S2 Episode 002 - Alex Jump - From Death & Co to living life to the fullest!

We Recover Loudly - Serving Essential Hospitality Conversations

Welcome to this week's episode of We Recover Loudly where Shell has the pleasure of chatting to beverage industry titan Alex Jump. Alex is an award-winning bartender who began her career behind the stick in her hometown of Tennessee after spending time studying aboard in Florence, Italy, including a stint interning at the largest wine shop in the Italian city.

Her first management role came in her early 20s, at East Bistro and by 23 she was promoted to overseeing the beverage programs at both Easy Bistro and there, more casual, whiskey-focused sister restaurant, Main Street Meats. She dreamt of working at the infamous Death & Co and moved to Denver hopeful for the chance to get to work at the opening of the cocktail bar. Finally in 2018 she got her wish and was made the new outpost’s bar manager.

Alex continued to add accolades to her name, including being named a finalist for Bombay Sapphire’s “Most Imaginative Bartender” in 2019 and being included on the 2021 Forbes “30 under 30 Food and Drink” list. In 2020, Alex co-founded Focus on Health with her business partner, Lauren O'Brien, and they use this platform to advocate for the physical and mental wellbeing of people working in the food and beverage industry. With FOH she has is able to share about her own struggle with mental health over the years and has created some vital training and support resources for the industry.

We discussed

• Looking for community when studying religion and the parallels with that and the communities we form in hospitality jobs.
• How there is still work to be done around the stigma of drugs and drug usage in the industry
• How important it is to support team members with compassion and flexibility.
• Ways to bond with team members that does NOT involving getting drunk.
• The work herself and the Focus on Health team are doing bringing more awareness to the industry of the mental health challenges people face and how to support them.

Alex is a wonderful example of bartender – one who still drinks but has changed her relationship for a more positive one, embracing having a mindful approach. She is also a totally awesome cocktail throwing, motor bike riding bad ass – a privilege to chat too!

Connect with Alex –

@axljump

@fohealth

@werecoverloudly www.werecoverloudly.com

Want us to come into your business and talk to your teams about addiction in the workplace?? Send us an email at [email protected] and we will be in touch!

This episode is sponsored by

The Burnt Chef Project.

@theburntchefproject www.theburntchefproject.com

For more information on We Recover Loudly and to reach out for speaking engagements or support email [email protected]

@werecoverloudly
www.werecoverloudly.com

This episode is brought to you by our proud sponsors:

Low No Drinker Magazine @lownodrinkermagazine

www.lownodrinkermagazine.com