BoozeNation The Podcast

BoozeNation The Podcast

By Traci RamosSociety & CulturePersonal Journals
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BoozeNation The Podcast episodes

  • Michael Nguyen - The Juiciest of The D Triple C

    Hi, I'm Traci Ramos, and this is BoozeNation, the Podcast where I talk to members of the bar industry of San Francisco about all things bar-related and all things San Francisco.

    BoozeNation is available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartradio, Spotify, and other listening places. 

    It's February, and it's raining, so be careful out there with the sinkholes and flash floods. And that's the weather portion of this Podcast. Before I introduce my next pcast guest. I want to give a massive shout-out to Asia SF. I am so sad they are closing. Such a loss to South of Market, a loss to cabaret drag performers, such a trans and queer staple. This one hurts. 

    So, my next guest is Michael Nguyen. I met him at a meet and greet at the beginning of the month at a Chinatown New Year celebration at the Rose Pak Democratic Club. I should back up; I'm volunteering for Jackie Feilder's campaign for supervisor D9.
    I've volunteered for many political campaigns in San Francisco and attended many political functions. Many of the same people are there, saying the same things and trying to get something out of you, usually money, sometimes votes.
    But when Michael asked to join our table, he had a bubbly personality and wanted to talk. And get to know people at our table. It was a real conversation. We didn't talk long because he was getting ready to sing karaoke, but I learned that he is a drag performer and his drag persona is Juicy Lui. And I learned that he was running for a seat on the DCCC. I knew I wanted to have him as a guest because a drag queen who is super political is my kind of person. And as you'll hear, Michael's sense of humor shines.
    And we're bouncing right in.

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    The Socials;

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    ************************

    Donate to Michael Nguyen

    Hasting Law School

    #JuicyLui

    #castro

    The Look Out

    Queen

    Jolene's

    #encore

    #turtletower

    #littlesaigon

    Kevin's Noodle House

    Gao Kitchen

    Bodega

    DCCC

    #janiceli

    #vickchung

    Evan Low

    #socialhousing

    Alex Lee

    #londonbreed

    Dean Preston

    #martunis

    Oasis

    37 min
  • Angela Tabora - The Bitch of Swag

    Hi, I'm Traci Ramos, and this is BoozeNation, the Podcast where I talk to members of the bar industry of San Francisco about all things bars and all things San Francisco.

    BoozeNation is available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartradio, Spotify, and other listening places. Also, BoozeNation is on the socials of Instagram, YouTube and Threads. It's January 2024. Happy New Year! By the time this episode is out, it will be at the end of the month, but happy New Year. I hope the start of 2024 has been smooth and the transition from 2023 to 2024 wasn't too hard for you. I'm just kidding - all transitions are usually rocky - so get used to it. And that's my advice section of the Podcast.

    My guest today is one of the co-hosts of Bitch Talk Podcast, Angela Tabora. In my previous episode with Erin of bitch talk, I talked about how I discovered the BT podcast in March of 2020 - but here is a quick rundown of my discovery of Erin and Ange - I was scrolling on Instagram when San Francisco was about to go into lockdown. I saw Ange and Erin drink their way into a pandemic at a bar in North Beach. That was so encouraging and uplifting.

    And when you listen to Ange and Erin, that's really who they are: uplifting and encouraging people. 

    That's why I was soooo thrilled when they agreed to be guests on my Podcast. And I have a little bit of a confession. I would have interviewed Ang and Erin at the same time; I mean, that's what makes sense, but I didn't know how to interview two people via Zoom. 
    So that's why this is a two-parter cause I only know how to interview and record one person at a time. But in 2024, one of my goals is to learn how to interview more than one person at a time. I'm going to do it. Right now, I'm jumping into the interview.

     

     

    The Nomadic Family Project

    The Bitter End

    Bender's

    Sweetie's Art Bar

    Sundance Film Festival

    The Fig

    Bubba Gump

    The Showdown

    #maddoginthefog

    Planned Parenthood

    #tessathompson

    #bewater

    Ali Wong

    #thegreatestnightinpop

    Lionel Richie

    Casements Bar

    36 min
  • Erin Lim - The Connoisseur of Bitches and Podcasts

    Hi, I'm Traci Ramos, and this is BoozeNation, the Podcast where I talk to members of the bar industry of San Francisco about all things bars and all things San Francisco.

