Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Ristaino & Misty Orman.
Hi Brandon & Misty, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
After over 20 years of hospitality experience on the East Coast and in Los Angeles, Misty and I opened our first cocktail bar together in November of 2014: The Good Lion. Since the successful launch and tenure of our flagship cocktail bar The Good Lion, we’ve gone on to open and continue to operate Test Pilot (2016), Shaker Mill (2019), Bank of Italy Cocktail Trust (2021) and now Strange Beast (2023). We are a small but expanding hospitality group and have recently acquired our first small hotel. We are remodeling now and look forward to re-launching in mid-Summer 2023.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A smooth road is generally not the best description of the hospitality business 🙂 There have been a number of challenges along the way in our career including closures or the negative impact of various natural (and not-so-natural) phenomena like wildfires, floods, oil spills and mudslides; along with various ‘normal’ issues like plumbing emergencies, power outages and/or staffing woes. By and far, the biggest challenge along the way was the mandated business closures and restrictions imposed upon us during the Covid pandemic. We could write a (somewhat depressing) book on how difficult it was to pivot our business practices in real-time, often by the hour. There were several moments we didn’t think we were going to make it through both professionally and personally.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My wife and I co-own, co-operate and co-founded Good Lion Hospitality. We specialize in intimate and community-oriented hospitality projects with an emphasis on cocktails. We view our projects, our team, our guests, our community and our vendors in a holistic way, and all of our decisions and business practices are made with respect for maintaining the balance between these elements. We are most proud of the integrity by which we run our businesses, examples of which are demonstrated in the spirits we use in our cocktails, our relationships with our local non-profits and our offering of health insurance and benefits to our team. What sets us apart from others is a determination to improve every single day. My wife and I usually work seven days a week and our team is comprised of hard-working and incredible people. The combination of all of our efforts continues to push our small group toward excellence.
What matters most to you?
What matters most to us is operating our hospitality group with kindness, empathy, hospitality, and integrity. We default to this mission statement in times of decision making or when we need to refer back to a moral compass for our business practices.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goodlionhospitality.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodlionhospitality/
Image Credits
Lure Digital, Kristin Renee, Good Lion Hospitality, Lure Digital, Lure Digital, Lure Digital
