Crafting Space: The Elite Hospitality and Cultural Legacy of Michael Aredes

What happens when you combine elite dining hospitality with unapologetic queer joy? You get the revolutionary world of Michael Aredes.

In this episode of Bar Talking Talking Bar, we sit down with Michael Aredes (@MICHAEL.TR4VIESO), the creative visionary behind the legendary queer Latinx pop-up Noche Traviesa (@n0che.tr4viesa.jaja) and his anticipated new venue, Dumb-Dumb.

Raised in California with proud Mexican and Puerto Rican roots, Michael’s passion for hospitality began with a simple childhood observation at a local Denny's—noticing how a great server could transform someone's day. When he arrived in New York City with nothing, he set out to recreate that magic on a grand scale.

From mastering service and wine at Boqueria to refining his deep spirits knowledge at the world-renowned Mexican destination Cosme, Michael built an elite foundation. He then took his talents to the acclaimed Superbueno before stepping out to build his own spaces. Recognizing a massive need for safe, high-energy, inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ+ Latinx community, he launched Noche Traviesa—a wild, vibrant party celebrating music, drag, and culture. Now, he is bringing his unique philosophy to Dumb-Dumb, a bar proving that high-end service doesn't have to take itself too seriously.

This conversation is a masterclass in identity, cultural representation, and building a business on your own terms.
If you’re into hospitality industry insights,  this episode is for you!

Follow Michael's Projects:
Instagram: @MICHAEL.TR4VIESO
Noche Traviesa: @n0che.tr4viesa.jaja

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hi, I'm a turn and I'm Louis Robert. And this is Barton Talking Bar. You're addressed to the heartbeat of New York City's bar in hospitali team.

SPEAKER_04 0:15

Host this on the TV never states, we sit down with bartenders, grand and ambassadors, hospitali pros, and cocktail lovers.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Whether it's the art of bartending, the hustle behind hospitalism or the wildest bartels, expect raw conversations and listen to the people for your favorite cocktails and keep the night life alive. If you love bards, that's great. And the stories that bring them to life, follow us, share and subscribe to keep the conversations flowing.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

I'm Mega Hernandez. And I'm Nuri Robles.

SPEAKER_04 1:02

And we have Michael. But without further ado, why don't we start by introducing our guests?

SPEAKER_01 1:19

You know, after the year we made it. Thank you so much for taking the time.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Yeah, I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_02 1:25

Congratulations on building what you built and like showing people as human beings as opposed to just like a figure behind the bar. It's really, really great to see.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

That, like for me, for example, I remember how I met you. And in my head, it was like, oh, because Edgar invited me actually. Let's go and see Michael. And I was like, who's Michael? And he's like, oh, this bartender. But then for some reason, I had you as a Puerto Rican, right? And then you were participating at um, what is it called? The the rooftop. That you did a drink with a masa pan.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Oh that was the Mount Gay composition explaining, yeah. Um I that cocktail was really good. So it was like Yeah, no, Mazapan. It was a Mount Gay rum cocktail or strawberry, or I was like making a mix of different things that you could have from a cart passing down the street. So it was very inspired by my childhood. It was a fun thing.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

So I was very confused because I was like, why a Puerto Rican knows a lot of like Mexican thing? And then I realized that, you know, like you are so uh but do you know what? Before uh what are you introduced to yourself? Yeah, from you.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

So um so I'm from Los Angeles, California. Um I've been living in New York for 14 years. It's June 1st, tomorrow's my 14-year anniversary here in New York, so it's really cool. Um, so why I know those things, my mom is Mexican and Puerto Rican, and my dad is white, and I grew up in a very Mexican neighborhood, and food at home was Mexican food. Like my grandfather's house was Puerto Rican food, and my dad's house was an amalgam of things, him being from California. So for me, I had the experience of being at the park and having the elotero walk by and like having elote or down the street with the paletero like walking down the street with his little like big white ice box and opening it, pulling out paletas and they have like a little bell store. Yeah, exactly. So you know when they're coming and the ice cream truck, like with the little song playing, it's also it's all so specific. And I think that cocktail, if you're talking about just a drink, was very much the combination of the things I grew up eating, as far as candy and then orchata, just like going to the literal carniseria we had down the street, it was just called carniseria, which was beautiful and perfect. Um, having orchatta and I just love strawberries, and there's like a fruit farm nearby um that was very famous by the Torrance Airport. So that drink was an amalgam of things, and just like me, I have an amalgam of experiences and just cultures, and it makes it a very unique, interesting existence.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Not that I'm not interesting, but you know, yeah, it's and uh so which part of the uh your mom is part of Colin?

SPEAKER_02 4:03

My mom is Mexican and Puerto Rican, so my mom's dad is Puerto Rican. Um he got to LA because he was in the Air Force. And my dad's family as well was part of was from New York, um, immigrated through Ellis Island to Astoria and then joined the Air Force and moved to LA as well. Um, and my grandfather, my grandmother, my mom's mom was also born and raised in LA to Mexican parents, and I see pasom.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:29

It's two of the best worlds.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Uh but uh like I think in LA is like very limited, like a small population is a small thing.

SPEAKER_02 4:36

No, the Puerto Rican, so yeah, that's very there are more now that I feel like people in the last 14 years particularly have moved from New York to LA and like kind of like you've seen the growth of like the Caribbean community. But like growing up, the only Puerto Rican experience I had was at my grandfather's house. My great grandma when she was alive, Eugenia Ortiz, would make arroz con gandores, three bean salad, and then my grandfather would like cook um pork loin on the grill after marinating and cooking with a loan things like that. So it's it's no, it's super particular. So it's we didn't have Mexican food at my grandfather's house, and for me, it's just like I never thought about what the difference between any of this was, which sounds ignorant, and yeah, it is, but like I mean as a child, you don't know, you just no, not at all. I'm just like I'm just living my life, and I've always just kind of seen my experience as just mine, and be been very appreciative of the things that I have like learned and have experienced in.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

And and I think in in the the states and United States, it's it's very like specific of learning a lot of different things, even close in your house. Because, for example, in Mexico, like even we have immigrants as well, we have like mixture. At the end of the day, most of the food is like Mexican, right? Yeah. So you don't have to compare a lot of like, oh, what about this and that, right? And I feel like um, for example, in New York, it's like Ecuadorian, Dominican, uh, you know, Russian, or like all the immigrants that we have here.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Yeah, I've been more and speaking of being here, so it's like I've been so much more exposed to food. LA, I think I was just maybe I wasn't as adventurous, or not because I didn't want to be, because I always like loved cooking at home and like messing with different things and fooling around with food. But in New York, there's literally so many more different cultures. Queens has the highest number of languages spoken per capita in the United States. So thinking of even just that little metric, it's nice to be able to have all those experiences with like different foods and cultures, you know.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

You have siblings?

