Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Reading.
What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a Californian through and through. I was born and raised in Northern California where I grew up among the redwoods and with San Francisco just a stone’s throw away. I completed a double bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Political Science at UC Irvine, but after college, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I began planning a move to DC to pursue getting into government or other political work. I even took a few trips out there to look at potential apartments, but at the last minute, had a change of heart and decided to move to LA and pursue a career in entertainment—quite a departure from my original plan. Growing up, I had always loved and been involved in the arts and felt if I didn’t at least give it a shot, I’d always be left with a huge “what if.” Instead of picking up and moving across the country, I found a place in Hollywood with a friend and unknowingly began my career in the restaurant industry.
My parents had taught me many things, but two of the biggest were to put your head down and work hard, and to always make sure you can put a roof over your head and food on your table. So, before I could focus on breaking into the acting world, I had to make sure I could take care of myself. Before long I was living in Hollywood and working three jobs to pay rent—a full-time receptionist by day for a Hollywood nightclub group, an evening hostess at their new restaurant concept, and on the weekends, the daytime hostess at a downtown steakhouse.
A number of serving jobs later landed me at the upscale, trendy restaurant Picca and a chance meeting with someone who ultimately changed the trajectory of my life. While out for drinks after work with some colleagues, my interest in learning to bartend came up in conversation. A week later, I was taking a crash course in craft cocktails and behind the bar at Messhall in Los Feliz. I worked the slow day shifts making a drink or two and mostly spending my time behind the bar, juicing lemons and limes on the manual juicer and freezing my fingers while chipping blocks of ice into glass-sized chunks for the night-shift bartenders. I also kept my serving job at Picca, where it wasn’t too long before I was given the opportunity to transition from the serving floor to the bar there. Picca was part of the Sprout restaurant group, and at the time, all of their bar programs were run by renowned bartender Julian Cox. In order to work at any of the bars in the group, you had to complete Julian’s bartending course—no matter your skill level or previous experience. It was no easy feat and it completely changed the trajectory of my life. After six weeks of training, 5 days a week, 3 hours a day with daily quizzes, an intense midterm and final (all of which you had to pass in order to advance), I was left with a wealth of knowledge and skills that would set me up for success for the rest of my career. In that time, I learned numerous classic cocktails and new age classics, history, technique and spirits knowledge, survived speed trials and tried too many cocktails to remember. By the end of the six weeks, there were half as many bartenders as we had started with, and I had joined a world I never knew existed. After bartending for a year at Picca and getting some of my own cocktails on the menu, I left to open Otium with an amazing team of exceptionally talented bartenders, whom I learned so much from and to this day are some of my favorite people and friends. Working alongside them really challenged me to become a better bartender and hone my craft.
Around this time, I almost left bartending for the fitness world and even opened a gym with some friends. I had lost my excitement in the craft, but it was what I knew and I was good at it, so I kept it as a side gig as I explored this new career possibility. Eventually, the gym venture fell apart and I was back bartending at the Rose in Venice full-time and getting pretty burnt out. It was around then that my old assistant manager from my Picca days reached out to me with a unique prospect—the opportunity to audition for the bar manager position at a new venture she was in charge of opening. It must have been written in the stars, because she couldn’t have caught me at a more perfect moment. Though I had previously shunned the idea of getting into management, I was itching for a change. Never having created an entire menu on my own, I now had a week to come up with a set of cocktails which would showcase my skill and give this well-known chef I had never met an idea of who I was and what I could bring to the table. He had thus far not been impressed with the cocktails presented to him by a few other bar manager hopefuls, and above all that he had one big stipulation…there had to be a Grasshopper on the menu. Have you ever had a Grasshopper before? I hadn’t, and with good reason. I don’t like sweet drinks, I don’t create sweet drinks, and traditional Grasshoppers are known for being sickeningly sweet. Somehow, after all that, I pulled it off and Chef Jeremy Fox took a chance on me as the opening Bar Manager at Birdie G’s.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I really enjoy what I do and I feel pretty lucky to be able to say that. Honestly though, being a bartender was never something I imagined would become such a big part of my life and getting to where I am today wasn’t without its difficulties. I hate to say the challenges I’ve faced in the industry have been due to the way I look, but in all honesty, the majority of them have been. When I first moved to LA, I quickly found that being taken seriously at work was going to be a struggle. Every place I applied to seemed to offer me less than I was worth. I had applied to be a cocktail server at the Hollywood restaurant and ended up being offered the receptionist job at their corporate office instead where I could be the first person anyone would see, as well as be able to act as daytime reservationist. Then, when the restaurant opened and I again inquired about serving, I was told it was only natural for me to also be the “face” of the restaurant as the evening hostess since I had “already established a relationship with the guests while making their reservations,” even though I had just as much experience as the next candidate. I asked to become a food runner at my job downtown, but because I was petite and “good at my job,” the General Manager didn’t think I could carry enough plates and wanted to keep me at the front door. I also looked young for my age, which was an added disadvantage. I was 24, but people treated me like I was 18. I worked hard to prove that I was mature and more than capable and made it clear I was up for the challenge and interested in advancing into other positions in all the companies I worked for, but time and time again, I was denied the opportunity to prove myself. Realizing there was going to be no upward mobility for me at any of these places, I eventually moved into a more affordable apartment and left all three.
