Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Betancourt and Jeffrey Mann.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Daniel and Jeffrey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well, it all started with myself (Daniel) turning 21 and going out to my first bar legally. I chose to stay within my hometown so I stumbled upon a new bar in the area called O’Donovan’s. I fell in love with the vibes of this Pub in the basement of a historical building, The Mayfair Hotel. Jeffrey was the bar manager at the time of my residency and we quickly became friends and I begged time after time to bring me on as a bar-back. It took two years for me to land a position behind the bar, but when I did, I knew I was in for something. Unfortunately, only two weeks after working alongside Jeffrey, he was let go. I stood my ground and chose to stay working there and very shortly after, I was given the best shifts, all while I was finishing up my Bachelors in Engineering. Five to six nights a week, shaking and stirring for two more years until we found out that the owners were planning on selling the bar because business was taking a nosedive. Luckily for us, I built a great relationship with some great people. One of those people was Rudy Alanis. Rudy was a great guy and a businessman; he believed that Jeffrey and myself could turn this bar upside down and do something great with it. We assured him that we could most definitely turn it into something new and exciting for Pomona. Almost three years later, here we are. We own the bar and have created something our City has never seen. We offer an exciting and elevated cocktail program that is the result of countless hours of R&D, influence from the best bars in California and having great people willing to work with you. We take pride in ourselves and are proud owners of O’Donovan’s.
Has it been a smooth road?
The first six months of business were the hardest. We spent sixteen hours a day at the bar doing our best to change people’s opinion about the place. The place needed tons of work and entirely new staff, menus, equipment and image.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We at O’Donovan’s pride ourselves in the craft that we have brought to the city. Pomona had never seen a properly made Old Fashioned before we opened our cocktail bar. When we first opened, newcomers would poke their heads inside to check what was up. When I (Daniel) am behind the bar and I am making cocktails, I get asked questions all the time while I am shaking and stirring. “Why did you add an egg?…Why do you smoke it?…What’s this, what’s that?”… This was our goal to cause excitement and curiosity within the community. Just recently, we brought in a coffee shop into our bar as well. Iron & Kin coffee offers elevated lattes made with their own roast, house-made syrups, and beautiful latte art. Nowhere else in Pomona and in the surrounding cities can you come in and have a coffee and shortly after get your night started with some libations.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I love my hometown of Pomona. Born and raised here, I have seen businesses come and go throughout the years, especially Bars & Restaurants. Some great new businesses have also come to Pomona, and I can tell that these businesses are here to stay because of the excitement they cause. The city can definitely improve its cleanliness, especially in the downtown area where we are located. Our downtown is what people from outside the city come to visit. We need to pride ourselves in our downtown and contribute to keeping it clean and supporting the small businesses.
Contact Info:
- Address: 101 E 3rd St Pomona, CA 91766
- Website: odonovansdtp.com
- Phone: 9093974384
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Odonovans_Pub
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