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Serves You Right
Serves You Right episodes
- #86 Seth Alexander: The Happy Hour Lie...Why Busy is Killing Your Bar
The restaurant industry is addicted to a dangerous lie: that volume equals victory. You see a line out the door and assume the bank account is growing, but "busy" is often just a smoke screen for a business that’s bleeding out in silence. Seth Alexander, the strategic mind behind Barrel-Aged Management, reveals why sometimes a packed room is a sign of impending danger.
Your current hospitality model is fundamentally broken if you are managing symptoms instead of the engine. I you're overworking your talent, overpaying your vendors, and underpricing your value based on "vibe" rather than math. This episode is the corrective insight you didn’t know you needed, stripping away the romanticism of the "chef-owner" and replacing it with a cold, hard look at asset performance and strategic development. If you want to survive the post-COVID shift then you must evolve from an operator into an asset manager.
Expect to Learn:
- Why volume blinds everybody and the specific metrics that prove your busiest night might be your least profitable.
- The Chef Problem: How to stop expecting your Chef to be a Director of Culinary, Purchasing Agent, and Line Cook simultaneously.
- The White Label Infrastructure: Why the world’s most successful hotel portfolios are outsourcing their F&B departments to gain an unfair advantage.
- Why consistency in your purchasing strategy is a recipe for failure in a seasonal market.
- The Inconvenience"Advantage: Why chasing convenience is poisoning our food supply and how to reclaim power from massive distributors.
Links:
- Barrel-Aged Management (BAM)
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- Doug Frost MW MS
- Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
- Tony Abou-Ganim
- Bobby "G" Gleason
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
1 hr 14 min - #85 Robbie Wilson: Neuro-Spicy Cocktail Flavor Master Class
Most bartenders are just following a recipe, but Robbie Wilson is playing a symphony you can’t hear. You’ve been told that cocktails are about a simple balance of spirit, sweet, and sour, but that belief is keeping your palate in the dark ages. Flavor isn't just a physical sensation on your tongue; it is a molecular chemical pathway that can be structured like a Led Zeppelin song, built like a painting, or written out over time like an epic quest.
Robbie opens up about the crushing burnout of his first bar’s failure, an emotional low point that forced him to stop following the industry’s "fake honey" rules and start rebuilding flavor from the ground up. You will discover the high-leverage tactical secret of "synergistic elements," including a specific chemical found in curry leaves that literally opens the pores in your mouth to amplify tropical notes.
If you ignore this episode, you will continue to build drinks that are merely "good" while others are using “neuro-spicy” frameworks to create experiences that permanently alter a guest’s perception of reality. Stop making drinks and start engineering memories, or risk being forgotten in the noise of every other generic bar.
Expect to learn:
- How to use "music theory" to bridge the distance between clashing ingredients like ginger and sesame.
- How to think about the alcohol percentage required to pull specific chemicals from plants without extracting unwanted bitterness.
- Why "synesthesia" might be the secret weapon for identifying overlaps between what we see and what we taste.
- The "Hero’s Journey" framework for creating cocktails that evolve as they warm up or dilute over time.
- The psychological trick of "Couples Cocktails" that uses acid structure to link two different people's experiences.
Links:
- The Noma Guide to Fermentation by René Redzepi and David Zilber
- The Flavor Matrix by James Briscione
- Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication (mentioned in talk)
- The Gibson PDX (Multnomah Village, Portland)
- Robbie Wilson’s Substack: Polymath Journal
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
1 hr 1 min - #84 Philip Greene: The Formula the Built a Hundred Classic Cocktails
This week, we have a titan in the cocktail world: Philip Greene. This man didn't just write most of the books on cocktails, he deconstructed his own family tree to discover he is distantly related to Antoine Peychaud, the man folklore claims invented the cocktail in the 1790s. Then, in a moment of pure academic ruthlessness, he used historical records to disprove his own ancestor's legend.
Philip Greene is a powerhouse in the cocktail world in a way few people can equal. As a co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail and a prolific author of definitive works like The Manhattan and The Sours, he provides the "bedrock" knowledge that modern bartenders use to innovate.
You will learn the high-leverage "Three-Part Formula" that turns a basic Daiquiri into a world-class Margarita or a Mojito with just one pivot. Greene also reveals the surprising "Dark Age" survivors…drinks that stayed famous despite being made with bottom-shelf garbage for decades (and some that started off less than spectacularly and got face lifts). Grab a cocktail shaker and join me in learning from one of the cocktail world’s masters.