I then started waitressing at a casual restaurant concept in Century City which served their sodas in 32oz mason jars and boasted 120 beers on tap. Interested in learning something new and confident that I had the dedication and skills it would take, I asked about the possibility of training behind the bar and was faced with the same roadblock as before. Apparently, this quiet restaurant which mostly sold beer and a handful of rarely ordered specialty cocktails was “not a place [for me] to learn to bartend.” Applying to be a barback was also out of the question as I was small and “incapable of moving kegs,” and every bartending job required some sort of hands-on experience behind the bar. As I had no way of gaining experience, I figured it just wasn’t in the cards and it probably wouldn’t have been had I not gone out that fateful night. Like many things in life, that’s all it takes—one person to believe in you and give you a chance.
It’s crazy to me to think about the journey I’ve been on since that serendipitous meeting, and how at the time, I had no clue how important it would end up being. I’m definitely not saying that it’s been a cake walk since then either, but I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without that door opening first. Even though we’ve come a long way in recent years, being a woman in any traditionally male-dominated industry is difficult. Being an ambitious woman in this industry is much better than it was in the past, but still has its hardships. If I’ve learned anything, it’s to keep persevering, prove your worth, and how much one person giving you the chance to do so can change everything. I’m really proud of being in a position now where I’m able to do that for other people wanting to progress in the industry. The majority of my team, both current and past, have been other amazing badass female bartenders and I’ve been able to provide the opportunity for others who didn’t have prior experience behind the bar to grow within our team.
Looking back I realize how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned. Even just since that morning a few years ago when I landed the job at Birdie G’s where I currently work. I had stayed up till 4 a.m., trying to come up with names for my eight cocktails in order to print mock menus for my tasting with Chef Fox. After a few hours of sleep, I packed up all my ingredients, tools and glassware, and headed off to meet my future. If I really stop and think about it, I’m impressed with myself for what I’ve built from literally nothing. I had no clue how to build a bar program, how to fill out a credit application or find vendors, or build a back bar full of the right spirits. Everywhere I had previously worked, that had already been done. I never had to hire and train my own staff, build schedules or order glassware. It was an entirely new world and I walked into it without a clue on how or what to do and yet there I was, standing in a half-built restaurant, staring at an unfinished bar area and I was the authority on how to make it come alive. Having been underestimated for so long, it was wild to me that these people who were highly successful in what they did trusted me wholeheartedly and completely to create something so amazing to complement their vision. It wasn’t an easy road to get here and I wasn’t going to let them down. I am so proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in the last three and a half years, of how far I’ve grown and what I’ve built, and I’m excited to continue to further that legacy. Even today, it’s crazy to me to think that bartending is my career, but I guess it’s not all too surprising that I ended up here. Always having been drawn to the culinary and creative arts (I wanted to be a painter when I was a child, and later in life, I even thought about going to culinary school), bartending allows me to do both.
What else should we know about what you do?
One of the things I love most about being a bartender is I get to express my creativity and the challenge of introducing people to flavors or spirits they are not familiar with. It’s not about just pouring a few things into a glass and getting people drunk, though yes, that’s definitely one side of the industry. It’s definitely a craft. I see it akin to being a chef, but with liquid and a glass as my medium, instead of food and a plate. I get to play with flavor and technique to build an experience for the guest, one that can not only stand alone, but also serves to complement their meal and ultimately complete and elevate their dining experience. I like to create cocktails that are going to surprise people, that are unique and different from what they expected, cocktails that draw them in and entice them to order a second round. It’s my goal to convince guests to step outside their comfort zone by incorporating flavors and spirits they usually wouldn’t think they’d enjoy, wrap them up in a little package that’s both visually beautiful and easy to drink, and somehow do it all without scaring them away. I find it really important to take my audience into consideration when creating a menu or drink. It’s too easy for bartenders to get wrapped up in creating strange and unusual concoctions that only other bartenders will dare to order or understand. As much as I enjoy pushing the envelope and introducing new and interesting spirits or flavors to my drinks, I understand the cocktail still needs to be approachable on paper as well. After all, a lot of times you don’t get the chance to verbally sell the drink or explain to the guest what they are getting before they order, so what they see on the menu is it. There has to be some familiarity with the ingredients I present, and they need to pair well with their entire dining experience. Even though it’s been an unexpected ride full of bumps, road blocks, dead ends and wrong turns, at the end of the day, I can’t imagine having arrived at any other destination than where I am now. I am so ready to step on the gas and excited to see how far this road takes me. It’s an exciting time for women in the industry, and I am ready for it.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
To me, happiness is feeling fulfilled by what you do, who you do it with, and where you are headed. It can be as simple as a beautiful sunset, a quiet moment alone, or dancing in the rain. Happiness is surrounding yourself with people who you are excited to see succeed and are excited to share in your success, or knowing you’ve done a job well done. Happiness is accepting who you are and where you are in life, all the imperfections, the good, the bad, and I always strive to do better. Happiness is something that is so hard to come by, yet so simple at the same time. Ultimately happiness is feeling satisfied with the moment you’re in at the moment you’re in it. I find these moments most when I’m out of my element—traveling to a new corner of the world or out in nature, under the trees or on top of a mountain or a night sky filled with stars.
Contact Information:
- Instagram: @mycharmedvida & @birdiegsla
Image Credits: Jim Sullivan, Lindsey Huttrer, John Ralston for the main image
Suggest a Story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
