WHAT WE DO
Crafting a compelling beverage program can be a daunting task for restaurants facing challenges including limited resources to hire a full-time beverage director, ongoing supply chain issues, rising costs, and a scarcity of skilled and enthusiastic hospitality professionals.
Our beverage consulting services create peace of mind for owners and managers as you benefit from an efficient and cohesive program that furthers your concept and reach, allowing your team to focus on day-to-day service and operation.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Book We will respond to your inquiry within 24 hours to schedule a consultation at a convenient time for you.
Free Consultation During the consultation, we will take the time to get to know you and your business needs. We will ask you about your goals, challenges, and priorities. We will also share information about our consulting services and how we can support you.
Proposal After the consultation, we will prepare a proposal tailored to your specific needs. The proposal will include a detailed breakdown of our services, timeline, and costs. It will also outline our approach and methodology, as well as the expected outcomes.
Alignment of Goals Once we have agreed on the scope of the project and the terms of the engagement, we will work with you to align our goals. We will establish clear objectives, metrics, and milestones to measure progress and success.
Support Throughout the engagement, we will provide ongoing support and guidance. We will keep you updated on the progress of the project, share insights and best practices, and make adjustments as needed. We will also provide you with regular reports and feedback to ensure that we are meeting your expectations and goals.
Service & Hospitality Training
New openings and successful bars and restaurants alike benefit from a well-trained and confident sales team. Our training packages are tailored to the needs of your business, helping you achieve your goals while facilitating continued success.
Wine Lists & Cocktail Menus
We work with you to define clear values that translate to success in sales. Our combined 20 years of experience allow us to see the opportunities within your specific vision and bring them to life while maintaining the unique identity of your concept. No copy and paste jobs here.
Inventory Management
We are experts in the not so glamorous side of wine and spirits. Let our comprehensive yet easy to use systems streamline your day to day and give your management team the tools they need to define and affect metrics quarter to quarter.
WHO WE ARE
Sarina Garibović
For a decade, Sarina has been helping restaurants run smoothly with her wide-ranging experience in hospitality. Whether it's a trendy hotspot or a beloved neighborhood staple, she knows what it takes to make a full-service operation successful. Though born in Croatia and raised in Phoenix, she found her true passion for wine and operations in Minneapolis.
Her range of experience includes the opening of large-scale projects across multiple states, delivering ongoing training for service teams with varying backgrounds and skill levels. She has created cocktail and wine programs for local gems and national concepts as well as spearheaded the success of several service refreshes. In 2018, she undertook a complete training overhaul for the 20-year stable Restaurant Alma and Cafe Alma, showcasing her ability to tackle complex challenges with confidence.
Sarina approaches beverage programs from an operational perspective, knowing that a strong foundation of reliable and user-friendly systems is essential for success. Without this, even the best beverage program can fall flat.
Berit Johnson
Berit is not only skilled in creating exceptional cocktails and providing top-notch service, but she also has a talent for developing systems that can help bars increase their profitability.
Throughout her career, Berit has gained experience in all aspects of running a successful bar program. She understands the importance of creating systems that streamline operations, reduce waste, and increase revenue. Berit can help bars develop strategies for inventory management, menu design, and pricing that can lead to increased profitability.
Berit also has experience working with a variety of bar management software and tools that can help bars track their financial performance and make data-driven decisions. She can assist in implementing these systems and training staff on how to use them effectively.
By working with Berit, bar owners and managers can benefit from her expertise in creating profitable bar programs while still maintaining high standards for quality and customer experience. She will work closely with you to understand your goals and help you develop a program that is tailored to your unique needs and budget.
I have been running the wine program for Alma for the last twenty years and have been privileged to work with many young professionals but Sarina by far uniquely stands out. Sarina displays great talents not only in her wine and hospitality skills but also in her ability to seamlessly teach these skills to a service team. When we first met, I was immediately impressed with Sarina and her passion for wine knowledge. From day one, she was instrumental in Alma’s wine program moving forward.
Sarina has led service meetings on wine and cocktails as well as spearheading our current service training program. In addition, she has graciously and professionally hosted many memorable wine dinners for Alma.
All this would be impressive enough, however, Sarina was also an incredible joy to work with because of her amazingly positive attitude and infectious charisma, which the staff still talks about at Alma.
— James Hirdler | Wine Director, Alma: Cafe, Hotel and Restaurant
Sarina is one of the most knowledgeable people I've ever met when it comes to wine and wine education. Her love of the craft is palpable; Sarina literally lights up when talking about Chenin Blanc, a special Riesling or a rare Madeira. This passion of hers, and the fluency with which she speaks about wine, captivates staff, drawing them into a world that is less intimidating and more so enticing. What I love the most about Sarina as a sommelier is by far her approach to teaching others. It starts with simple, intuitive questions: "What do you smell?" "Which cheese would taste great with this?" "What's happening on your palette?" This leads to an accessible breakdown of the science at play; it wasn't until I was a student of Sarina's that I learned about the stunning effects of botrytis, or what it meant to keep something "on the lees." Sarina demonstrates that wine knowledge is not about pretention, but rather about finding a bottle you love and then coming to understand why.
-Emily Morehbacher | Owner, Sisters MPLS
"Berit has a creative drive for excellence in all things, especially liquid libations. Berit will not stop tweaking recipes, systems, or steps of service until they are fully fleshed out ideas that offer something new. Give her a liquid problem to solve and I can guarantee you will not be let down."
- Tyler Kleinow | Bar Manager, Meteor
I had the fortunate experience to collaborate with Sarina Garibovic in building a training experience for our hospitality team members at Alma in 2019. Her awareness of adult learning and development not only benefited me but those who engaged in the process that culminated from our efforts.
Sarina’s endeavors to share her passion and knowledge about wine contributed to many at Alma. She pursued learning opportunities by building regular classes to which all were invited. Her entrepreneurial spirit and capacity to teach and lead has ultimately resulted in her involvement and innovations at Zenska Glava, The Libation Project, and Twin Cities Somms.
— Michelle Nordhougen | Growing Edge Facilitation
TESTIMONIALS