SPEAKER_02 6:40

I have uh two sisters and I have two stepbrothers that I grew up with. Um, my sisters were all chronologically a year apart. Um, I was born in 1988, my other sister born in 1989, the other one in 1990. Um, my parents definitely did not waste any time having us very quickly.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

That's so cool. So uh are they in LA or they're my whole family is in LA.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

I am the one person in New York City. Um it's very interesting thinking of how both my families started here, moved there, and then went. I came back, and now it's like trying to build my own life and maybe one day have that family.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

But you know, and what did did make you take the decision to move to New York?

SPEAKER_02 7:22

I always wanted to work in food and hospitality. At the time, LA's food and beverage scene wasn't as developed, and I also wasn't really part of it or paying attention. Um, it was something I always wanted to do from very, very young. I always point to this same experience, and I think this is the first time I've talked about this on camera. Is I went to a Denny's with my family on a holiday, and I was just watching the service happen, clearly so busy, and I'm just like, Mom, I want to do that. She's like, What? I'm like that, and pointed at the servers, and she asked me why. And I said, Look how happy everybody is. So I always knew that New York was like an epicenter for food and beverage, and that's kind of what brought me here. I had gotten to a point where I didn't have anything really going for me, and at least I felt that way, and I always wanted to live in New York and experience different things and travel, not like other people I was surrounded by, not necessarily at home, but in general, that are so comfortable with their lives and just like this little bubble is the one I'll live in my whole entire life. I never felt confident in that.

SPEAKER_04 8:30

So yeah, you want to do something else to explore.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

Always, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_04 8:34

And and uh what moment do you decide like I want to I want to move to New York?

SPEAKER_02 8:38

It was three, it was literally three weeks from the day I made the decision to the day I moved to New York. Um I had been laid off from a job, and my friend Liz Gampos, who is a tattoo artist and back in LA, um, she was moving here and needed a roommate. And I took a couple days to make a decision. And I was like, I decided to go, and I literally remember telling my mom because I was like, it was a secret, but it shouldn't have been a secret. Um and I it it came out and literally sería until three weeks later. Um, literally today, June 1st, was the day I got on a plane at um 10 p.m. at night in LA and moved to New York.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Were you scared or more like emotional?

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Um if I think about then, I don't remember being scared. I just remember being like, wow, I am really doing this thing. Like I just picked up my life, packed everything in a bunch of plastic containers and like gone. Um I had never been one to be scared of doing many things. I think I became more scared after I got here and I was trying to find work. It took me two weeks to find work, which isn't bad for someone who moved here and I got two jobs or three jobs at once, and it was it's it's so I always just I've always been a hustler in that way. I learned that from my mom and dad. So it was a it was a very interesting experience learning that I was like, I don't have the comfort of my friends. I can drive down the street to go see them. I don't have the comfort of my mom being in the house to like see me or cook. I that's the thing is like I always like started to fend for myself very, very young, like cooking for myself because I always found it interesting and fun. But uh that's very cool. It was it's it's weird like coming here and having to figure that out. Right. It it got really scary when like things started getting difficult, and I didn't know how I was gonna manage them, and I didn't know how to ask for help, and then everything has seemed to continue to work out.

SPEAKER_04 10:32

So yeah, and I feel like it's good to find that like stage of like us when we try to like store other things, and when you're turning at the at that point, right? Well, once we turn 18, we want to like leave the house, or 21, you want to do your own thing. So I think it's a good experience once you decide to do that. Uh, I mean, I would encourage anyone who do it, like no, go live somewhere else.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Go live, go live somewhere else that is not where you're from. It's literally the best experience of your life. Whether you feel like it's for good or bad, it will make you a better and more understanding human being. Do it.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Yes. Actually, you know, that it's funny to say because, for example, you move here by yourself. And I think in in the states that works that like the mentality of like uh people is like once you turn 18, it's time to to fly, right?

SPEAKER_03 11:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

Contrary like Latinos, like dads or like parents are like, no, you're gonna live until you marry it, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:26

Oh my goodness, she was just like, you're never leaving the house. And so I'm like, mom, like, come on. Like, I moved here when I was 24. Um yeah, because I'm 38 now, it's wild. Um, it's very weird. Um, and my mom was very much like, you're not going anywhere. I'm like, I am. Bye bye. I'm going. Bye. I'll see you later.

SPEAKER_00 11:49

I'm a T.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

So it was a it's very real. It's first my sisters also just like left the house and didn't tell my mom they moved out. It was very opposite from me. So it it's like you can't if you do leave your parents, it's like I feel like as Latinos, you have to like do it like super fast or don't tell them anything slowly until you're no longer there.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

Yeah, it's it's very secretive because I mean, I think the chancla mentality is like this, right? Uh but um the belts. Yeah, all the belts. Uh but I think if you ask any Latino, we are always scared to death to our parents, especially moms. And telling them that you're gonna leave or you're gonna do certain things that they don't approve is super hard because then you tend to do things hiding and and I think it's also to the point is because we always expect approval from our parents, right?

SPEAKER_04 12:43

And anybody else, and when they don't want you to do it, it's like so you can like hold back, right? And I feel like that we don't have that a lot in in you know in our in our uh families sometimes. It's just like more the fear, they have a fear of letting go more than they have the fear of like you growing.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

I think it's like as parents, um they they put a lot of hopes and dreams into us and they really want to see us succeed, and they feel like if they give us the space to live with them and like find a build our lives and figure that out, like we will be more successful, but also they spend so much time providing for us and forgetting about themselves that I think maybe there's a fear on their end of like, what do I do now that I don't have this human that I need to take care of? Where do I lay in all of this? And I think it's a reconciliation of learning to let go, but also trying to find themselves again. And it's like you sacrifice so much, your art my mom sacrificed so much for me. My dad gave so much of his time and energy to make sure that me and my sisters were provided for and we had food and we had a place to sleep, and we were able to do a lot of things and have different experiences, like the amount the amount of times I think of my mom going without and going to the thrift store to buy clothes, and like that was where she would buy new things, and she would make sure we got new things and go put things on layaway for like months so that she could pay for them and we would be able to have new things when we go to school. It's something I'm very grateful for. But I think again, going our parents are scared to let go because they spent so long providing for us, and like to lose that and gain their own freedom again, I think is very frightening.

SPEAKER_04 14:30

Yeah, it is. I think I mean we in the future will be parents, and then yeah, we'll go through that experience, you know? You never know.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Yeah, it's like I'm almost I think it's like have becoming a parent, something changes, changes in you. Like, I don't and not everyone has it, because I won't say like you never know anyone's experience, but like I think something changes because you've crew brought in this life into the world that you want to protect, you want to protect, you want to take care of, but you always want to see have a better life than you had and provide those different things and opportunities and that love and comfort that you maybe also had that you want to like multiply larger.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

So it's yeah, and it is beautiful. Like actually, I was telling Edgar, I think in the morning, that you know, I I meant the love of my life. Yeah, and it's it's so beautiful feeling It's so weird how you start feeling that love, like you don't feel it for anything, for anyone, and and and I feel like uh the our parents also it's like you know, they want sometimes to project their desires that they want you to go to school, for example, to be a doctor and and everything. Uh but you know, now that you mentioned how is your like childhood growing up, like because I see you a lot of the tools and everything, so I will say like it's nothing bad, but it's like how was your your life without being like I think my childhood is very interesting.

