Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julia Petiprin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Julia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

The goal is always educating, empathy, and creating a safe space to grow. The words “that can’t be taught” is the exact opposite of my beliefs and leadership style. Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, fail, and enjoy successes. The relationships I have created allow me the opportunity to bring in professionals that can provide continued education to the team, helping them see the bigger picture and recognize growth opportunities. I aim to establish an environment where people are excited to ask questions and share their ideas. Creating a culture in which there are no bad ideas allows the team to build confidence. I lead by showing – I have vulnerabilities and it’s okay for them to have them as well. Every single member of the team has something they can teach another person. I continually remind everyone to always ask questions, allow someone to show you something they are interested in – you could be surprised by what you’ll learn. Be a student, not an expert.

Julia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started out in the hospitality industry like I imagine many others have, as a means to an end, to make sure I could pay my bills while pursuing other passions. I was born in Flint, Michigan and raised right outside of it in a little rural city. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, I high tailed it to Los Angeles, I was 22. I lived there for 11 years and truly feel that’s where I grew up. My eyes were opened in so many ways. I landed myself a job in Pasadena, thus beginning a life-long love of the hospitality industry. After having made my way through the ranks at every type of bar and restaurant you could imagine, I was working in the hospitality industry when I decided to go to school for Interior Design, which ended up coming very naturally to me. I started taking classes at The Art Institute to study Interior Design and later transferred to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, where I graduated with a degree in Interior Design. My end goal was to combine my two new found passions, hospitality and design. I now have over 19 years of hospitality experience and am continuing to build my interior design portfolio.

I am the co-founder of Sundry and Vice, a high-end craft cocktail bar in the thriving neighborhood of Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, OH. I was the co-developer, lead interior designer, and opening operating manager for four years until I left to pursue my next project. Sundry and Vice allowed me to dive and explore the beverage side of the hospitality industry, training with the then beverage director of Hinoki & The Bird in Los Angeles. I submerged myself into spirits, cocktails, and operations. Since opening in March of 2015 Sundry and Vice has garnered extensive local, regional, and national acclaim for its interior design and bar program, including the New York Times and Eater.com. I established myself as one of the top bartenders and operators in the city winning local awards for Sundry and Vice as well as “Best Female Bartender” two years in a row. I was accepted into and completed the Bar 5-Day™ program, a prestigious spirits education course in NYC. With Sundry and Vice’s proven success I’ve been allowed the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and raise capital for my next establishment, Homemakers Bar: this time as CEO.

Homemakers Bar is a casual craft cocktail bar and eatery in Cincinnati, OH. In just one year’s time Homemakers Bar has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today’s 10 Best, Liquor.com, Saveur, Eater, and has won Best Bar/Restaurant of the year in OTR. In 2020 I competed in Speed Rack, an all-female high-speed bartending competition designed to highlight up-and-coming woman in the cocktail industry and to give back to those effected by breast cancer. A highlight for me was being featured in the fifth edition of the Jack Daniels Black Book, a highly regarded book featuring up-and-coming bartenders that is an extension of the Tasting Panel magazine. I’ve since opened Fifty Fifty Gin Club, a 22 seat intimate gin bar.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

At this point I feel like my middle name is resilience. haha. It feels good to be able to laugh about that right now. When I moved to Cincinnati and opened Sundry and Vice it was successful from day one. It really felt like ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell. The right time meets the right place, with the right preparation. It was truly magical. After a few years, my business partner and my relationship started to deteriorate, which is very common in business. After multiple attempts to work through our issues, for my mental health, it became apparent that I needed to part ways. From there, having no capital to start a business, I knew I had to raise the money from private investments. Knowing I never wanted to open a bar or restaurant by myself (it is an extremely difficult business), I found an incredible female entrepreneur that was excited about joining forces. It took a lot of convincing and meeting the right people but after a year or so we raised all the funds to open Homemakers Bar. Nine months in we shuttered our doors because of the pandemic.

Because we had only been open nine months I knew we had to stay open in some capacity. Keep the lights on (or in our case the Christmas lights on). We pivoted our business model to serving lunch and dinner to go. We did that until we were allowed to serve guests outdoors, we opened what could be considered a second bar outside. The community truly came together to help us. We were allowed access to a neighboring parking lot, a friend lent us their airstream that had been converted into a bar, and we partnered up with anyone who was willing. We opened Homemakers ‘Outpost’ on our one year anniversary. That outdoor bar went through many identify changes as the seasons changed and we had to adapt. During the pandemic, everyones mental health struggled and because of this my business partner decided to step away from the industry. I bought her out as she went on a new adventure. This was very taxing on me as I never wanted to be a solo owner. After overcoming the heartbreak of that and pushing forward, I proved to myself that I was capable.

Every day we prove resilience in this game we call life. The only way to be an entrepreneur is to never stop, that is what success is. To just keep going.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I’m sharing this because it seems to be the most intriguing to young entrepreneurs. The truth is, I have no idea how I was able to raise the money for Homemakers Bar. But if I break it down into smaller moments I can share a few important things that got me to the finish line.

1. Having a solid reputation from opening one successful business is a big chunk of it. That allowed me to at the very least get a meeting with someone. How did I know who to ask? I didn’t.
2. I literally asked every single human that I came in contact with. By asking everyone you’re bound to find someone who, if they themselves are interested, may know someone who is.
3. When one person says they’ll give you some money it tends to build confidence and help with the pitch, if there is one person then surely there will be more.
4. I was lucky enough to have met a couple people who took an interest in my personal growth and success when I was at Sundry and Vice. I fostered these relationships and it is a big part of the reason I was able to raise money, their network was a lot bigger than mine. They helped put me in the room with potential partners.
5. Put your hustle where your mouth is. Talk is cheap. Actions are always louder than images or words.
6. Just. Keep. Going. People will promise you money and when the times comes to hand it over, disappear. Just the name of the game. Raise more than you need cause someone will change their tune.

I don’t come from money, I don’t have any trust funds, its just me. Working my @$s off, treating people the way I want to be treated, and constantly trying to learn and grow as a human and an entrepreneur.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.homemakersbar.com , fiftyfiftyginclub.com
• Instagram: @homemakersbar @juliapetiprin @fiftyfiftyginclub
• Facebook: /homemakersbar
• Linkedin: /juliapetiprin

Image Credits
Picture of me: Allison McAdams Photo 1: Aaron Conway Photo 2: Brooke Shanesy Photo 3: Mike S James Cocktail 1: Amy Elisabeth Spasoff Cocktail 2: Mike S James