. Nothing in this episode should be considered legal advice but we do hope that it will add perspective
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The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group Feeds Chicago in a Time of Need
What's On Tap - Industry Talk
We sit down with the co-founders of the Chicago-based Fifty/50 Restaurant Group who have converted 2 of their 19 restaurants into take-home meal pickup sites for the restaurant industry and others in need. With a staggering 2/3 of bar & restaurant professionals out of work right now, a free meal sure can help out. We also get the opportunity to talk to them about their meteoric growth from a single concept in 2008 to one of the most successful restaurant groups in Chicago today.
info_outlineWhat’s On Tap was originally created in response to the systemic shock bars and restaurants were facing due to COVID-19. Little did we know, 2020 had something else up its sleeve. While many of us were hunkered down from the pandemic, the video of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officers came to light.
Already on the heels of other high-profile injustices against Black people, the Black Lives Matter movement swelled like never before. TappedIn, the creators of the What’s On Tap video podcast, posted on social media (@get_tapped) a declaration that we wanted to “Stop, Listen, Empathize, and Act” on this issue. This is our listening phase. We decided to pause our coronavirus-focused podcast episodes and listen to what it is like to be “Black in the Hospitality Industry." The next few episodes will be a series of interviews with people who have these unique and personal perspectives. We are seeking to better understand how our Black brothers and sisters in the food and beverage industry might experience life differently, with an emphasis on their career in the industry. We are committed to listening with an open mind and asking questions with answers that might make us uncomfortable so that we can learn and grow.
We were lucky enough to record the first episode in this series on Juneteenth, at the only active Black-owned brewery in Illinois - Black Horizon Brewing Company in Willowbrook. We sat down with Charles St. Clair, co-owner of Black Horizon, and Hope Johnson, a long-time service industry professional with 18 years of restaurant and bar experience in Chicago and the Baltimore-area. Topics range from being the only Black person working at a bar/restaurant, discrimination, systemic racism, removal of confederate statues and naming of army bases (Charles is also an Army veteran who was stationed at Fort Bragg), to suggestions on how non-Black people can help effect change. We appreciate their willingness to share with us their experiences, thoughts, and recommendations!