SPEAKER_02 15:57

I don't want to go too much into it, but it was kind of there was a lot of in the security that I was provided as far as like material things, food and come um like shelter, there was a lot of tumult and a lot of uh abuse that I also got experienced. And I don't want to go too much into that, but it definitely was a very interesting part of my life to go through and look back now and be proud that I haven't let any of that defeat me and made me a stronger person, you know. Um amongst it all, like my parents very much love me, but there's there's always different things, you know. And I my childhood otherwise is like I had my sisters, um, they're the best and they're crazy at the same time. Um I had my stepbrothers who were like very, very awesome, and it was very interesting being in a space with them because I was very much loved, but also again, like being gay and being different was always kind of like a very interesting kind of dynamic to live around, especially when you have parents who are interestingly conservative and have their own trauma and have to reconcile that with their son. It's a very interesting experience. But I also had a really cool childhood of like getting to my my dad driving us different places to go like camp and like see things like that. My mom actually having us take the bus to go to the museum and like learning how to be self-sufficient, like in that way, as opposed to having to rely on an automobile or someone else to get around. I love that it kind of brought me to a place now where I got to New York and I actually felt very comfortable like going on public transit anywhere and learning how to get myself from point A to point B, whether I'm walking or taking a car, whatever it is now. So yeah, my childhood is very interesting thing.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

But I I feel like that uh when you you know everybody has their own also childhood. Like I've I feel like when you're a kid and you have certain things that uh are like you know marking your life, also it's like what type of music you you choose to write to, or like if you write or if you do like you mentioned, I like you were passionate about like cooking for yourself. So those type of things I feel like, for example, like we know that we were talking about music, right? Like uh uh Bad Bunny, but I remember when I was younger. I was younger, I was like also very into like rock music, yeah. And I was like, oh rock, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:36

So yeah, my dad actually um my dad and mom have very different tasting music. Um my dad was very much the rockero, apparently got offered to like go on tour for bands, but like because of us, he felt like he couldn't do it, and I I definitely can understand that mentality, and but also coming back to where we were, my dad listened to Iron Maiden, The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, Nirvana, and then you have my mom who was like the pop girly Pat Benatar, the Spice Girls, Envogue, Salt and Peppa, TLC. So it's like very opposite ends of a spectrum that kind of like brought me to my varied musical interests, interests. Like my favorite band of all time is the Beatles, like hands down, like no questions asked. And then you think of Selena and like that little fun bit. She's a very much a pop girly, but very Latina. Um, and even like with my grandfather, like Puerto Rican salsa was always being played in his Volkswagen bus. He would literally have his bongos in the back, and we would just like lay back there while he was driving playing salsa. Yeah. And he had my grandfather very much like was a big influence in like my taste in that regard too. And then I look at my own self. I played music growing up as well. I played clarinet, I played percussion, I always wanted to sing, and y'all have heard me sing at different things. Thank you. Um, but it's it's very cool to like look and see how this has like developed me into like this very, very interesting like human with music tastes. I love K-pop as well, which like is crazy and wild, but it's just like so fun, and that's it's cool to see how that's all come together and like brought me into this influential that I'm going to say that again. Um I love how everything has come together and influenced me to be such a dynamic person in that regard, and it's really come across in the way I curated space in hospitality and how I bartend and how my pop-up has kind of like grown into having music be such an identity in it too, you know?

SPEAKER_01 20:41

Yeah, because I mean I'm asking these questions because I feel like um you know, like you coming here when you were 24. I guess before that you were in like probably school, and you know, there's there's I think in many of us we have that moment of like, should I continue going to school and be this, I don't know, doctor or nurse, whatever? Or it's like for some reason we get into the hole of like hospitality and we love it, and then we're like, no, this is it, and we're gonna, you know, fly over it.

SPEAKER_04 21:12

Well, there has to be like like I always say, you know, something that attracts you, like you say, when you were at the NA's and you saw this happening, you want to do it and you want to experience it. And while you are while you're doing it, uh this had there has to be some sort of fulfillment. Yeah, you know, like the emotional part too.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

Yeah, I think I've always like it was a point where I did want to be a doctor, I wanted to be a surgeon, and like unfortunately my hand shakes no matter what, like since I was a kid, so I was never. So now you do this. Yeah, it's like I can control my whole thing together. But like it was um it was something I really wanted to do is like find a way to take care of people in a way they don't always know how to take care of themselves. Um, and I there's a short story I read in high school called A Small Good Thing by Raymond Carver. I talked to a lot of people about this and I don't really I don't Like, really put anything out there generally otherwise, and I have shared it on my Instagram just so people see. But it's a sh short story that's built on a lot of tragedy and like sad things, but it is built around this bit of hospitality as well. Like when we're in a dark place and we are struggling with different things in our lives. In this short story, there is a a medical emergency and a death, and you see it's a pair of parents who forget to take care of themselves, who aren't eating, who aren't sleeping, who aren't focusing on themselves because they have so much love and care for their child. Um they f go to this bakery they had ordered a cake at in the beginning to confront this man who had been an annoyance to them, but he brings them to the back and starts feeding them bread and cakes, and they start talking and they start feeling whole again. And when you think of that, like when we go to restaurants, we don't go just to like spend time with someone or impress someone or whatever. We're going to satisfy the most basic human needs of being fed, physically, being nourished and hydrating ourselves like physically, but also having that human connection with someone else and other people and being part of something larger than just ourselves. And I think when you're able to build that experience around satisfying those normal, like basic human needs, it's something so special, and that's really what's continued to drive me in this industry and everything I do. I really want to see people feel comfortable and who they are and when they're wherever they are and whatever they're doing. It's I think it's super important, especially coming from a place where I had to learn how to be comfortable and who I was and what I have to offer. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

So if if we talk about like, you know, our personalities and in accepting ourselves, we're not like, for example, LA isn't uh it's not it's like a blue state or like non-conservative.

SPEAKER_02 24:09

It's very interesting, but well, because LA is like very it's kind of blue, but where the pocket I grew up in is very conservative. My parents are very conservative, it's like surprising as well. My mom as well, like Latina, but very much like conservative mindset because of what she was brought up around. And I have challenges having those conversations with my mom, but that's another episode.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

And I think it's very interesting because I feel like once you come here and your plan was like, okay, I'm gonna move to New York and work. I I think your main idea was working on hospitality. So how was your thought when you start working in hospitality, like in New York City?

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Um, it was very interesting because I the point I'm at now where I've gotten to do so many cool things like travel and like see what it's like to have people celebrate these spaces and these people based on them making a plate of food, them making a beverage, them curating a space. Like it's so incredible. When I first got here, the places I started while they serve us, they served a place to feed people and give them like that basis of what they want. Excuse me, didn't necessarily come from a place where they were focused on actually giving that experience. They were more focused on making money. And they turn them back. Yeah, then it's it was very clear, like while people very much enjoyed that product, it wasn't necessarily as fulfilling as I wanted it to be. That being said, I always give my full self no matter what, even if I really don't want to be doing something, I really will give my whole self and put my best self forward because that's how I operate as a person. Um, but yeah, starting from then and like going into hospitality and going further, and I got offered a um, I got offered an opportunity to go interview to open a boqueria. That's like the one on the upper east side, that's been there. I opened that place. And at the time as well, like I was offered the chance to interview at Cosme before it opened, and I didn't end up going to Cosme until two and a half years after they opened. So, like starting from getting all this experience, learning about wine, learning about food, getting things like together and understanding how preparation works, how technique like comes together to make these plates, and then getting to Cosme and having a larger experience and getting exposed to more, and then going to open night moves after like two and a half years of being a Cosme and like working in nightlife and seeing how a nightclub works and still working with cocktails and learning from people that have really influenced how I do things. It's very, very cool, you know. That's pretty cool. But uh, so you started working at a bar, or would you were also So when I worked in New York, when I moved to New York, I had started bartending in LA, and then I moved here, no one would hire me as a bartender because like you don't have New York experience, so I got a job as a server at two different venues, and I weasled my way behind the bar at Boca Ria. Okay, and my bartending experience find you was just like pouring things in a glass and like kind of fake faking a like margarita recipe. I always thought I made things that were really balanced, and now looking back, they're like mega sweet, and maybe I shouldn't have like my it's okay. It was margarita. Yeah, here's a margarita, it's really sweet, right? I love it. It's so real. Um, and then I when I got behind the bar bookery, I worked lunches only. Oh, um, so and it was fun because like sometimes you just get really busy, and this is when I wish I was medicated back then because I would have made my life so much easier and I would have focused so much more. But I was like literally cutting garnish, juicing, doing syrups, basically the bar back for the day, and kind of like getting my little repetitions in of learning how to make myself understand the full function of the space, but on my own, because I would have the bartenders come in late at night, shout out Ricky Ortiz, my brother. I love that man. Um, he would calm down on me, but not in a mean way and be like, What where's this, this, this, this? Just like a bar bartender would be to a bar back and like trying to like get them to understand it's more than just doing this job of shaking drinks and making things, it's like there's pieces to a machine, and if this cog is missing, the machine doesn't work. Yeah. And putting those pieces together during lunch to make service run at night was like perfect.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

And and I think Booker, yeah, it's a very interesting place to work. Uh, I work in um the one is in Chelsea. Yeah. Uh, because if you see it's a place like Tapas, right? And it's like this mentality of like Spanish service, like not too like pushy in terms of like I don't know, like non like New York style. Yeah. But then they adapted, and then uh I think who was running the beverage, uh it was Kieran. Kieran, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

I love Kieran. Kieran. Kiki. Yeah. Where are you at, Kiki? Still in California? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:15

Miami.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

Is that Miami?

SPEAKER_04 29:17

Wow. Can you move around?

SPEAKER_01 29:19

But I I like that in a sense that it was an structure for all these many places. And I remember, like for me when I was working, it was uh I was a server. But I would see the the bartenders, and it was like a different world because it was like very specific of like how you're gonna do things in order to keep like like all the places looking alike.

SPEAKER_02 29:43

Kieran did a great job of like making things very efficient and consistent because they were trying to grow the company into something more of a corporate structure, but also you the way the bartender operated's like we were the greeter when you were coming in, we were the we were the person saying goodbye, we were the person making sure that this well-oiled machine of beverages is going out into the floor, but also making it feel natural and not trying to make it feel enforced. So I think it's bokeria is a really interesting master class in learning how to work hospitality with service.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:16

And I feel like that when you how was adapting to work in a cosmetic, which is a another like um so it was funny because I will say that when I went to interview at Cosme, I had literally like a couple people advocating for me because I didn't know um the beverage director, Jana Volson at the time. Like I had other people kind of pushing me forward. And one of my coworkers at Bocheria actually told me, it's like, you're gonna go work there. Are you sure you can do that? And I was like, Yeah, I think I'll figure it out. I but I also definitely went in and I like it was it wasn't a rude awakening, but it was definitely an eyes open, an eye-opening experience to like seeing a different side of service. Um, I went in with like not being able to manage that volume, and also I joined that team two weeks after they made the Rolls 50 best list for the first time at number 40. So I was in a very different era of what this restaurant had just come from into something brand new. And I very much had a hard time at first, like I was so nervous because I had this guy in my head telling me, like, you're not good enough to work here, versus like being around this team of people, where I was one of a couple queer people in the space, and it was very challenging to be in that. And I'm not gonna go too much into that. Um, but I also was lacking in a lot of knowledge of preparation of different things. Like, I never learned how to make a shrub, I've never really done infusions with any hard spices or any hard chiles. I had never like thought about wine regions outside of Spain, I had never gotten to do a lot of these things, and also the level of cooking was quite different. So it was a very interesting experience going from Boqueria where they're really they were really good at education. Like they provided like great structure and like making sure that people understand and they gave people opportunities to like go try restaurants and like share that, and it was really awesome. And then you go to Cosme, it's like you just need to know this.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

Yeah, because also you know that the Cosme was the first Mexican restaurant with like fine-dining mentality and also having three stars from New York Times and then growing and growing. It's like for everyone to start working there, uh, you know, like even if you have uh experience in other places, it's very challenging because you have this pressure of like keeping that job and keeping the the standards of those jobs, it's it's very hard.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

Yeah, it's uh especially when you have people who come from like these storied experiences, like um and learning that Yana was uh at work Sundays with Joaquin Timo at Dutinco. So, like this is like me starting to get exposed to the bar side and kind of learning how to navigate all this in a different way. Um and I again I was so unaware of the review system and the world's 50 best system. Now I'm like very aware and it's weird. Um, but it's it was a very interesting thing to come into that and see. And also for me, having started I started doing research before I went to interview even more about Gosme, like again, knowing that I had been they had actually had the job application like for years for Gosme when they were just hiring to open. And it's like I'm glad I didn't go right at the beginning because I was able to build such a such a good foundation to go and like learn and build from. Uh I was I just lost my trait of thought. No, you you were like so you were server at um server in Greek, and then became a bartender, and I like literally like a month after we opened, because you know, when you hire for a space, you hire a lot of people, and then you go forward um getting to Cosmic, learning about this, like the review systems, the pressure that can come along with it. How long do you work at Cosmic? I worked there for two years and four months. I would just say two and a half years because I yeah, I was there for a good amount of time.

SPEAKER_04 34:13

I remember seeing you there once. And the like the next time we ran into each other, it was when you were at Littlefield.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Yeah, little Oh my god, during the pandemic.

SPEAKER_04 34:21

That's like a you were basically living and I was coming in. Yeah, I was there for like also a month. Yeah. More or less. But yeah, I remember seeing you there.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

It's a cool space. Like that, like I love that like what Littlefield does. I think that Julie, the owner, is really sweet, and I think that she's like does a really it's she exposed me to the entertainment side of like the industry and kind of like learning how that works. Um, really cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:44

But uh yeah, I was everybody's like so different, like you know, going from Bocaria to Cosme, so to different, like uh, you know, it was stark experiences.

