This week's guest is Mara Mullin. He joins us from Dunwoody, Georgia. Mara is currently the beverage manager at Polliton Row at Ashford Lane, where she oversees Mara Polliton, OK Annie's cocktail bar, and Streaker's pub. Mara has over 15 years of experience behind the bar and brings a blend of curiosity, creativity, and precision to everything she does.
In our conversation with Mara, we talk about her journey in the hospitality industry, her path in obtaining degrees in psychology and exercise physiology, and how this led to her discovering she found fulfillment in working in the service industry and how bartending could be a full-time career. We talk about the unique concept of OK Annie's, a late 80s and early 90s themed, Speakeasy Bar. Mara discusses her approach to cocktail creation and the notable cocktail bar scene in Atlanta, and discusses managing three bars under a collaborative ownership group and some potential future expansion plans, plus a host of other topics as always. We want to thank Mara for giving us some time and her busy schedule to be interviewed, and make sure you check out the show notes for the links to all the bars we discussed in our interview with Mara and enjoy the show.
Alright, we're back with another episode of the industry podcast. My name is Kip. This is Dan. Hey, how's it going?
Great man. How are you? This is good. Excuse to be awesome all the time.
A little insight baseball. We just finished recording a couple hours ago for our friend, Avalina from London, England. So we are doing back to back recordings today, but that's a fun way to spend our Monday. Yeah, man.
It's to stay sober actually, up to this point. Congratulations. Yeah, first time for everything. Yeah, first time in a couple of days anyway, actually.
Well, if you don't want to stay sober, you should come check out Sugar Run, Downtown Kitchener at Sugar Run Bar on Instagram for everything that's going on there. And if you like what we're doing here on the show, the best way to help us out is to subscribe, follow, rate and review the show that helps tremendously. Or, you know, tell somebody? Yeah, that's the easy thing to do actually.
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Or you can DM us at the industry podcast on Instagram where you'll find the thrilling artwork from our good friends, at zakana.co for all of your graphic arts needs. And if you're in the market for, I don't know, some cocktail education, maybe you're booking a party at your house, maybe you need some consulting for that new bar or restaurant. Why not reach out to our good friend, alchemistally, at alchemist.ally on Instagram. Yeah, she can help you out with bar program, just trying something new if you want to do in those cocktail classes.
Or if you're having a party and you want someone to bartend and come up with a nice drink menu for you, Ali's your girl. She'll help you out with the backyard barbecue, your wedding, baby shower, bridal shower, anniversary party, or just a big old piss up. Yeah, just a piss up. Maybe you just want her to come over and make drinks for you.
If you got that kind of money and you're just like a closet alcoholic and you're just hanging out at home and you want Ali to come over, that might be great bro. So maybe don't do that. But for all other needs alchemist.ally is the way to go. I should also mention, a friend of the pod, Reese Sims has come out with an amazing product, flavor report.
So Google Flavor Report, it's unbelievable. It's a 90 page online magazine full of spirits writing trends and flavor, so check that out. It's really a stunning piece of work and we're proud of her. And Reese was just on the show for a second appearance for episode 239.
So make sure you check that one out. Right. And finally, finally, today's episode is in partnership with in Biblioth, the visual cocktail app built by bartenders for bartenders building recipes and in Biblioth feels like the future intuitive UI for separating liquids and solids, smart unit selection with exhaustive options for both volume and weight. And the flavor map updates in real time as you dial in your spec with over 4000 ingredients, including obscure Amari and housemates or ups.
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Visit www.inbiblioth.com for more. Okay. Well, now that we've got all of that work out of the way, why don't we greet our guests doing us from Dunwoody, Georgia? It is Marlena.
How are you Marlena? I'm doing really well. How are you guys doing? Great.
Thanks a lot for joining us on this Monday evening on your time off. Oh, absolutely. This is like one of my favorite after work activities are just hanging out, still talking about work. We actually do this quite frequently in this bar on Monday.
So I just tell everybody else to kind of hang out and not be here for today. And tell us what bar is that? Yeah. So currently I'm inside of OK Annie's, which is our cocktail bar inside of Paluten Row here in Dunwoody, Georgia.
But I also run our large bar up front, which sits about 60 guests. And then I also run these sports pub. It's kind of in the corner that fits about 75 people. So I run all three concepts in the building and it's a lot of fun.
Oh, so all these bars are in the same building though? Yeah, it's like a really big building. We've got independent food vendors. So it's like a lot of mom and pop kitchens.
We've got 10 different vendors and three different bars. So it's a lot of moving parts. But it's like every day is like a lot of fun though. It's like a party every day.
And so how many hours are you putting in if you're taking care of all this? I really rely on a great team. I've got a great structure. And I've been really lucky to find people who are really kind of buying into the concept and having some fun with the mobility in between the three bars.
You never kind of really get bored. There's different levels to each bar. So really I'm on site. I'm minimum of 40 hours a week.
Sometimes if something goes crazy, I might hit 50 or 60. But I try to structure it just right to where I'm hitting the main pockets for the days tackling what I need to and then really relying on a team that knows that they have to get this done because if they want to make money, they need to make sure it's done. I thought that was a giant center for you to say, so I don't really work that much. No, I kind of am the opposite.
People always ask me my schedule. And I guarantee if you show up, I'm probably here. They're like a 90% chance. Yeah.
OK, so let's back it up a little bit. Where did you grow up? Actually, I've been in Georgia my whole life. I was born here in Marietta.
I moved down to South Georgia when I was just a small child. Grew up on a farm out there. And then came back during my teenage years. And then went to high school college, everything here in Georgia.
And decided to get multiple degrees and still bartending and being in the industry and then deciding I don't really like any of the jobs that are associated with any of my degrees. So I'm actually just going to continue to do the thing I love. So we've traveled around my husband and I talked about living in different places like in Austin with his parents near them with other family and stuff. But we both really love it here.
So last year he bought in his business. I opened up the bars here. So we just really put in some roots. What college did you go to?
I actually went to Kennesaw State, which is in Kennesaw. It's about 20, 30 minutes north of us. I got my bachelor's and my master's from there. And what were the degrees that you selected?
My undergrad is in psychology. I really love understanding how people think I love talking to people. So it's very exciting to me. And then my master's degree is in exercise physiology with a concentration in metabolomics.
Just because I really wanted to know one side of the brain, I needed to know how the rest of it worked. So I really feel like I got a really top down education and really decided that connecting with people that's kind of like what fueled my happiness. And it's very hard to do that when you're stuck in a lab all day. Right.
Well, I have a million bad jokes that I can sort here about getting such a psychology degree and then deciding to be a bartender. But it works. So what was your first job in the hospitality industry? I actually started at this small little Italian, Traneria, and Aquarth called Fusco's Vioroma.
And I think that was my first delve into wine. I kind of went the opposite direction. I feel like a lot of people go in their education behind the bar. And I started with a very intense Italian, very long wine list where everything was by the bottle and we had all these daily specials and you had to have your spiel every day.
It was kind of intense. And I was always the friend in the group on site where it was like, hey, I really don't have time to go spiel my table. Do you want to go talk to them about this wine or like, hey, I really don't know what I'm selling when it's being on a wark and you out me. I'm like, oh, my God, yes.
So there was always kind of a sign. I just didn't want to see it for a long time. And then I think after getting my degree, I was like, oh, I'm OK. I am smart.
Fruit that to myself. But what do I like to do? And just kind of giving myself that permission really kind of opened up another gate for me. And so how old were you when you were there?
That was 2010. So I was 20. I think I lied to him until I was 21 just so I could, you know, it was a small restaurant. I mean, obviously he knew by the time we got to the paperwork.
But it was a small town. So waiting tables and be about in the bar. There wasn't too difficult. And I stayed there for four or five years.
We had a great crew. And then really, after that, I was kind of looking for more of a city vibe. I wanted, you know, I definitely had a hunger for that type of education. So I went to, I think from there, I went to Leon's next.
Or maybe I hit Henry's for a year and then went to Leon's. This is probably like 10 years ago. So it gets a little murky. That's fair.
And so what kind of places were those? What's like Leon's and Henry's? Yeah, Henry's is like, they're like a Louisiana bistro. The money was really great.
There was one of those where you got to learn how to move fast. And that pace in any industry is something that's taxing. But it was great to learn. And then when I got to Leon's, Leon's is more of like a gas show pub indicator.
And they specialize in craft cocktails. And that really like unlocked a part of my brain. I think if it had not been for taking inorganic chem too at the same time, I don't know if I'd have been so lucky. But something about learning both sides of it at the same time really just kind of sparked something to where I had to get my hand on every single cocktail book I could find.
And being an academic and so trained and that kind of study, it was like lighting a wildfire. Like I have a collection of cocktail books where it's like every time someone's like, I'm trying to show me when I have to be polite, I think I'm going to do their story. And I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah. And I have it on the shelf binder just like rent.
So from there, it was just, I guess I kept running from it for a little while. I mean, a lot of people in this industry do. Everyone always asks you, what do you do outside of this? Or, you know, and I always had that answer.
I had a very prestigious scientific education and worked at the CDC and enjoyed a great time and that and really loved the education and the learning about it. But the applicability was just super boring. Right. So really, after my husband kind of bought his business, I was like, I'm just like, I'm drowning in this.
Can I please just go work behind a bar again? That was all I really wanted to do when I came back to Annie's. And then, you know, I did well. One thing left to another.
I was running Annie's house for over a year and a half almost. And then took over the front bar and then I opened the third one on June 20th of this year. So crazy. That's quite a journey there from, but it's just a backup.
It's very interesting that you found this connection between your education and the craft cocktailing. And is that when you sort of realized that maybe this is something I could consider doing for like a career? You know, I don't even think it was then. I don't think I could really consider doing this as a longevity career.
And so probably about a year ago, which after being in the industry for 15 years, you would have thought it would have done on me that I was a legacy industry person. But I just didn't give myself that permission almost. Yeah. No, I went through the same thing.
I swear to God, I don't think I figured out that this is what I do for a living until I was probably 20 years in. Like, I just woke up one day and I was like, oh shit, like I'm like late 30s now. And this is all I've really done. I guess this is what I do.
And then you kind of got to be like, OK, so how does that look for me going forward? Like, what kind, what role do I want to carve out for myself in the industry now that I've just fucking figured out that this is what I do for a living? Yeah, I did the really the exact same thing. And that's why I feel like it just opened the floodgate for me.
Because then I was allowed to take all this focus that I had been splitting between multiple, you know, multiple degrees, multiple, you know, maybe sometimes it's working two bar jobs while going to school and like really just splitting my focus all over the place, really giving myself the permission just to concentrate that in one place. And then having such a like a wonderful company to work for where they not only do they trust me, but they really like let me do what not whatever I want to do. I've got rules, but they really trust in the vision that I've got. And they let me run with it and like putting all my focus behind, you know, great, I have three concepts in here, but it's one place to focus my energy in.
It's been amazing to see how things just like really fall into place and lock together like that. So it's been a really exciting ride. So for the speak easy part of the bar, that's the St. Annie's?
Yeah, OK, Annie's. OK, Annie's I'm sorry. Yeah, you got kind of like Smith Criminal. That's where it comes from.
Gotcha. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, OK, and it does have like an 80s sort of vibe theme to it, right? Yeah, it's a theme cocktail bar from 85 to 95.
So everything's very, very neon, very black light. I've got three huge chandeliers hanging from the ceiling with nothing but black light in them. So it makes all the acrylic in the room just really glow and give you this like vibe. It's I tell people they have to be careful though.
It's very much a time warp because as soon as you step through the curtains, everything's black. It could be four o'clock in the afternoon. You're just getting here after work. And all of a sudden you're like, it gives you the vibe that it's like 10 p.m.
And you can really kind of cut loose and then you go to use the restroom and you're like in blinding light again. You're like, oh, it's only seven p.m. So I tell people it's like getting in a time machine. That's cool.
So were you in? So that bar already existed before you started working there, but then you were involved in the opening of this the third bar, the sports bar. So I actually started with opening team. So OK, OK, so yeah, we started.
I think I got hired. We opened February 2nd. So it must have been like January of 20, 20, and 25,000, 20, 24. I started with the team onboarded and trained everything, you know, just as a bartender to get ready for grand opening.
So I went through grand opening here as a bartender in Deannese. And then after the beverage manager or the beverage, I don't want to start title bar manager. After she progressed away from us, not too long after we opened probably about two months. And they asked me if I wanted the position.
And I love I love our team. So I was like, yeah, as long as the team is OK with me leading, like I don't mind leading. I we can do this. And really we kind of opened A&E is probably a little prematurely.
Not everything was kind of done. You know, we still had to head some corners of polish and whatnot, but some things on the some walls, like none of the installations were on the walls, none of the artwork. So it was kind of like, we just made it by the, you know, skin of our teachers to be open. And then we were we kind of got popular a little quickly off the rip, because there's really not anywhere in Dunwoody to get a really good cocktail and to dance and just kind of enjoy a mood and a vibe and have great people or kind of a standalone in that aspect.
But man, just to watch it grow, it's like I called him like my little organisms. So I don't really feel like I'm so too far out of the lab because they keep growing and changing and evolving. I I don't know if I've ever heard it more. What's the word I'm looking for?
But a more polite way to say someone living in a bar that progressed away from us. So well done. Yeah, thanks. You know, I like to I like to think that, you know, her path is paved elsewhere.
And I'm just glad that mine is here. She's progressed away. Yeah. I was going to ask you to touch on it.
Because that was going to be one of my next questions was like, what kind of a parsing is there in Dunwoody, Georgia? And maybe just in that area of Georgia, because we we've never interviewed anyone from your specific area. We've interviewed people from Atlanta. That's basically it.
So yeah, so yeah, tell us about that area and like what the bar seems like and what the cocktail seems like in general. Sure. So the fun part is Atlanta is probably only, you know, everywhere in Atlanta, it's like 20 minutes away with or without traffic. So really, if you know, if you've got no traffic in late, it's 20 minutes away with traffic.
It's it could get up to an hour, 400 is kind of like shut down and like creep in along. But there's really nothing out here like us. There are some bars and most of them are tied with restaurants. So I always tell people, you know, we kind of train ourselves.
We know how a restaurant most people, some people act like they've never been out before, but most people go to a restaurant and they know how it works. You either go to the bar or go to the table, you order, you enjoy, and then you feel the obligation to leave or, you know, that experience is coming to an end. And there's not really any place for someone to like, have a drink, mingle, and just have no kind of, you know, requirement on a time clock per se. So we have a lot of people, not necessarily they're coming here and drinking for all hours a day, but because you can bring food in here as well, like, you know, if we open up at five and then you come in, like have some dinner, bring it in and set at the bar, have conversation about a time we really get kind of night clubby around 10 o'clock, you can kind of transition right into that.
You never feel the obligation to leave. So we have really dedicated people because there is no one like us around there are like, I think maybe two other bars where they're like more bars than they are restaurants, but they're more like, you know, ones that I have bar and and honestly, I think the other one is like a speakeasy lounge, which it looks really cool. But when it comes to the cocktails, that's where we really sing because a lot of times, would you say that other bars progress slightly away from making good cocktails? I would say it was really good.
