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

Alright, Tony thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

The most important lesson I learned at my previous job / career as a bartender, was how to bring my best self to work. How you show up for work matters. It matters when youre an employee, because someone else dictates if you get to keep your job, but I also learned it matters as much or more when youre a business owner.

I learned in my years of bartending, the way I treated my team and bartenders under me, had a direct influence on the bar. For example, how much money we made…people loved sitting at our bar and would become regulars, because we liked one another. We treated each other witih respect and made our bar feel like a family.

This has translated over to my team as a business owner. Although there are times I have to put on my boss hat, I treat my team with respect and we are friends. This means we enjoy working together and I believe our customers feel that directly.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been a bartender since I turned 21. I began because I loved interacting with the people, but I ended up falling for the craft itself. One day I was competing for a cocktail competition and I wanted to have clear ice for my drink, however the only way to get the clear ice was to buy it from a supplier. I had been following a man online who was making the ice in a cooler at home and carving it with a sharp knife. He was usuing a method called directional freezing so I decided to try it. It worked! Soon after that, I realized I wanted all bars to have access to this. I wanted anyone who saw the value in clear ice to be able to have it, no matter their size or budget. So I began the quest of creating Ghost Ice, to make clear ice in bulk for all bars.

I think what sets me apart is that I was in the industry for over a decade, working behind the bar, and loving the craft from the beginning. I didn’t start out just to make ice, I started out to help bars be the best they could, and be proud of their drinks.

I want people to know that I’m a real person. A bartender (always at heart even if I’m not behind the bar as often these days), who loves the craft and genuinly cares about their bar.

My company runs as a close knit group of bartenders and cocktail lovers that share the same goal and heart for the industry. We care about each customer, their story and how we can help them be the best they can be. We want to help them provide a great and memorable experience to their guest, each and every time.

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

We had been planning and prepaing to launch all of 2019…then right as we were ready to launch, the pandemic hit and bars across the world shut down. It looked like our business sank before it ever started, but we didn’t give up. We launched in March of 2020, and stayed the course. We celebrated each sale and kept close eyes on the areas that were not shutting down.

Even when bars began to open back up, people’s budgets were tight and it was a slow start. But through persistance, determination, and time, we made it through to become a well known, global brand in our industry!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What’s built our reputation is two things: first, we have a great product. We have put a lot of years of testing into our systems and we know they not only work, they are the best system on the market.

The second thing that has helped us build a great reputation is excellent customer service. We answer every email and every phone call personally. Nothing has been outsourced, because we care about each customer and their indivudual challenges. We meet every challenge, even when it costs us, to provide a wonderful experience for everyone who comes into contact with our brand!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ghosticesystem.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghosticesystem
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxMndxckI00