Today we’d like to introduce you to Miranda Breedlove.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Ironically enough, it took getting pregnant to start my bartending career! It wasn’t exactly planned and I ended up giving the baby up for adoption, but towards the end of the pregnancy, I left Loyola (where I had been studying) and went home to be close to family and finalize paperwork. I realized at that point that I wasn’t going to be able to afford to go back to school but I knew I wanted to get back to Chicago, so I headed to a local bartending school to learn what I could and gain the confidence to walk down the street when I got back and convince someone to hire me!
I did get hired, at Wise Fools Pub in Lincoln Park, where I started to learn how to bartend in real life. I went from there to a few other bars before ending up at with Four Corners Tavern Group. During my time with the company, I learned how to volume bartend at Benchmark and how to manage and run a bar program at Trellis. I also worked behind several other 4C bars with a little bit of European travel in between. Working in a variety of bars and teaching myself things moments before training a staff made me realize that I really wanted to learn more about the cocktail side of the industry which brought me to the opening of Broken Shaker Chicago. I learned from some incredible bartenders there, started working on my own projects, and accidentally traveled around the world with my soon-to-be husband. Coming back from that trip, I opened up Federales and Bad Hunter while focusing on consulting projects (and planning a wedding!)
Now, I’m here in Logan Square with my own consulting company which thankfully brings me around the country for work, a wonderful husband, a couple awesome dogs, and a very exciting upcoming bar program at Good Fortune this summer!
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t been the smoothest of roads, but not the hardest either and I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by some very supportive friends, family, and an industry full of people who care a lot about each other and want to see each other succeed. The biggest struggle for me personally has been figuring out what it is that I am working towards in the bar industry. I’ve realized that I want to travel, make cocktails that people fall in love with, and learn something new every day.
The bar and brand consulting projects and the upcoming opening have given me those things and more and I can’t wait to see where they both take me next!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Miranda Breedlove Consulting and Good Fortune Chicago story. Tell us more about the business.
I specialize in bars, cocktails, and people. I work around the country building bar programs, training bartenders, throwing events, creating pop-up cocktail bars, and making drinks for people to enjoy. I’m proud of being able to do the things I love while maintaining (the beginnings of) financial stability which is pretty hard these days!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The service industry is ALWAYS evolving. We are constantly seeing innovative new brands, tools, and techniques coming from all over the world, but at this moment I am most excited that we are starting a dialogue regarding equality on all levels.
National conversations surrounding racism and sexual harassment are moving from #trending to permanent and impactful and with industry events like Speed Rack (a national women-only bartending competition that benefits breast cancer research – http://speed-rack.com/) and Chicago Style (a local bar conference focused on creating the right dialogue to move us forward – https://drinkchicagostyle.com/), I really believe we are finally talking openly enough to begin making real changes to the inequality that plagues us.
Contact Info:
- Phone: (952) 334-0341
- Email: miranda.breedlove@gmail.com
- Instagram: @m_breedl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miranda.breedlove
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Image Credit:
John Khuu, Felicia Saade, Richard Shilkus
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