Yeah, they just don't have the like the, the, the niche, like dialing in of the cocktails. A lot of times, you know, people read a recipe online and think that most time you can just riff with that recipe and go right with it. But I mean, just things like your, the pH of your lime juice is going to change from day to day, like, you know, if someone's not weighing their sugar or if it's, you know, you know, done by volume and not your density, then like your sugar component is going to be off. So they're not going to tell you that in the recipe.
And I'm telling you, if you're using a two to one ratio on Demerira. So all those little things, like you're not going to just get off of reading a cocktail list. And a lot of times, you know, corporations, they'll just send a concept up and they'll send a cocktail list. They'll say this is what you're doing.
And they don't ever dial it in or, you know, things like that. So I think that's where I really excel in kind of blow things away. And my technique, like I love bringing out like a super complicated technique to do on something really silly, like a Yeager bomb, like, okay, let me like reinvent it. All the flavors this way change the modality.
It's getting served. Okay, let's do it in a gel shot. What does that look like? Can I do two parts?
Can you get just a year? I'm just going to do a gel shot like all these just silly and fun techniques that are what my company just allows me to do as long as it makes money. And that's, that's the part I'm really good at. The numbers, I make sure that everything is price approachable for the guys.
Um, because you don't want to take a risk when it's $20, like I get a $20 cocktail. I don't want to take that risk. Now, if my cocktail is 13 or 14, now I can get a little risk on something. I might not know.
And nine times that I would say nine, nine point five times out of 10, they're blown away and then they trust you and it's now we're friends. And where and when do you think you developed your technique for creating these sort of off the wall? Cool, fun cocktails. Oh, I think that's probably going to be an evolution and experience.
I mean, you know, there's a plethora in our industry of just like products. So I'm introduced to new products all the time, but there have been a couple of books that I think like tied the strings together for me. Um, and I know there's like controversy on some books and like the authors of some books, but the death and co-book where the, they really show you like just a family set of cocktails where there's like five core cocktails and everything's just a riff really allowing my brain to see how those are kind of weaved together. That and knowing how things like chemicals work for, you know, citrus, sugar, bitter, all these components.
I think that was like the last key working mechanism to where it's like, now, yes, I still memorize recipes to make sure I'm recreating a drink correctly. But if someone wants something specifically for them, I can ask them just psychological questions, get exactly what I'm looking for and make a drink just for them that they're never going to have anywhere else. And that's like the fun part is when I get to play the mind and like the taste buds together, that's like doing a card trick. It's amazing.
And do you, is there, are there times when you're like making drinks and or creating cocktails or ideas for coming up with ideas for cocktails where you're like, Oh, this is where my fucking degree really has helped me out or do you find them separate? No, I think that there are sometimes when it comes down to it, especially when I'm teaching my staff, because I do have out here, I have like a younger staff that's not as experienced, but man, they're way more hungry. They want to learn way more. They're like super dedicated to the craft, which is really exciting.
So a lot of times I like relearn things through their eyes. So they'll come to me, they know how to like, we have certain protocols for our endings, drinks or trying to concept or like a free bottle gets dropped off. That's an R&D bottle there. That's where they learned to like get their their lights underneath them, you know?
So they'll bring something to me and they're like, don't ask me a question or, you know, wondering how to adjust it and then like telling them the way that the chemicals work together and order how to balance something, like, okay, if you have something very bitter, you know, add salt, add acid, add sugar in this component, or, you know, if you're missing viscosity, this is what you can do in this component or this technique, watching them discover it and like watching that eureka moment fuels the moment every time. I think that's the part where I'm like, that's where my degree comes in handy is being able to like reiterate it. That's them. Because I can give them the why.
Right. Yeah. And that's, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. We can explain it to them, right?
Through like science, which is, which is, I mean, it's the easiest way to explain something to somebody reaching out into the Georgia area in general, like how far away from where you live, are you going to get like more sort of craft cocktail purse? So I think Atlanta probably has like a good top 10 top 15, like cocktail bars that are really like putting in the work. I think there are a lot of great programs, but there are definitely some leaders in it. Like, uh, Kimball House, Ticonder, Robocle, um, our sister bar, JoJo's beloved, they're in Midtown.
