We were lucky to catch up with Evan Berger recently and have shared our conversation below.

Evan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start big picture – what are some of biggest trends you are seeing in your industry?

Trends. I was just talking about this with someone the other day.

Pre Covid – I had a general idea of how bookings would go throughout the year

During Covid – I started to see a general pattern of how bookings were going through the year

Now this post, but not post Covid world, there doesn’t seem to be a pattern yet. I know there will be again, but in the 10 years I have been doing this, we are back to doing everything we can to remind people that food tours and tours are not just for people visiting an area, they are for locals too.

Overall, I hear and read that the world is more open and into experiences vs giving actual things, so I think the tour world especially the food & wine tour world will start to pick up in a different way again. Everyone needs to eat and a 3.5 hour walking tour is a great way to eat and not have to commit to one restaurant or item, see and learn about the area and walk in between the locations – it’s a win win for a lot of people.

Evan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi. I am Evan and I am a female. In a past life, I was a technical project manager and about 11 years ago, the idea of creating a walking food and drink tour in Santa Barbara was mentioned to me by my mom. I kind of poopooed it at the time, but a few months after she mentioned it, all of a sudden I realized what she and my cousins had been telling me why it would be a great idea.

I love Santa Barbara, showing people around and telling stories. I love meeting new people and connecting. I LOVE feeding people but not having to cook the food. I also realized early on when people (myself included) go out to eat, we tend to order the same food at the same places. I also realized that I love coordinating things for people and putting together experiences that include food and wine.

When I was first putting together Taste Santa Barbara Food Tours, I was working full time as a technical project manager for a company who made sales apps for hotels, I was very familiar with the hospitality world. I thrived off of being social. I would offer public tours that people could sign up for on the days I worked from home and weekends. I was a one woman show and before every single tour for a long time, I would get so anxious and excited.

As the years have gone on, I have been fortunate enough to bring on some fantastic tour guides. People who share the same love and enthusiasm for sharing our Santa Barbara. With bringing on more guides, we have had the opportunity to offer daily tours that are open to the public to sign up for. We offer our OG tour, the original downtown tour and the downtown taco tour almost every day. And I have had the change to create private tours that are more specific for different groups and I get a real thrill for creating the perfect experience for different types of groups. Since creating the company, I have been pulled in a few different types of directions and love being able to expand out. I have been brought on for a handful of non profit events and helping with the food side of things. Again, I love coordinating, playing with food and connecting with people.

Sorry if I rambled on, I do have the ADD and hope to see and hear from all of you and joining one of our experiences. Thanks!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

COVID – let’s just talk about the beginning of COVID. I had just had my second baby and then all restaurants closed down immediately. I sat there thinking, WTF. But then decided to choose to take this time to change a lot of the things I had been wanting to shift in my business. I started with my website and ticketing. Reworked the OG tour to start with alcohol AND reduced the size of tours drastically to ensure that when the restaurants etc opened again, we would be ready.

Please note, I know that I was fortunate in my circumstance because my husband still had his job and was working.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I started Taste Santa Barbara Food Tours completely as a side hustle. I offered tours on the days “I worked from home” and weekends. I did this for a couple of years until my husband encouraged me to quit my day job and do tours. I was a few months pregnant and it is rarely a good idea to make big decisions or any decisions when you are pregnant, but this happened to be one of the best ideas my husband has ever had. I wasn’t able to focus for awhile, but now I am kind of back (2 babies later) and surviving what this world is throwing at us and trying to keep a smile on face!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tastesantabarbarafoodtours.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastesantabarbarafoodtours/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TasteSantaBarbaraFoodTours
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanschoolnik/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TasteSBFT
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/taste-santa-barbara-food-tours-santa-barbara
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/taste-santa-barbara-food-tours/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
Tristin Tracy Photography