    BoozeNation is available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartradio, Spotify, and other listening places. Also, BoozeNation is on the socials of Instagram, YouTube and Threads.
    I want to give a special shout-out to The Uptown Bar on 17th and Capp St. I'm so sorry that this bar didn't make it. I have such wonderful memories of this bar. They even cut off on my birthday one year because I was having too much wonderfulness. Yeah, I deserved to be cut off that night.
    But thank you again for everything, and I hope the bartenders will be pouring spirits someplace soon.

    This is my final episode of 2023, and I'm closing out the year with Erin Lim, a fellow bartender and podcaster who co-hosts the spectacular Bitch Talk podcast with Angela Tabora.

    I discovered Bitch Talk at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020
    It was that fateful Sunday pretty boy Newsome had announced the shutdown of the restaurant and bar industry to try and curb the rise of coronavirus.

    I was scrolling on Instagram, not really freaking out about what was happening but not knowing what to do. And Bitch Talk podcast popped up on my feed, and Erin and Ange were at a bar in North Beach, The Saloon; in real-time, they were drinking and dancing. They were having so much fun in the wake of a pandemic.

    I thought, 'Wow, they don't care what pretty boy Newsome said two hours ago they are at a bar.'
     And they are going big. 
    That was my introduction to Erin and Ang and Bitch Talk podcast. Here is Bitch Talk's tagline, 
     - Bitch Talk is a podcast that boldly highlights the ongoing need for BIPOC women's representation in media, film, and the arts. 
    Hell Yeah, there's a need for more representation. I 100 % agree with that!
    Long story short, we became podcast friends and real-life friends, which I still can't believe a little bit because they are so legit.
    They have been in the podcast game for some time. They just had their 10th anniversary. I love it. 

     

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    The Socials;

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    Specs Bar

    540 Club

    The Social Study

    #royalcuckcoo

    The Front Porch

    The Rock Bar

    Bitch Talk Podcast

    Storied SF

    #thesaloon

    Ali Wong

    Sundance Film Festival

    #gasolinerainbow

    Ross Brothers

    #bloodynoseemptypockets

    Storied SF - Traci Ramos

     

     

    #sfpodcaster #sfpodcast #nodoomloop #supportsmallbusiness #womanpodcasters #innerrichmond #coolestneighborhood

    #supportlocal #missionsf #sfrestaurants #sfbars #representationinmedia #bipoc #sundancefilmfestival #womeninmedia #pandemictalk

    40 min
  • John Espejo - The Man, The Myth, The Uncle Boy

    Hello and welcome back to BoozeNation The Podcast. I'm Traci Ramos, and this is my podcast, where I talk about all things related to bartenders, the bar industry, San Francisco, and beyond. I want to give a solid shout-out to Rosamunde, West of Pecos, Media Noche, and the Uptown Bar. I am so sorry to see these establishments closing. I wish the best for everyone involved, and please know that so many people in this city appreciate you all. It's still hard out there in this "post" pandemic world for bars, restaurants, and small businesses.

    My next guest is John Espejo, owner of Uncle Boys restaurant on Balboa and 3rd in inner Richmond. I learned about Uncle Boys through Instagram, and I was instantly taken with John's story. There is a link on the Uncle Boys website to a YouTube video where John tells his story and the story of Uncle Boys, some of which we will get into in a bit, but I love how John credits the women in his life for his success - his mom and wife. His mom instilled resilience, and his wife believed in his work ethic; I love how he credits them. He opened Uncle's Boys when he was 21, so young, to learn all the ins and outs of running a business, which is difficult, especially in SF. When I was 21, I planned where I could get my next 40. So you can see why this is sooooo impressive to me.

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    #sfpodcaster #sfpodcast #nodoomloop #supportsmallbusiness #filipinoamericanhistorymonth #innerrichmond #coolestneighborhood

    #cheesburgers #missionsf #sfrestaurants #sfbars

    32 min
  • Dan Vasquez - The Quintessential San Francisco Treat

    This is BoozeNation, the Podcast. I talk to members of the San Francisco bar industry about all things bars and all things San Francisco.

    BoozeNation is available on Apple Podcasts, iHeartradio, Spotify, and other listening places. Also, BoozeNation is on the socials of Instagram, Shitter and Threads.

    Here's an update about the last episode with Patrick Machel of Anchor Brewery: Anchor Brewery has raised over $100,000 on its GoFundMe account to try to buy back the brewery. Go, Anchor! I love to see that. I will put the link for the GoFundMe in the show notes.