I mean, they're all at tales right now, actually, because they just, they were on the nominee list for a best bar team. So I mean, there are phenomenal programs. Like, uh, you know, I came from Leon's, I think it's one of the best programs. I'm biased, of course, but Adam runs a great bar program there and just does the same thing, make, make things focus on education, right?
The customer service is almost innate with people who want to learn the education because they want to reiterate that. And that's where a really great connection and customer service comes from. So it's almost like tackling customer service, like, you know, from a different angle, um, and just kind of just making education the point. Does your staff at the complex there, do they cross over to the different bars?
Or are they are basically like, set people who work at one spot, set people to work at the other, et cetera? Some, I have a very select few that are allowed to cross over, but I kind of use them like a step ladder. So Strieger's is my like very domestic bar. They sell great cocktails, but the list is a lot more limited.
Um, and then yeah, it's called Strieger's. It's the more domestic bar, like, that's the exact box of what I was thinking. Yeah. That one's kind of dedicated to like the bad boys, like people who want to like do steroids, just a win or people who come in second place, the upsets.
Being a Falcons fan, I have to like really know my place in that, like the upsets and the Falcons are definitely on the wall, but that's where like some of the best conversation comes from. But that's like our starter bar, you know, entry level cocktails, really good product, but making sure things are just kind of a little bit more controlled. Um, and then bar politon, I would say that's like the big volume bar, but they focus on classic cocktails as fast as possible. So you're not going to have all the weird Amaro's, Amaris, all the bitter components, like you're not going to get the interesting techniques up there, but you're going to get very amazingly balanced classic cocktails with great product and it's fast as hell.
Um, and then Annie's is kind of like every bartender's paradise. It's the one that like, it's my first child, right? I've loved it so much. So it's, you know, the one with all the funky cool products, the rum aggregates, all the Amaro's and weird liqueurs that, you know, you can't really find anywhere else.
I've got more chartreuse than anyone knows what to do with and I'm not telling anyone my sources. I've got a nice little back stock, but that's kind of like where my specialty is, is really in product knowledge on the modifier aspect. Yeah, I'm great in the kitchen. Molecular parts are great.
I feel like those are are parts that if you can find a mango, you can figure out how to process it and use it, but not everybody can get their hands on these weird niche products that have so much flavor built into such a small volume. So that's kind of like where my specialty is. And that's kind of like the part of the bar that's expanded the most. We have mostly a tequila and Amaro section.
Um, a great whiskey, you know, right. And start selection gin vodka, of course, but man, the modifier section, that's really, I got to stop bringing in so many. I'm running out of room. Well, only stop if there's someone who's paying for it tells you to.
Oh, yeah. No, I do a really great job of keeping that. They really like me. I will tell you that.
Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Like if you got free range to buy product, fucking buy product, why wouldn't you? Right?
No, especially the cool stuff. Like especially if I can only get one or two bottles, like Amy's is like this collection of like just the weirdest. I wish that our state did the vintage models because I would have like such a cool collection back here. Um, Georgia doesn't let you buy like vintage bottles or serve vintage bottles.
So what do you mean, like eight bottles? Like, yeah, like, no, explain further if you don't mind. Like, I don't get it. Like, you can like, okay, if I can buy like a 20 year old, but it's right.
I'm getting it from my distributor, but say somebody has like a collection. Like, Barbie collectors are common. People who collect old liquor are common. And in certain states, like in Turkey, you can buy from an individual to sell at your premise because it's a bottle from 1980.
Right? That's not being produced right now. Um, you know, they, they get, they evaporate a little bit. They get a little bit more concentrated, a little, a little richer.
Uh, but Georgia doesn't, Georgia kind of is very green in some of their liquor laws. So it's something that I've really hadn't given two thoughts about until very recently when I go to look for something really cool and I'm like, why can't I get that? And I run into some crazy law that's like been around for like a hundred years. I'm like, okay.
