In this episode, with Master Sommelier, Alex Lapratt, we discuss hiring those who are persistent about working for you, being positive and humble, knowing your stuff- if you don't know don't make it up, hard work making the difference between the successful and unsuccessful, surrounding yourself with the best, extreme attention to detail, making massive sacrifice to move your career forward, providing opportunity to your team, when you know to break out on your own, intricacies of selecting your partners, how to go from one to two locations, growing people before growing restaurants, and why you should buy instead of lease.

Growing up in Detroit, Alex's love for wine came at the young age of 19 years old. His passion for wine provided him with the opportunity to work in some of the finest restaurants the industry has to offer including Michael Mina, The French Laundry, Daniel, Atera, Le Bernardin, and Jean-Georges. Today Alex serves as the Principal and Beverage Director at Atrium DUMBO, and Beasts and Bottles located in Brooklyn, NY.