THE BARS
Come see what I've built.
THE BARS
I’ve spent much of my career creating bars and restaurants from the ground up—developing the concepts, atmosphere, menus, cocktail programs, and personalities that make each place its own world. I currently own The Bebedero and Mejicali, two Mexican concepts built around agave spirits, food, art, and nightlife. Previously, I created The Milkman’s Bar, a molecular mixology bar known for imaginative and unconventional cocktails, and South and Central, an elegant South American steakhouse. Different concepts, different audiences, but the same philosophy: a restaurant should be more than a place to eat and drink. It should be an experience.
THE BEBEDERO
The Bebedero is Charlottesville’s first mezcalería, pairing the flavors of Veracruz and Puebla with an extraordinary collection of agave spirits. Its back bar holds one of the most extensive selections of tequila and mezcal you’ll find almost anywhere in the United States. Built around Mexican food, art, cocktails, and agave culture, The Bebedero was designed to feel less like a conventional restaurant and more like stepping into its own little world.
Mejicali
Mejicali is a celebration of Mexican-American culture through the eyes of a generation raised between two worlds. Where The Bebedero draws from traditional Mexican imagery, Mejicali looks to the Cholo culture, street art, music, fashion, and attitude of California in the 1980s and ’90s. Inspired by my youth growing up in Salinas, California, and the shared California roots of my partner Johnny Ornelas, Mejicali brings Mexican and Californian culture together—not as separate influences, but as something that became its own identity. It is our tribute to the culture that surrounded us, shaped us, and taught us that being Mexican-American could have a language, style, and mythology all its own.
THE MILKMAN'S BAR
The Milkman’s Bar was my laboratory—a place to see just how far we could push a cocktail before it stopped being a drink and became something else entirely. We turned alcohol into solids and gases, clarified familiar cocktails until they became almost unrecognizable, and treated garnishes as part of the experience rather than an afterthought. The drinks were experimental, theatrical, technically demanding, and whimsical as hell. It was molecular mixology without taking itself too seriously. I was basically Willy Wonka behind a bar: the snozzberries tasted like snozzberries.