Expect to Learn:
- What criteria was used to include drinks in his new book
- How Philip felt about including the Midori Sour
- How a 19th-century viral prank involving a fake man named Tom Collins birthed an iconic beverage
- The names in the cocktail world worth learning from
- How the world’s most famous cocktails survived the "Bad Old Days" of powdered mixes and worse
Links:
- Sours: A History of the World’s Most Storied Cocktail Style - A Cocktail Book
- A Drinkable Feast
- The Manhattan
- To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Bartender’s Guide
- Cheers!
- EUVS Website (Vintage Cocktail Manuals)
- Philip Greene’s Website
- Lockworks Tavern Event (RSVP: [email protected])
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
41 min - #83 Brian Grossman: Why Your Favorite Beer Actually Tastes Better
Our guest today, Brian Grossman, the Chief Brewer and second-generation brewery owner at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., reveals why even one of the biggest brands in beer still relies on the "last line of defense" to survive. If you don't listen to the end, you’ll keep dropping the ball in the final inch of service, leaving thousands in tips and repeat business on the table while your competitors master the details you're currently ignoring.
It’s common to treat the product as a commodity rather than a sequence of high-stakes interactions. You are likely failing the "ands versus buts" test, where one neglected detail like a leaf-blown walkway or a detergent-stained glass negates years of brand-building and precision. This episode provides the corrective framework to move from a "good enough" mentality to an elite standard of execution that forces customers to reorder, return, and recommend.
Sierra Nevada is a legend in the brewery world. Not only did they kickstart the craft brewing movement, but even to this day they remain a 100% family owned and operated business. If you care about beer, this episode is for you.
Expect to Learn:
- The "Ands vs. Buts" framework that determines if a guest becomes a lifelong fan or a one-time visitor.
- Why the specific size of a can is the secret weapon for maintaining the "target temperature" of a premium pilsner.
- A thing or two about non-alcoholic beer brewing
- Why your dishwasher’s blue cheese detergent is the hidden enemy of a perfect head of foam.
- The "Triangle of Brewing" that balances art and science with one unconventional third pillar to ensure staying power.
Links:
Sierra Nevada Official Website
RoomSierra Nevada Taprooms and Tastings (Chico, CA & Mills River, NC)
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
36 min - #82 Bobby "G" Gleason: 1 Rule That Separates Good From Great Bartenders
It seems like success in the bar should come from better drinks, faster service, or stronger pours. Bobby “G” has all those things (except maybe the stronger pours), but thinks there’s more to that idea. This episode explores the real driver of success behind the bar: hospitality first, precision second, ego last. Bobby “G” Gleason, a USBG Master Mixologist and former Beam Suntory ambassador, shares the exact mindset, systems, and habits that took him from barback to global authority. If you want to know what true mastery sounds like, consistent cocktails, loyal guests, and long term leverage in the hospitality industry, this conversation delivers the roadmap most people never get.
Expect to learn:
- Why chasing tips is the fastest way to limit your income
- The barback skill that predicts who becomes elite
- How to build drinks that guarantee repeat orders
- The 2-1-2-1 formula that fixes unbalanced cocktails instantly
- Why most bartenders lose guests without realizing it
Links:
- USBG (United States Bartenders Guild)
- Mixology Made Easy
- Beam Suntory Portfolio
- Get in touch with Andrew for rare whiskey
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
1 hr 4 min - #81 Tobin Ellis: Why Do Bars Still Ignore Bartenders?
Most bar owners believe great cocktails, expensive interiors, and beautiful design create successful bars.
The thing is, you see a lot of expensive, empty bars out there though…
The real performance engine of a bar is workflow. When bartenders are forced to walk, reach, bend, or share equipment unnecessarily, service slows down, guest experience collapses, and operators quietly lose massive amounts of revenue. In this episode, world renowned bar designer Tobin Ellis explains why most bars are built without understanding how bartenders actually work, how poor layouts damage bartender health and performance, and how small design decisions can cost a venue hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. If you care about hospitality, bar profitability, bartender longevity, or building a serious beverage program, this episode reveals the surprisingly simple truth of bar design: maybe we should design bars for the people working in them.
Expect to Learn:
- Why most bars are accidentally designed to slow bartenders down
- The “Zero Step” principle that makes bartenders dramatically faster
- How poor bar layouts quietly destroy profits during peak hours
- Why mirrored bar stations confuse bartender muscle memory
- The simple design mistakes that force bartenders to run laps all night
Links:
- Bar Design Essentials by Tobin Ellis
- Studio Barmagic
- Follow Tobin Ellis on Instagram
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
57 min - #80 Jillian Vose: From Cheeky Hustle to World Class Bartender
Some of the most influential people in the cocktail world started the exact opposite way. Making drinks by color. Recreating drinks that already existed...and hoping nobody noticed.
