Conversations with Stevie Rae Sanchez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stevie Rae Sanchez.

Hi Stevie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’ve been in the industry since 2016, and I started with Grist Brew Co as a bartender back in July 2021 – which, at the time had only three venues. I instantly fell in love with our Lone Tree venue, RARE by Grist, and could see its potential for greatness. I worked my way up through the ranks from shift lead to general manager, and eventually regional manager. Now, I run the operations for all of Grist Brew Co!

I have had the luxury of seeing this company grow into something incredibly special, and have had the privilege of contributing to that growth at an executive level in the latter half of 2022. As a company, we aim to be more than a craft brewery. We strive to create unique environments where guests come to escape reality and engage with each other.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Back in March of 2022, I had surgery to correct an injury I sustained. I couldn’t walk or work for two months. While I was home recovering, I learned of an exodus of my coworkers – I was out of the loop and unaware of just how bad morale had become while I was away. I was called out of my recovery early by the previous operators to step into the role of Regional Manager. My body was not ready for me to resume daily activity – my tibia was still split down the middle, and it took months longer to heal that it should have. However, I came back to work ready to hit the ground running (limping) with my ideas, but nothing was the same. My staff was disengaged and uninspired, which resulted in our customer service taking a huge blow. I was starting to understand that the root of the issue was a lack of inspiration and accountability from the prior operators, which unfortunately had a negative influence on the team.

By far, the biggest obstacle I’ve had to overcome was repairing the poor morale and rebuilding trust between our staff and upper management. I am a firm believer that an organization needs congruency among its members to ensure success. It definitely wasn’t easy, but once I was able to step into my current role it was important for me to create a work environment that fosters creativity, support, and pride. Moreover, it was imperative that my staff felt inspired in their work more than ever before.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As the Chief Operating Officer, I oversee the logistics of all venues, ensure our upper management is maintaining Grist Brew Co standards, and, most importantly, provide mentorship to junior leadership. It has been a privilege seeing my staff grow and refine their leadership skills through the various challenges we have faced since our company-wide rebrand.

I believe I am most well known for my emphasis on QA (quality assurance), as the unique experience Grist Brew Co offers our patrons demands rigorous attention to detail and genuine, conscientious hospitality from our staff. While many craft breweries emphasize the customer experience, it is important to me that Grist Brew Co is set apart from the rest by an uncompromising commitment to providing pristine hospitality to all of our patrons through our emphasis on conscientiousness and intuitive service.

I take pride in Grist establishing warm, accepting, and trusted spaces for all of our diverse patrons and our incredible staff. However, I am most proud of introducing Grist Brew Co – particularly RARE and Wisteria – to the world of drag entertainment. Our previous operators would shut down any opportunity to support the queer community in the past. For that reason, and because several of our staff are part of that community, it was important to me that I create an opportunity for representation and inclusivity.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I find that the phrase “risk-taking” has negative connotations associated with it, as “risk” suggests a lack of assurance on the part of the operator. While it is true that all ventures – regardless of how thoroughly planned – contain a chance of deviation from the desired outcome, I find that fluid creativity paired with tempered wisdom produces the best assurance of success.

During my time as operator, I have had the opportunity to express the use of my inspiration for all of our venues. A recent example of this is our company’s new working relationships with local and national drag artists. Outside of Wisteria in Denver, our other venues are in locations where there is little to no queer representation. Because of this, there was pushback and skepticism when we hosted our first drag performance at RARE. However, we’ve gained more patrons than we’ve lost over our support of the queer community, all the while creating space for a previously neglected demographic – that’s a win in my book.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gristbrewco.com
• Instagram: @gristbrewco, @wisteriapub, @rarebygrist

Image Credits
Alex Guevara and Paul Dunlop