SPEAKER_02 34:53

It was stark, it was very stark, and uh it's it it was really great to like shape me to learn so much more and kind of understand. It's like I actually won my first like a little cocktail competition situation as the people's choice because when I got to the actual judging in front of the judges, I was like shaking like a leaf spilling everything. But like when I was making cocktails for people in a crowd, and it was like 200 people, it was crazy. Um, they had they read the coins to vote, and I got the highest number of votes for my cocktail.

SPEAKER_01 35:22

We chef. Yeah. Um, so then because you know, for me, I love having these interviews because I know people, but when I met you, like I said, Edgar was like, let's go and see Michael. It was like you already have a name here, like people know you because you were like competing and stuff like that. Um so knowing that you have the experience at Cosme and having all these connections, and you know, because I think also the new generation now that didn't have that experience of like having to learn a lot of stuff to get to that point of like now you can work at this place, right?

SPEAKER_02 36:02

And I think I I think it's very interesting because I look at the generations now and they're so eager to grow and like they want to put themselves out there and they want to have a name, and then like I think it's all fantastic, but when you're staying at a job for three months and you're leaving, like it doesn't look great, but also like because there's such an availability to information that they have able been able to learn things so much more quickly, and I think that's incredible because I like had to really fight for some of this knowledge, like to like learn things, and yeah, I was also thankfully forced to learn a lot of things. Like, Yana did a great job with me. She's like, look at our mescalist, and at the time, Cosme probably had the best mescalist in New York City, and learn these producers, learn what these things taste like, learn what these things from come come from, like and get it all together. And now someone can go on the like go on the internet and just like get the information. Um the younger generation now, I really I'm really excited for them to kind of be able to have all this information and like hopefully innovate, but I also would like to continue to see themselves challenge themselves to build real connection with their guests and not just try and focus on getting further ahead.

SPEAKER_01 37:16

Yeah, because also I feel like, for example, um I remember the first time I tried Naked and Famous. I was like, oh my god, this is fucking good, right? Right. And then knowing who created, I was like, what? It's it's from New York? How and you know, knowing Joaquinsimo is like it's a like a legend, it's like going somewhere, it's like he's here, and you feel like this.

SPEAKER_02 37:38

I met him and I had no idea who he was. Like, this is my experience with everybody in this industry, and I'm very grateful for it. Like, I'd never everyone is someone. I learned that from Eris Kim, um, who's opening her own restaurant right now, which I'm really excited for. And I it's really interesting to like learn that for me. I just always want to see the person and not what they do. Um, and it's I it's interesting to see how people just treat people b better because of how they who they are and what they do. Joaquin was always someone I just connected with. I'm like crying for no reason. Um I I know, I'm just like, I always just wanted I always just treated him as a person, and that's how I got to know him. Like, this is this is Joaquin. He's funny, he's nerdy, and he like is clearly such a lovely person. Then I was like, oh, he invented this famous cocktail. Oh, he worked at this famous, super fucking famous bar. Oh shit, he worked with my boss. Oh, like all of the things. So then it was like, what? Where did I? I I never I never really thought about anything that way. It's the same thing when I met Nacho. Like, I met Nacho at Cosme as well. He came in for dinner, and it was actually my first night working point at Cosme. And seeing how this man who I eventually worked for at Super Bueno kind of saw me and took me in, and I'm sorry, I'm like crying. It's okay, no. It's it's and like saw me and just like see people just like appreciating me for me and like not and me them for them and not worrying about the job that they're doing, like or where they're working. It it's always been beautiful, and like the more important thing to me is to see the person and ask people how they're doing, yeah, and not about necessarily just what what they're doing for work and whatever. It's like we're still people at the bottom of it all, you know.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

Yeah, and I I feel like you know, what I mentioned about this is because I also feel like for Wo Haken, it was also like his path to getting to his own restaurant, I mean his own bar and everything.

SPEAKER_03 39:41

Yeah, my favorite bar in the world.

SPEAKER_01 39:45

But for me, my point is that there is people that also work a lot, but we didn't have like the information that is available right now. And knowing that this uh, you know, 2000s, the 90s, and uh, you know, middle of the 2000s, uh, tens and everything, it was a lot of like information that you have to learn in order to, you know, get in the opportunity to be seen, like like I mentioned. And I feel like when to you get to the point of like also creating a a cocktail that now is like not just naked, but it's also famous. Yeah. But also teach you like the part of like how much knowledge you have to know, like you know, because back in the day also there's like no a lot of like agave available, and you know, coming to these ideas and then becoming one of like uh the um contemporary new classic. I feel like that gives you that opportunity of like seeing someone as not the person who's gonna be on Instagram, but the person who has an ethic work and also put a lot of work to be there, and you want to be that kind of like standard as well.

SPEAKER_02 40:55

And what I what I've learned from Joaquin particularly, like he doesn't rest on those laurels. He he very much continues to work hard and try to do better for himself and his family and kind of build in that way and never acted like he was any better than anybody else. And he definitely I know that like when you get to a certain point you have that knowledge, you can like you get to do these really cool experiences and you can like benefit from it in like a lot of ways. But it's it's people like him who was just like showing me the best way to always operate in this industry is to continue to be who you are and not rest on the things you've accomplished. Um, someone said this to me very directly last year after I got nominated for bartender of the year for Tales of Chris Alfred in Seattle. Um he and I I called him and he was like, be very proud of yourself, be excited this is happening, but at the same time, like look back on it, be look at where you got and keep going and remember that this doesn't need to be a thing that will continue to define you because you have so many more things you can like accomplish and you will learn from people. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:11

Um because I I think uh one of the things that you mentioned of like working acosm and having this person saying, like, oh, like kind of like imposter syndrome. Yeah, uh now you see yourself. And uh I don't know if we want to talk about medication, but I feel like totally um happy to talk about it.

SPEAKER_02 42:31

Um so I won't be too deep into that, but like I had struggled with mental health for a lot of reasons in my life, and I kind of mentioned like some of the like a thing from childhood and not knowing as well that like chemically there can be things going on in your brain. Um I went to therapy during the pandemic, like a lot of people did, and I got a lot of tools, but then I were times where I would notice myself get super stressed out, and I would notice myself get um I would just start sweating and I would start shaking, and like when I was working and it was erratic and it wasn't healthy. And I started taking um meds finally after deciding to see a psychiatrist because I had also convinced myself through different people and things saying things to me and whatever that like, oh, you don't need medication, you don't need this, and the minute I started taking it, like my life changed. Yeah, but like I'm I started feeling normal. I feel like a person who can get things done and even when stressful things are happening, can like focus and like move forward. And it's been transformative in the way I'm able to operate in service and how I operate with people and how I manage stress personally and professionally. Especially if it's we're like on an environment that's always stressful. We work in very uh we freaking we work in very stressful environments no matter where it is, no matter the speed of service, no matter the style of service. Like there is a level of stress that we have to handle. And it's again like even talking about like having medication to help and bring me like to that center place has been Incredible. It's really it's really transforming.