    My next guest is a bartender about town, Dan Vasquez. Dan is someone new to me, and I don't know why because Dan and I know so many of the same people and many of the same bartenders. So we should have met a while ago, but it's better late than never. He came to a bar where I was working about a month ago, and we started chatting, and we talked for about 2 to 3 hours about bars that we worked on: Bartenders or bad bar managers, bad bar owners. Just about everything, and he was so funny and had such a great sense of humor. I laughed throughout my shift, which is always good - when you, the customer, make me, the bartender, laugh.

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    The Socials;

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    Amado's

    Millennium

    #Above Ground

    #Mikkeller

    #Molotovs

    #Mini Bar

    Horsefeather Bar

    Pagon Idol

    Zombie Village

    Baia

    New Belgium

    Magnolia Brewing

    Kilowatt Bar

    Mothership

     

     

    #nodoomloop #sfbartender #driverlesscarssuck #aisucks #sfpodcast #sfpodcaster #sfcommunity #sf#lagunitas #heineken #craftbeer 

    #mothership Kilowatt #magnoliabrewing #newbelgium #baia #paganidol #zombievillage #molotovs

    32 min
  • Patrick Machel - The Beating Heart of Anchor
    • Hello, and welcome back. I'm Traci Ramos, and this is BoozeNation, the Podcast. Where I speak with people from the bar and restaurant industry of San Francisco about all things bar-related. 
  • It's August, and it's still freezing in San Francisco. Sorry to the rest of California. And devastating news about Maui, please keep Maui in your thoughts I'm assuming there will be a lot of fundraisers in the city, and I'll be posting about the fundraisers when I find out.
  • On July 12, about a month ago, we discovered that Anchor Brewery was closing and shutting its doors. I was shocked. I think many people in the beer, bar, and San Francisco were as well. I took Anchor Brewery for granted; I thought it would operate in San Francisco forever. 
  • 2017 - Sapporo buys Anchor - 100% ownership.
  • 2023 - closure.
  • "It's pretty frustrating to see their press release take the typical SF cop-out and blame it on "high production costs" to piggyback off of people thinking sf is in a state of decay. When in reality a big huge foreign business bought a local staple, tried to brute force it through their own business practice, failed almost immediately and now have to liquidate a 130-year-old brand. Classic." Dave Hahn Madrone Bartender.
  • Thank you, Dave - He fucking nailed it. And today, I am talking to Patrick Machel of Anchor Brewery; Patrick is part of the Local 6 warehouse union - union strong and a shop steward. We will get his take on all things related to Anchor Brewery.

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    #nodoomloop #anchorsteam #anchorunion #anchorunionsf #anchortap #madronebar #union6 #sapporo #fritzmaytag #gooseisland #lagunitas #heineken #craftbeer #supportsmallbusiness #suppportlocal #beercommunity #sfbeercommunity #saveanchor

    27 min
  • Calvin Landrum - The Smile Behind the Combative Queer

    Hello, and welcome back to BoozeNation the Podcast where I speak with people from the bar and restaurant industry of San Francisco.

    It's July and freezing in San Francisco; sorry to the rest of California. And there's probably another surge of covid headed our way, so please be careful.

    My guest today is Calvin Landrum.

    When I met Calvin, he was the GM at Sluts the Wine Bar - in SOMA.
    I went to Sluts back in March. It was fairly new. 
    And the bar was sexy, funky, and a perfect amount of weird.
    And what San Francisco needed after three years of closures, reopening more closures - I thought this bar was it. 
    Calvin was behind the bar and was so nice and engaging about the newness of the bar and the natural wine selections and even had something to say about the non-alcoholic wine on the menu, which I thought was surprising because we're talking about non-alcoholic wine, right?
    We chatted for a few minutes, and he went to speak to other guests and get the show and dancers going. I like this in a manager - the ability or consciousness to chat with the bar's guests to ensure that many customers know someone is in charge and holding down the fort. 
    Calvin looked new to me, meaning I hadn't seen him behind the bar or I hadn't served him. Yes, when you've been in the industry long enough, you have those categories you start putting people in. And it turns out Calvin is newish to the bar industry, and we'll find out what he was doing before getting behind the bar. 

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    www.castrotheatre.com

    www.thelastcallbar.com

    www.the440.com

    www.pinkbootssociety.org

    #twinpeakstavern

    Instagram Service party @serviceprty

     

    #gaywitches #castro #castrotheater #supremecourt #federalgovernment #winebars  #naturalwine #pinkbootssociety #combativegays #twinpeaks #440 #lastcall #serviceprty #somagays #castrogays #nodoomloop #unityincommunity

    36 min
  • Bea Herrera - The Beacon of Light in the Hideout.

