A Slice Of Business

Scott moved from a corporate background to take the plunge into hospitality with a brewery and bar. Soapbox Beer is all produced onsite at their venue in Fortitude Valley (Brisbane, Australia) with a range that will suit most palates, mouth watering food to match and great, friendly service.

After working in a laundry with his mother when he was a teenager, Kris worked his way up through the hospitality industry and went full circle - opening up a commercial laundry service with a focus on the hospitality industry called Dirty Laundry.

James has worked in nearly every sector of the hospitality industry - restaurants, bars, hotels and even started a tech company. He now runs Aych Media, a creative audio network that produces, edits and distributes podcasts in his quest to 'elevate universal consciousness'.

For the past 15 years, Vanessa Pollock has run VP Training & Development - a training company focused on the hospitality industry. Vanessa works with management and staff to improve their communication skills, complaint handling and interpersonal relations.

Since COVID, she has also developed a number of online courses to compliment her face-to-face training.

Andrew is originally from Northern Ireland with a history in sales. After coming to Australia, he used those skills to work for liquor companies such as Campari and Vok. Now, he has started his own distribution company called Ulster Distributions, focusing on great Australian products. 

Damien was one of the pioneers to bring wood-fired pizza to Brisbane when he opened Tomato Brothers. He has since moved into the training and licensing, field taking over ITS Bar Skills & RMLV - an RTO that runs bar courses, RSA, RSG and RMLV courses and helps venues with their liquor licence applications. 

After owning a venue on the Sunshine Coast, Andrew Watson opened The Pearl, earlier this year. The new Woolloongabba cafe is now quickly becoming the area's best wine bar.

Amelia Taylor is the owner of Liquidity Marketing, founder of online publication, Gourmand & Gourmet and co-owner of seafood restaurant, One Fish Two Fish with her partner and head chef, Dan Miletic.

Ryan Lane is a stalwart of the Brisbane hospitality scene. After working his way up the ranks at some of Brisbane’s iconic venues, he took the reins at The Gresham - one of the most awarded bars in Australia. He then opened Proof BBQ & Booze in Windsor in 2019, followed only a year later by a second Proof in Woolloongabba.

Darren Davis has a clear passion for the hospitality industry and Australian wines.

It was this passion that saw him team up with an investor to open Bar Barossa - a wine bar with a focus on one of Australia’s greatest regions. He then went on to open several more venues in Brisbane including one of the first gin bars in the city.

Now, Darren is the managing partner of Davis & White, Wine Merchants.