It's funny if I had like a lot of recent discussions with people about weird laws and weird parts of the, like the world and how they affect you in different ways. Like we, I just once for your sister in law, Dan, um, but we have an entity here called the LCBO, which I am not a fan of and we have to run everything through them. So unless they purchase the product by with their buyers, we are not allowed to sell it in our bars. So like there'd be zero chance of us buying a collection of a private collector and then selling it in the bar.
Now I'm not saying that I haven't owned bars before where I just drove to the US, came back with a trunk full of liquor and sold it on my bar, but, uh, no one from the LCBO is listening to this. I don't think. So we had a full- We'll say allegedly. Allegedly, yes.
Yeah. Yeah. You don't actually see on Reddit on the whiskey subreddit where guys are buying this. Yeah.
Like someone passes away in a family or there's a divorce and they just want or they need cash. They sell all these like booze collections. They're spectacular. Yeah.
I bought a booze collection of a guy in, uh, in the town just outside of, uh, Toronto that was fucking spectacular. I'm not going to mention what bar it still resides at, but, uh, that, but like, like, poor Ellen scotch, like crazy shit that like from like the funk distilleries, you know, um, and we bought the whole thing off of them. And then we were selling them for like whatever per ounce if somebody wanted to produce a private collection type thing, but totally illegal. Yeah.
But when actually do that, sounds really cool. Yeah. It's interesting, but it's interesting that in Kentucky, they can just do that. That's crazy.
Like somebody's collection and then just sell it at your bar. It was so cool. Um, I went out as a work trip actually, which if anyone's going to Kentucky, I highly, highly suggest starting it into a work trip only going with bartenders and then grabbing one drink and going to the next bar. I never, I never got drunk, but I hit probably 80 bars.
It was so much fun. But we went down to pick out a barrel, a soundtrack barrel. So, um, yeah, when we were out there, I had a Negroni that all the components were distilled and bottled before like 1970. And it was just so velvety.
It was very cool. So do you think, like, so obviously you have an ownership group that has, and you say, you have a sister bar in Atlanta, whatever, it's obviously a big ownership group. Do they have plans for the future for opening more places and do you think you will be a part of any of that or maybe you don't know? Yeah, I really hope so.
Um, I know it sounds like we have a really big, like ownership group, but really, they've done a really great job of keeping it small. We have three locations. So we have our, uh, probably to no at Midtown, which has our sister bar, JoJo's cocktail lounge in the back. Um, we have our Ashford Lane location, which has Annie's and now Strieger's.
And then we have politics and row at the forum. Um, and they're one off is called Millies. And it's like a, it's more family oriented. It's like a pizza and wine bar, bringing really cool esoteric wines to like, uh, a part of Georgia that doesn't really have access to that, which is really cool.
Um, but yeah, they're always growing. I, I hear all the time, like bids come through for like, they'll throw out like with the most random names and I'm like, Oh my goodness, like my CEO is just one CEO. And then I have a director of operations. And then I report to director of operations.
So there's really only, um, two other guys and really it's a collaborative effort. They, they talk about really everything. And it's very, I feel very fortunate to be listening in on those kind of processes. Cause I really do think that for me and my career, that's what helps me develop my mindset so I can hear the way that they're navigating the industry from a different angle.
But yeah, I hear bids all the time. I think we've got four bids out right now. And I can't really say much more than that. But I mean, any day, one of those could like pop off and then it's then we're back from zero to a hundred to a build concept number four.
Well, it sounds like a creative group at least because what does happen here? And I'm not saying it's like we do have a few, like, especially in Toronto, there are a few, um, and Montreal, there are a few sort of corporate groups who open kind of their whole thing, a small concept, cool cocktail type bars. But in general, we tend to get the ones here that are kind of doing, you know, low with common denominator, restaurant slash bar concepts that like slightly elevated, but not they're never going to blow your mind. They're not going to offend you, but they're not going to wow you.