    Hello, and welcome back. I'm Traci Ramos, and this is BoozeNation, the Podcast. I talk to bartenders, servers, baristas, and owners in the bar and restaurant industry of San Francisco about all bar-related issues - especially since the pandemic hit and almost decimated our lively hood.

    You can find BoozeNation on Spotify, iHeart radio, stitcher, and Apple Podcast. Also, Boozenation is on the socials on Instagram and Twitter or Shitter. It's June and freezing in San Francisco - usual, and we're still in a pandemic - be careful out there.

    And today's guest is bartender Bea Herrera - soon to be a nurse. Yay, nurses - we love nurses. I met Bea at an event sponsored by the WAAC coalition at Wildhawk the Bar.

    The WAAC coalition hosted the event, which stands for Workers Against Abuse Coalition. I took it to mean that this organization is against any abuse in the bar/hospitality industry.

    Bartender to bartender

    Manager to bartender
    Customer to customer
    Customer to bartender

    Unfortunately, there are many ways to abuse one another in the bar world. And during this event, we got into groups and discussed the many issues that are a part of the industry, and Bea was in my group discussion. It was such a good event - I got to see many people I hadn't seen in a while and met new people, new bartenders, or new bartenders to me - like Bea.

    Bea was also willing to discuss the aftermath of the 2016 election, family members that are tangerine nightmare supporters, and the threat of the invasion of ICE into the restaurants and bars where we worked.

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    www.wildhawksf.com

    www.dalvasf.com

    https://safebars.org

    #WAAC

    www.whitechapelsf.com

    www.novelasf.com

    www.thebeehivesf.com

    www.lolosf.com

    www.abvsf.com

     

     

     

     

    32 min
  • Sara Payan - It’s Weed O’Clock Somewhere.

    This is my first interview as podcast host to podcast host. I love it.

    My guest, Sara Payan from the Planted With Sara Payan podcast, is up next, and we talk about the possibility of a cannabis cafe opening in San Francisco and many more topics.
    Sara and I met long ago when we drank at a bar in the mission.
    We spent so much time drinking, figuring out the world's problems, and fixing the world's problems, which happens when you've been drinking for about six-seven hours in a session. Yes, drunk talk fixes so many things.
    Thinking back to those conversations with Sara, she was always fighting the good fight. And fighting with her intelligence, 
    Which is so important and almost unheard of these days. So, you can imagine my excitement when I learned she is also a podcaster, and we reconnected. And as I've mentioned, Planted with Sara Payan is about cannabis and all the things that come along with cannabis in the world of legalization.

     

     

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    #cannabis #cannabiscafes #podcasthost #plantedwithsarapayan #oldschool #sanfranciscopodcast #oaklandpodcast #weed #pot #davidcrosby #petercoyote #statecannabisadvisorycommittee #medicinalyouthsubcommittee #cancer #cancersurvivor #amsterdam #spain #westhollywood #britishcolombia #bluntbrothers #LBGTQ #AIDS #radiomisfitsnetwork #congresswomanbarbaralee #congressmanearlblumenauer 

     

     

     

    38 min
  • Olga Boiko - All About the Everything Croissant

    Hello and welcome back.

    Introducing - Olga Boiko, she is the co-owner of two coffee shops in the mission appropriately called Coffee Shop.
    I first read about Olga and her cafes in May 2022 when Mission Local ran a story about the fundraisers Olga and her Coffee Shops were promoting to help aid Ukraine as they had been invaded by Russia.
    Yes Olga is originally from Ukraine and as we know Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. (most recent invasion)
    I mean Putin what a joke. 
    Though she isn’t a bartender, or in the bar business she’s in the business of serving the public and dealing with a lot of people who are probably freaking out because they haven’t had their caffeine yet. So Olga gets the biz, for sure.
    I wanted to hear first hand what someone goes through living so far away from their family with war back home. At the time of the Mission Local article back in May 22, Olga and a lot of Ukrainians hoped the war would be over soon. Unfortunately it’s not looking like it.

    Organizations that aid Ukraine;

    savelife.ua

    Misto Dobra

    Press about Olga;

    Mission Local - Olga Boiko

    Coffee Shop - instagram @sfcoffeeshop

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    #nowarinukraine #helpukraine #coffeeshop #coffeeshopmission #coffeeshopsf #supoortlocal #supportsmallbuisness #drinkmorecoffee #sfpodcaster #podcastersf #missionlocal #readlocalmedia #supportlocalmedia

    34 min

About BoozeNation The Podcast

From the publisher's feed

On March 15th, 2020, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, ordered the closure of all wineries, nightclubs, brewpubs, and bars in the state to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. The closure was…