Team Spotlight: Gabriel Jaramillo
Gabriel Jaramillo, Lead Bartender, Jojo’s Beloved Cocktail Lounge
What is your hometown? I was born and raised in Venezuela until I was 19 almost 20. In 2016 I moved to New York. Feels like forever ago but it wasn’t that long ago.
When my family moved to the US, I already knew English, but I wasn’t yet very fluent. One day I get on Craigslist, and I see a bunch of job openings, and I go to this beautiful boutique hotel, and I thought there’s no way I’m getting a job here. I had no experience at all. As luck would have it, the manager happened to be from Costa Rica and spoke Spanish. I told him I had no experience, but I really needed a job and I’ll be here on time, and I won’t be drunk. He said, “Sure, let’s do it". I came back at 6am the next day and I was a runner doing the breakfast shift. I got to learn so much and my English got so much better. They really took great care of me and I’m very grateful. I worked my way up to becoming a bartender and becoming their Lead Bartender and doing their cocktail menu.
What brought you to Atlanta? My last stint in New York was still with the same company but in two different hotels. During the pandemic of course nobody was working, and a lot of people were moving out of the city. My girlfriend is originally from Georgia, and she decided to go home to hang out at her parent’s house instead of a small apartment. At first, I said I would stay in New York because it was comfortable, and I didn’t really know anyone in Georgia. It only took me a week of being by myself and not being able to leave, I said, “Bye NY”. I went to Georgia and stayed for like 6 months. I only came back to New York one more time to get a U-Haul and bring all of our stuff to Georgia.
Atlanta is probably the best decision I’ve made since I moved to the US. In terms of the bartending industry, I wasn’t able to make a breakthrough in New York. After my first few jobs here in Atlanta, I was approached to work at Jojo’s and it was everything I needed. I love this city deeply.
Favorite Cocktail? Of all time? I’m a sucker for Daiquiri. I’m very simple so people always ask me this question, but for me, if I’m in a craft cocktail bar with a solid bar program, of course I will try their cocktails, but I also want a daiquiri or a classic whiskey highball. Now that I think about it, I would probably just choose a scotch and soda.
How did you find out about Jojo’s? Three or four months before Jojo’s opened, I had started working at a bar that was owned by a friend. It’s a fun neighborhood place. I was also working at a craft bar as a second job. I was taking a break one night, and I saw Q (former Beverage Mgr) walking his dog and I had met him once before. I said, “Hi” and he started telling me about how Politan was about to open Jojo’s and he gave me his card. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a part of an opening because I’d done that before and I was also pretty content at my current bars. A few months later, though, I wasn’t feeling the same way about one of my jobs and started to look at what was out there. Since I lived close to Colony Square I was going to go walk down there and see if I ran into Q again but before I did that, I got a message on LinkedIn about the job. Once I met the whole team in person, I was convinced.
What keeps you here? I believe Jojo’s has so much potential. One I’m very grateful for the team that I have. Everyone is so talented and passionate. I didn’t get to see that much in my previous jobs. I was usually the only geek about cocktails and now I’m in a place where people really care about it and want to do cool stuff. We’re all just helping each other grow. I think we can do some really truly amazing things. It’s a fun place to work. I get to show people some cool stuff and really blow their mind. I never really did very well in the arts, like music or art or acting, but this is a sphere where I am able to be creative.