Before the awards. Before running one of the most famous cocktail bars in the world. Before menus with dozens of original drinks, we have a story of trying one’s luck in Arizona. Testing the waters in New York…let's say slightly over her head. Sleeping on an air mattress, commuting across the city, and learning everything the hard way.
In this conversation, Jillian Vose explains how relentless work ethic, curiosity, and brutal honesty about failure pushed her from chaotic college bar shifts to helping lead one of the most respected cocktail programs on earth.
Along the way she shares things only a world class BAMF can.
If you care about hospitality, leadership, drink creation, or building something meaningful in this industry, missing this conversation would be a mistake.
Because the difference between good and great bartenders is not talent.
It is how they learn, show up, and keep fighting, day after day.
Expect to learn:
- Why most bartenders misunderstand what actually makes a great drink
- How elite bartenders develop intuition for flavor and balance
- The hidden complexity behind designing world-class cocktail menus
- Why guest experience matters more than technical perfection
Links:
- Jillian Vose Instagram
- Cocktail Omakase (Cocktail Kingdom Hospitality)
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
52 min - #79 Tony Abou-Ganim: Why Bars Lost Hospitality
The people who actually built the modern cocktail renaissance understood something most bartenders still miss:
Great drinks do not build great bars, hospitality does.
In this episode Tony Abou-Ganim shares the real story behind the cocktail revival. From learning behind the bar of a family tavern in Michigan to designing the cocktail program for the Bellagio. Along the way he explains why classic cocktails matter, why many modern bars lost the guest experience, and how the next generation of bartenders can rebuild something better.
If you think great cocktails are about creativity, ingredients, or trends, this episode will challenge that assumption and replace it with a deeper understanding of what actually makes a bar unforgettable.
Expect to Learn:
- The drink that made Tony decide to become a bartender
- Why the Bellagio became one of the most important stages in cocktail history
- The hospitality mistake modern cocktail bars keep making
- Why vodka became misunderstood in craft cocktail culture
- The philosophy great bartenders use to turn first time guests into regulars
Links:
- Tony Abou-Ganim on Instagram
- Modern Mixologist
- Vodka Distilled
- The Brass Rail Bar
- Helen David Relief Fund
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
59 min - #78 Mark Schatzker: Are Doritos Rewiring Your Brain?
You are not weak when it comes to food, you are being misled.
For millions of years, flavor told the truth. Sweet meant calories. Aroma meant nutrients. Your brain learned to trust taste as survival information.
Then we broke the signal.
“We are too stupid to understand how smart we are.”
If you care about food, performance, energy, or discipline, this episode gives you leverage.
Ignore it, and you will keep fighting your own biology.
Expect to learn:
- Why people with obesity crave more but do not enjoy food more
- How flavor manipulation creates reward prediction error and ramps up motivation
- Why real strawberries and tomatoes lost flavor over time
- The economic tradeoff between industrial convenience and sensory truth
- How to realign pleasure and nourishment without dieting harder
Links:
- Steak
- The Dorito Effect
- The End of Craving
- Mark Schatzker on Substack
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
52 min - #77 Josh Powell: Do YOU Make Enough Pour Decisions???
If you believe great cocktails are about creativity alone, you may be in for a rude surprise. Modern bar leadership demands flavor architecture, operational efficiency, storytelling, hospitality psychology, cost control, and brand strategy. In this episode, Josh Powell, founder of Poor Decisions Consultancy and former owner of The Natural Philosopher Bar in London, reveals his closely held secrets to winning in the cocktail world.
Winning drinks are engineered. Menus are narratives. Hospitality is scored even when it is not on the sheet. This conversation delivers the unfair advantage serious operators and bar competitors need.
Expect to Learn:
- Why flavor is less than half of what wins competitions
- How to build a cocktail from a single ingredient outward using flavor architecture
- The hidden hospitality behaviors judges score without telling you
- How seasonality and foraging can shape high velocity menu cycles
- What it really takes to transition from bartender to consultant without losing your creative edge
Links:
Pour Decisions Consultancy
Pour Decisions Instagram
Service starts now.
Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube
I talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!
Classic Episodes You May Like:
- #22:Doug Frost MW MS
- #23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler
- #31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)
- #38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze
- #39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication
- #46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine
- #64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar Above
As always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.
Cheers
44 min
About Serves You Right
From the publisher's feed
Most bartenders are great at their jobs and have no idea what to do with that...
Nobody tells you that the skills behind the bar: reading people, building experiences, thinking fast under pressure, are actually worth something. They just hand you a shaker and hope you figure it out.
Serves You Right is for bartenders who are done drifting and ready to do something. Every episode, host Andrew Roy talks with the people who are currently doing something inspiring, and pulls out exactly how they did it.
Your career behind the bar is the starting point. Not the ceiling. Let's make some drinks!