SPEAKER_01 44:03

And it is because you know when people don't take um therapy or they don't know about medication, they always be like, Oh, you're not crazy, and and whatever, right? Or they believe that if you take medications, you're gonna be addicted to and once you get the appointment with your psychiatrist, and you talk to them.

SPEAKER_04 44:25

Like make an appointment, make sure that you see a doctor, uh, or you know, if you don't feel comfortable going by yourself, get somebody else to come with you.

SPEAKER_02 44:33

You know, medication is also not for everybody, so I have to be super clear about that too. It's like not for everyone. Like, yeah, I think therapy is for everyone. Um, I think medication is not for everybody. Um, it's very interesting having this conversation because going back to like growing up in childhood and being Latino, it's like our parents said, they're not depressed, there's no such thing as depressed. Like literally, you're just like, they're fine. But it's like go breathe fresh air, you'll be fine. And it's like, yeah, it does help, but like there are things that like really can help us and like make us better in that way. So it's like I definitely encourage everyone to like do what's comfortable for them. And if they are nervous and want to explore these things, like yeah, go if you need a friend, like you're saying, go go with someone, like someone will be there to support you. I will go with you. Like, if you don't need that, if it's if it's what you need, I got you. Like, let's let's go, we'll do it.

SPEAKER_01 45:22

Please call call and also there's like more help. Like right now in New York City, we have a hotline for domestic violence, and also if you have like thoughts that you're gonna hurt yourself, but anything there is like a lot of things that can help you, but taking medication is not for everyone, but also they offer you, you want to take it. That nobody pressures you, but at the end it's a decision that you can make.

SPEAKER_02 45:47

Yeah, with a doctor, with a psychiatrist. Yeah, someone who's like not stop playing. Someone who is can prescribe this to you.

SPEAKER_01 45:55

So and then going to that point, once you start like feeling like you know, like comfortable or like more uh happy with yourself, um what changes do you see like in your life? No, no, not just that, but I feel like coming to New York, be an observer, and then start like working in big names places, high stress.

SPEAKER_02 46:17

Um right before, I think it was seven months. Um seven months before that, I did my first pop-up in Lochet de la Viesa in New York City. Um, if y'all don't know, Nochet la Biesa, queer Latin pop-up I do. Um I've been very fortunate to do about 34 times now across the country in Puerto Rico in like two and a half years, which is insane to see the amount of growth that I've been able to do and succeed in that way. Umce I was medicated, I literally saw my work both in the space I was working in and with my pop-up, be able to truly develop and have the focus enough and the levelness enough to like put my head down and really be able to give the the energy and thought to make it come together to be this fully realized thing.

SPEAKER_01 47:12

Yeah, because I like for me it was like, oh I I met Michael, and then seeing you working in places, and then oh, I'm doing Noche Traviesa, and I remember the one that I went, it was like um with Selena theme.

SPEAKER_02 47:26

The one that uh two doors down, yeah. He was at Super Bono that night, and I was so upset.

unknown 47:31

I was so mad.

SPEAKER_02 47:32

I was so upset.

SPEAKER_01 47:33

I didn't know that he was there, but I was at the Noche Traviesa and um wild party. Yeah, it was and then it I missed the other one that you did at Impar Empirical, yeah. Uh which we're gonna talk a little bit a little bit at. Um so I remember I saw the pause like Noche Traviesa, the hours, and I remember going there and literally you were piking because I was super late. Yeah, and I was like, Oh shit.

SPEAKER_02 47:58

There was a hair dear event that night too. So it's like everybody was coming from uptown to downtown, and it was real I was really grateful for that too. It's like it was like the the support showed up. I didn't know what to anticipate that night. I was like, I had spent that last 36 hours just like in deep prep, like getting all these cocktails ready, bringing everything across the street from Super Bueno to Church down to like throw this Marty, and seeing everyone show up, especially at the end, I was like, I couldn't get a drink out to anyone for a while. I was like, oh my god, please help me. It was really busy. I like that a lot. It was me and Stephanie, um, Stephanie Gomez, and just but it was amazing to like see the energy in the room, like from the music, like from people just enjoying each other's company, from Senorita, the drag queen who Selena Medley she was awesome. She's also performing at the pop-up at the end of this month, which I've been awesome. Um, but it it was really cool and still is to see how this pop-up has like grown and become this thing has established a reputation for bringing joy to people in us in like moments when we're like lacking of it in the world we live in, you know? And I'm grateful for that.

SPEAKER_01 49:13

How was the like what what inspired you? Like, why do you come like one day? I'm gonna do not to play.

SPEAKER_02 49:18

Noche de la vieza was noise and idea that lived in my head. Um, I didn't have a name for it for a while, and then I saw that without the name of like Noche Trabiesa, like brilliant, like this is short, sweet, and people are like, you think about getting into trouble and like getting into the mischievous night. And I was just like, let's create the environment for like people to thrive in. Um as someone who very much experienced the challenge and like being a being a gay man and then like being Latino on top of it, and like trying to reconcile all these things. And you look at even like Latino culture as a whole, and when you you have the tío or the tia who like that's their friend, that's not their wife, that's not their boyfriend, that's their friend. And like you you want to have them feel comfortable. And I always wanted to create those spaces where I felt comfortable or those people can feel comfortable, and those people can be celebrated because outside of Pride and outside of Latino Heritage Month, we don't always get these opportunities presented by different brands or different um platforms or different spaces. It's like you seemingly only exist during that time to people. And I was like, fuck that. I'm just gonna make this space and I'm going to make sure that we're celebrating the people that are doing these things, that their art and what they do, whether it's behind the bar, making merchandise, um, making food, whatever, and give everyone the opportunity to connect with other people because these parties are for everybody, and really we want in any space, and particularly in Noche Terraviesa, I want everyone to start to build these stronger connections to build a better community, and like you get to see people who maybe you don't see every single day because they work in different venues, you've never heard of them, whatever. And I was like, I was very thankful at that point, starting Noche Terviesa, to have been given a platform by Punch as a bartender residence in 2022. So, like I really started getting like this visibility, and I really wanted to feel like other people could also be lifted to that level, not just by a publication, but by someone in their community.

SPEAKER_01 51:27

And I think it's very cool because if you see the pot like the poster or like the information, you never said like not to traviesa is a not to like a gay night, right? No. It's it's uh it's it's for the industry, and uh, I feel like we want to party and you invite people, and it happens that I love that the idea of like it's everyone. So then other people that sometimes feel uncomfortable like hanging out with like you know, the LGBT or like Latinos or whatever, they realize that they can open their mind of like great man.