And those are the ones that tend to spread it. Well, I mean, they're honestly the ones that do the best, right? For obvious reasons, but like it sounds like you have an ownership group there that's interested in doing cool concepts. I mean, like, it seems like, okay, Annie's is the type of place.
If it was here, it would be owned by like one to two people who, who, who, and that was their only bar. And that was like their dream concept type thing, you know what I mean? Yeah, they do a really, I have to commend my ownership because they do a really great job of, um, like, you know, loving the pitch and then finding the right person to really run with the ball. So I mean, I'm a nineties kid.
So all of this like really speaks to me. I never get sick of the music. I love the decor, like my menus are Trapper Keepers. And really, if I come to them with an idea, all they ask is, okay, is it affordable?
What's the ROI? Is it, you know, can it sustain and is it going to do well for the brand? And if I can answer yes, then they're like, all right, green light, let's go. That's great.
One more good. Yeah. And your position. No, it's amazing, honestly.
I really, somebody asked me the other day, like, what have they told me no on? Um, and the only thing they've told me no on, and I say yet because I do still think it's a great idea. And I just, I think maybe give me till you're three or four and I could, I could maybe see the ROI on it is. Is I want to like knock down this wall and extend Annie's.
It's about a million dollars worth of innovation. But I think by year four, I could justify it. Three or four. So we'll see how the numbers get going.
What's your favorite sort of concept cocktail that you came up with for? Okay, Annie, so fits the theme there. Oh, that's a great question. Um, I'm a little biased because I like to work with a very like collaborative effort.
So what I like to do is, you know, I have an idea or a face, um, and then I'll come to the team and we'll kind of adjust together. But a lot of the, I mean, a lot of the cocktails on the current menu are solely mine or Benton's. One is called the Benita Applebaum. It's this tequila green apple teeny.
Um, and then we make the green apple. It's really a cordial, but it's an acid adjusted cordial with malic acid and it's like a cold press. So you don't ever like denature the apple, like flavonoid, like the flavor molecule. And it's just makes it like nice, bright citrusy.
It's kind of like that. It's like little quenching part, right? And your jaw makes your jaw water just a little bit. And it's just so delightful.
I really love taking the drinks from the nineties that everybody talks so much shit about and then just really making them really craft and interface fun. Like that's my favorite. Like, um, this text on the beach riff is a like a teaky riff with like philernum, like cranberry syrup. You know, I think we pulled four different rums just to get like a little bit of fun from all of the them.
And I mean, I voted for, to call it for an occasion on vacation. I did get, I did get told no on that one. So we called it beach. It's a dream, but I do have to reprints and I'm hoping one of these days I can just slide that one in there.
Your name is better. Well, super awesome talking to you. I really appreciate you taking the time out to do this. It sounds like like I'll tell you this next time that I get the chance to go to Atlanta.
I'm definitely making the drive or however, the best way to get the done with you is you'll have to tell me because I want to come check out those spots. But yeah, it sounds like you're doing a really cool thing in an area that probably doesn't have anything like it. So that must make you feel proud and you should be proud. Thank you.
I really appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me about this. I think what you guys are also doing is great. I love the episodes listening to you guys.
I kind of delve into different parts with all different people in the industry. So I just appreciate you all bringing some light to that. And it's been fun to listen to. So thank you guys.
Thank you. Thanks. And if anyone wants to find out more information about the bars or yourself online, where can they find it? Yeah, you can find any of the bars on their social media handles, which correlate with the name.
So Instagram or TikTok, Striekers, Striekers Pub, Annie's OK, Annie's, Politics and Row is just under Politics and Row Ashford. And then my Instagram and TikTok is Bitter is in the name because my name is Mara, which is a derivative of Bitter. Perfect. Amazing.
Thanks again, Mara, for giving us your time. We really appreciate it. And I mean it. Sounds like you're doing some really cool shit in that area.
And that's what we're all about on this show. So thanks again for coming on. Yeah, I appreciate it, guys.