Rising Stars: Meet Tavo Bernal of Old Town Fort Collins

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tavo Bernal

Hi Tavo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Started as a dishwasher at a BJ’s Brewhouse in Tucson, Arizona in 2009. Quickly worked my way up to Supervisor in a year and a half. I then became a corporate trainer, opening new locations of BJ’s Brewhouses around the country. I continued to work my up with the company from there. I eventually got to Fort Collins in early 2013 to open a new BJ’s location. Fell in love with the town. Decided to move here to start a new chapter in life. My exposure and love for craft beer from BJ’s helped me discover whiskey. I soon became obsessed with the spirit and wanted to work in the industry. The Whisk(e)y bar opened in May of 2014 and I joined the team as an Assistant Manager in June. I then took over as General Manager in October. 10 years later, we’ve become the largest whiskey bar in Colorado, a staple in the Fort Collins night life scene and a hub for the Council of Whiskey Masters. I am currently studying to become a Master of Scotch through the Council and hope to become of a full Master of Whiskey by April 2026.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Surprisingly a very smooth road, which is not common in the hospitality industry. The owner, Jimmy, is a big factor. He’s been very supportive and positive throughout the last decade. He wants the bar to be great and for us to have fun and is quite the enabler to make that happen.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the General Manager. I oversee all aspects of running the business. I am also the whiskey educator for the staff. I specialize in whiskey tasting and knowledge. I am known around town as a whiskey knowledge resource. I am proud of my length of time in the industry. Not very common to stick around managing a bar as long as I have. I am proud of where my whiskey studies and knowledge have taken me. I have gotten the chance to meet and learn from many heavy hitters in the whiskey world and aim to become one myself one day. Hoping that my Whiskey Master certifications can take me to the next level.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I believe my “Culture and Hospitality First” approach is the key to my success. Having a healthy culture is important in gaining your team’s trust and respect. With their trust and respect, it is easier to focus on executing what needs to be done to ensure a well run business. My main focus after that is hospitality. The hospitality industry can be very tough to work in at times and it’s easy forget what the main goal is. It’s important to remind myself and my team to focus on hospitality over anything else.

Pricing:

• Pappy Juice $35

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thewhiskeyfc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewhiskeyfoco/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/tavoswhiskey/

Image Credits
Full credit of bar images go to:

Hot Route Media

https://www.instagram.com/hot__route/

https://www.hotroutemedia.com/