SPEAKER_02 52:02

Like I think everyone brings such a cool, unique energy. Noche traviesa is called a queer Latin party para todos. Para toda la gente, para lo que sea, like just it's meant to be that. And I have had people come and see drag for the first time. When I was doing a party in Texas, I had someone who hosted we like I've never heard of this DJ. The DJ was this beautiful fucking trans woman who was also incredible. She played for five hours. And it was a long time. And she was like, She never got boring. I've never heard of her. I'm like, because she works in queer spaces. Like, how often are you gonna be connected to a trans person if you're not going to these venues and you're seeing these people? Like, her name is Lydia Beats. If you ever look her up, she's incredible. I love her. Hi, Lydia. Um I really like I really am grateful to like have people see these things, these people. And again, like be like you're saying, and then what my intention is is to have everyone to come together and really immerse themselves in what other people have to offer, what these cultures have to offer. Like it's really great. And you may never know, you may meet someone who will change your life, not just at the party, but in general, like if you don't put yourself into these situations where you're visiting things that are not something you're used to, seeing people that are doing things that you have never experienced, like you're never gonna be able to like learn and grow and again meet the person who can change your life.

SPEAKER_04 53:26

Exactly. And and I mean, as humans, we need that interaction. And what a better way to go have a good time, you know, like meet other people, uh, have a good time with a good training. Yeah. You know, a lot of us uh we need this, you know. Like personally, I think I need to go out, I need to like decompress in some way. Even though I work in the service industry, sometimes you need to go out and and you know, like release some of that tension that you built throughout the week. You know, we talk we talk about all the stress we had to go through because you have to learn a new menu, you have to learn a new spirit, you have to learn a new spirit, like whatever. You have to put in a new menu. And then you go there and you're like, okay, you're like, you're having a good time for like an hour, two hours, maybe five hours, like you said. But you're just having a drink or two, then you go your way, you know, you you relax, and then you do it over again. But I think it's a it's a good time to connect with a lot of people, and I would recommend it. I mean, I don't know if you can share uh share the day with us. Yeah, we'll put it on.

SPEAKER_02 54:22

So I'm not sure when this is gonna be airing, but um June 28th at Bar Madonna. I'm figuring out a Los Angeles situation again, hopefully in July. And then I'm going back to Mystic, Connecticut, where I did the first ever Noche de la Vesa this summer. We're gonna throw a tea dance um on August 2nd. If you want to carpool up with us to Mystic, please let me know. I'm happy to bring you with me. Um yeah, that's the next dates for that.

SPEAKER_01 54:46

Um so going back to your uh Empirical, so we know that you have something there.

SPEAKER_02 54:53

Yeah, so um this is called that good trouble. This is not for sale. This was something that was made for Noche Traviesa when I was reached out to by Georgie from Empirical, he was like, I love what you're doing with your pop-up and I would love to host it in our space. I was like, okay, um, I would love to, but I also have a very weird ask. Um, would you be willing to make something for my pop-up? And his response was like 95% yes. Oh wow. Um, and then we um I had a meeting with Rodrigo um and Lars at the space after having gone over different um flavor profiles that I wanted to do originally. I wanted to do strawberry and gochujang, which is one of my favorite things to mess around with. And then I was like, if you look at a lot of my cocktails, like 90% of them have cinnamon, and the other another 50 to 60% have banana. So um, I've always been obsessed with the smell of fake banana, and I wanted to bring that together. So this was an experimentation of that false banana palette, or excuse me, false banana nose with like a really beautiful green banana palette, and then Ceylon cinnamon on the back and some blade spice, and it's not a bomb of sugar, and it it a little bit goes a long way, kind of like me, like you don't need too much of me at once because like I'll explode and it'll be great. It feels good, but it's like doses. Um, but it plays really beautifully in drinks, and again, like it's just a little bit to cause that good trouble. So that's how many, how many of those? Wow. So they made about six liters. Um, I've used it at different events. I don't know how much is laying around at their space, but this is what I have left. Oh, it doesn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 56:39

Yeah, we wait, I I smell it. Obviously, I I'm really good. I try a little bit and I I tell Edgar, like, if you're Mexican and you grow up in the 80s in Mexico, it reminds me to this uh gum that is called motita. Motita. It's uh banana gum.

SPEAKER_02 56:54

It's a bubble gum. It reminds me of runs. So in there in Cali in the United States, we have the candies that are shaped like fruit and oh right, right, right. Yeah, so runs, the banana ones that tastes like that for banana laffy taffy. So that's that was that's where that was always comfortable. It's really good.

SPEAKER_04 57:09

Yes, that's like that. That's one of the first things that I I got on like the banana peel. And then uh the like a little like eye-dyn, kind of like that tastes so good.

SPEAKER_01 57:19

I like it. It's a little spice there with the cinnamon.

SPEAKER_02 57:21

It's cool to like it was cool to have them do something like this for me, truly. I was really, really grateful that they go forward with that. And like it's it's it's funny because people are like, it's such a flex. I'm like, I guess I was like, I I just was like really I really want to be able to like take advantage of using the space and use and working with this company who do such cool things and are really working hard to be able to give options to people that maybe don't have the option, like they're olive expression, like you don't have everybody able to buy olive brand constantly, so creating something that you can put into something that can help you build a beverage ease more easily or in maybe a more cost-effective way, I think it's really smart. Plus, it's just all about flavor. They're not trying to, they're not trying to like over-engineer, they're trying to put things together that are just good.

SPEAKER_01 58:15

So and at this point, like how do you feel like seeing yourself from 14 years and now like you were nominated in Tales, you work a you know, a lot of like names in the bars uh uh industry here in New York City, you have a brand, you know, backing you, uh seeing your pop-up growing, and you know, seeing a lot of people like you know, seeing you around as Michael and hugging you. How do you feel?

SPEAKER_02 58:43

Um if you well 14 years ago I always said up to the people, I'm gonna open a bar, something I always wanted to do, and I remember one night at Punch that was on 21st and Broadway, rest in peace, it's no longer there. It's not it was Masara and it's no longer Masara because of the fire. Um looking at myself then and seeing where I've come from is really cool. No, it's okay. It's it's really cool. Like I just I am very ex I'm very grateful like that I've gone through the things that I've gone through and like looking at where I am now. If I ever if you ever told me that I would travel to Greece for a cocktail competition because of me putting a drink in, like I would never believe you. Like, if or just like that there's this whole thing developed for bartenders to go celebrate one another, like Tales of the Cocktail, or that people put this thought into their spaces and developing concept and developing beverages, and that I would be able to do that, and like now I'm actually on the path to opening my bar. We're like about maybe a year and a couple months away from maybe me having my space. That is incredible, and I'm like incredibly grateful to like having been through every single experience personally and professionally to get to this point.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:08

Yeah, you've got it for all but all this is an effort that you have like been putting it, you know. It's not just that it's something that happened overnight. You put the time in, and it it's it's a milestone. And like we said uh earlier, you know, it's a mountain you have to climb, but that's another one. Yeah. And that's always a goal, and goal a goal in mind. Like opening a restaurant, I think, or cocktail bar is like one of the ultimate goals uh for any bartender. It's like you did all your like hard work, you wear all the hats. Yeah, yeah, you work you wore all the hats that you had to wear. Uh you learn as much as you learn, and when you think you're ready, that's when these things come. Yeah. And they don't come easy, you know, because it's another challenge. Yeah, it's another stress. But I think it's rewarding because you don't know for yourself, you know, at this point. But yeah, I mean, I think um, again, once you reach that uh goal, it's it's it's amazing, you know. It's a must like exactly, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:03

