[PLACEHOLDER · Name]
Then · [PLACEHOLDER]
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences — what Brian saw, what they ran, the instinct that made them stand out.]
[PLACEHOLDER · where they are now]
Director of Operations · Chicago · 2009–2011
The Drawing Room
[PLACEHOLDER: 1-sentence thesis for The Drawing Room — what the room was, what it asked of the program, what Brian ran.]
01 · The role
The program Brian ran at The Drawing Room.
Two years running the operational chassis behind a program that became one of five national Tales of the Cocktail finalists, while directing operations across a five-venue Chicago restaurant group.
Chicago, 2009–2011. Brian served as Director of Operations across a five-venue Chicago restaurant group — $30 million in combined annual revenue — with The Drawing Room as the flagship cocktail program. A two-year run during which the program became one of five finalists nationally at Tales of the Cocktail and the house bartender won NBC's first national cocktail competition.
The cocktail program was the visible output. Behind it: hiring, training, service standards, cost structure — the operational chassis that lets a bar run at national scale without burning out its staff or losing its margin.
The GM role wasn't about the drinks. Charles Joly handled the bar. Brian handled the system that let Joly's program scale: ten-bartender training protocol, cost-per-ounce discipline, daily par sheets, standing vendor cadence, and service choreography that read as fine-dining in a cocktail-lounge room.
Cost of goods held under 22% on a menu that included $18 specialty serves in 2010. Three bartenders from the roster went on to open their own programs.
Tales of the Cocktail 2010 named The Drawing Room one of five Bar Room Brawl finalists nationally. The peer set: The Varnish (Los Angeles), Rickhouse (San Francisco), Drink (Boston), and one other. Nightclub & Bar Magazine followed with Cocktail Lounge of the Year 2010. National press picked it up: Condé Nast Traveler, TimeOut, NBC Chicago, StarChefs.
Charles Joly won NBC's On the Rocks the same year. The program Brian ran produced both the national recognition and the bartender who became a national name from inside it.
02 · The program
What Brian ran.
GM work is unglamorous until it isn't. Each of these was a separate accountability.
01
Menu architecture
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences on the menu structure — categories, pricing tiers, the logic that made the list readable in the room.]
Output: spec cards · seasonal rotation cadence · menu book
02
Team build & training
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences on the team, hiring rubric, weekly service standards, pre-shift tasting cadence.]
Output: hiring rubric · weekly training deck · spec-card accountability
03
Cost & pour discipline
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences on cost controls — pour tests, variance tracking, COGS targets, pricing model.]
Output: COGS model · variance reports · menu re-price cadence
04
Supplier network
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences on the rep network, allocations, small-producer relationships.]
Output: rep roster · allocation schedule · tasting calendar
05
Service standards
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences on how the bar ran — ticket times, station layout, non-negotiables.]
Output: station SOPs · ticket-time targets · hospitality rubric
03 · The room
IMG · 4:5Bar, service · [placeholder]
IMG · 4:3Menu detail · [placeholder]
IMG · 4:5Room, late night · [placeholder]
04 · The team
The team on the floor.
Who ran the room alongside Brian.
[PLACEHOLDER · Name]
Then · [PLACEHOLDER]
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences — what they brought, the moves they ran, why their palate mattered.]
[PLACEHOLDER · where they are now]
02 · Recognition
National cocktail press at the peak of the Chicago boom.
Two consecutive national credentials in 2010 — Nightclub & Bar Cocktail Lounge of the Year and Tales of the Cocktail Bar Room Brawl Top 5 — with contemporaneous coverage from the Chicago critical press and a Charles Joly national TV win the same year.
Our mixologists are the best. Two have consulting companies and literally travel the world doing this. Their presentation and detail blend perfectly with the atmosphere and food. — Matt Lindner, owner.Read the piece
The opening of The Drawing Room and Violet Hour within a month or so of one another raised the bar in Chicago.Read the piece
Occupies the former VIP section of Le Passage with a new Rush Street entrance … a lounge that works on every level. (4/5)Read the piece
Charles Joly won NBC's On the Rocks: The Search for America's Next Top Bartender, Season 3 finale, earning $100,000. The Drawing Room hosted the viewing party.Read the piece
Each team has 15 minutes to present three cocktails to the all-star judges lineup… Bars are scored on teamwork, presentation and quality.Read the piece
06 · Where they are now
What came next.
[PLACEHOLDER: 1 sentence on follow-on projects from The Drawing Room.]
A note from Brian
[PLACEHOLDER · 2-3 sentence closing from Brian on The Drawing Room. Direct. No hedging. What it meant, the through-line to LCC's current practice.]
Brian Howard
Owner & Founder, Liquid Chef Consulting