And um, so do you do you want to talk a little bit about your new project? Sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:08

So um people may or may not see it. I am working on my own bar. Um it is called Dum Dum, D-U-M-B, D U M B. Um, I've always considered myself a pendejo, like an idiot. I just I've always really wanted to play into things that are very silly and very goofy, ridiculous, and goofy. Um, and people kind of see that in me. I am that person, but again, I think that we're also in this very interesting moment in the cocktail space where people have gotten so deep into like I have to distill this thing into this thing, and I need to like make this taste like this thing, and I'm like, that's great. It's valid. Um, the drink needs to be good, yeah. Food needs to be good. And I very much just want to play into the silliness of whatever I'm putting forward. Like, one of the things I want to make on a menu for food is like fried yucca with a tikamasala style ranch dressing. Or like one of my my margarita for the bar is called whiplash, and it's Earl Grey Pandan, Mescal, and then the rim is toasted coconuts, all these flavors that are individually you don't think of coming together, but then when they're coming together, it makes a really like tropical, refreshing, like light smoke, but which banan also tastes like banana. It definitely gives that tropical nutty vibe, and like I'm all about it. Uh I I just really want to remind people that you don't need to like over-engineer what it is or make anyone feel stupid about whatever they're having if they don't understand it or don't know what something is. Like I've made a commitment to myself that I'm gonna have a soda gun and I'll have a bottle of Jack Daniels on the back bar because like if someone wants a Jack and Coke, absolutely please have a Jack and Coke. Like I'm more than happy to give that to you.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:54

And I think I I mentioned this in another episode, which I always uh appreciate other people's uh opinions because I learned one also. I was a super bueno, and it was the music, like you know, playing the lighting and people playing with the the lamps. And um Huakin Cima was there. Um so he came, I was there, he came and we were talking, and then I told him, like, you know, what do you think about the environment? He's like, I love it. I love that you go someplace and you don't have to be like he's really like this. He was like, I work in many places that the answer was always no. Yeah. Do you want a lone I can have a Lone Island stint? No. Can I have this? Is no. So that also cuts a little bit apart of hospitality. Yeah. Because you don't decide what people drink, right? Or what is grown or what is right. So at the end of the day, if someone was just Jack Daniels, that's a good one, you know?

SPEAKER_02 1:03:47

Yeah, like whatever you want, it doesn't have to be Jack and Coke. You want a Rum and Coke, you want um a gin and tonic, you want a shot of you want a pickle martini. We'll talk about that. I was like, if I can do it, sure. Um, but like really I think Super Bueno was and is like an example of like being able to give someone that like I am just comfortable in being myself, and it was that space for me bartending there, and it it's just it's still a space for people like as guests to come in and just feel like welcome. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:23

So um do you have uh like a like a day that it's a no?

SPEAKER_02 1:04:28

I um I have the the branding is uh work being worked on. I have the logo um chosen for it, it's being worked on by Sam Ryan. Um she did the branding for Little Big and has done a few other projects as well, so I'm very grateful for that. Um ideally, if I good things go the way I want them to, um potentially September 2027 is kind of like where I would like to eye. Um I want to be able to give ourselves time to meet a holiday rush in the space, but also I want to find the space that feels right, and I don't want to like get into anything with anyone that doesn't feel right doing it with. Um I also want to make sure that I feel more comfortable in it. I think that I'm I have the concept in my head, I have it written down, I have a business plan, I have these things. But I also want to be able to give myself the time to really do it right, and nothing will nothing will ever necessarily be fully right, you'll never fully ready to open a space like sometimes like I have workplaces, you just have to get the place open and just like go for it. Yeah. Um, but I'd really love to let this fully develop itself and like realize itself, and once we start presenting it, it starts to evolve in the way that people wan experience it and want to experience it too, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:45

Well, uh, I think it's it's it's uh I mean I can say thank you for everyone but it's it's very nice that you are thinking about opening a another place to offer another service and you know having more options that people can. And see, you know, not just one thing, but your your your goofiness around and that's the thing too.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:06

I think it's like not just my goofiness. I want to be able to like give the space to my team, whoever ends up being on the team, the space to grow and be themselves. And in turn, when you make people feel like they can be themselves, that hospitality will come naturally as far as to other people. Um and the space no dum dum will be about being comfortable in that silliness, being comfortable in who you are, and being comfortable in just making sure you feel like a human being. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:37

I mean, congratulations, good luck. Thank you. Thank you. I wish I would have been. Yeah, we're gonna be there.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:42

Uh probably, I don't know, probably I can we'll be there. We'll have a space for you guys to bark up and like chill.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:49

Yeah, I think with the next year I'm gonna be able to try your margarita. Yeah, yeah. Well, if you wanna do a shout out to the camera.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:58

Hi guys. Um, if you're still here and continue to listen to me talk, thank you so much for hanging out here. I'm really grateful to have had this experience, and I hope that no matter where you're at in your life or whatever you're doing, just like keep going. Don't lose faith in yourself. If you need someone to talk to you, I'm here for you. Seriously. I'm not afraid to be a shoulder to cry on, a person to listen, a person to offer you a very real perspective. I won't do it to hurt your feelings, but I will do it to help make you better and see that we can continue to be better in every single way, not just for ourselves, but for the people around us. Um, have an amazing summer. I hope you're all well.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:35

Cheers! Well, Michael, it was a pleasure to have you here. Um definitely uh it's it's a very um beautiful story. Uh I I've been I feel more like connected to you because I feel like this is like the opportunity that we have, Edgar and I, to know the other uh side of like the bartenders. Yeah, yeah, and uh giving this opportunity also to the audience the audience to see you, not just like like we mentioned, like the person behind the bar, but also the person who lives outside the bar. And um, yeah, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:12

Thank you guys so much. Thank you, Nuri.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:13

Thank you, Edgar, for not thank you so much. And um we'll uh tell the audience to keep watching uh our channel. Thank you for uh your support. And definitely you can uh find us on uh YouTube and on Instagram. You can see our post on uh Bar Talking Talking Bar NYC.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:33

Or for more episodes like this, you go to our website w bar.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:40

Okay, saying talking bar, y'all 2026. We're gonna keep growing. Yes, let's see.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:46

Yeah, and uh if you want to tell your um uh Instagram high.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:50

Absolutely. So you can follow me at Michael Travieso. Um, we'll put it on the screen here. Um at Nochetraviesa Haha, we'll put that here as well. Or if you want to start seeing when Dum Dum's gonna do things, it's gonna be dumb.dumb.bar. There you go.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:08

All right, guys. Thank you so much. We're gonna leave by saying bar talking, talking bar a three. One, two, three, three.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:15

You say it here, and we're gonna we're gonna say it here, all right? One, two, three. Bar talking, talking bar. See you next time, guys. Oh, don't forget to tip your question there.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:28

Yeah, yeah.