Sashaline Nguyen - Bartender, Welton Room
As a bartender at Welton Room—a modern craft cocktail and coffee bar featuring uniquely concocted libations—Sasha spends her days whipping up beautifully curated drinks for her customers in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood. When she’s not behind the bar or working on her soon-to-open Vietnamese coffee shop, Tí: Cafê Ta, she can usually be found exploring the Colorado mountains with her daughter, Tatum. Sasha is driven, passionate, intentional, and helping to elevate Denver’s food and beverage scene, one day at a time.
The Basics:
Hometown: Born in Anaheim, CA, raised in Dallas, TX
Current city: Denver, CO
Alma mater: University of Colorado - Boulder
Degree: B.S., Physiology
Very first job: Sales Associate, BCBG
Hustle: Bartender, Welton Room; Co-Owner, Tí: Cafê Ta
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
My mom has always been there. Although she’s entrepreneurial and loves to work, she has first and foremost done everything in her power to give me, my sisters and now my daughter a good future. I’ve learned so much from her work ethic. She has gone through so much and sacrificed a lot for her family. She’s an inspiration.
Current power anthem?
I just love music in its entirety. I can go from Enya to country music in the snap of a finger, haha. But as far as what’s getting me amped up right now, I’ve been trying to get more rooted to my culture by listening to a lot of Vietnamese hip hop.
What’s the drink that would best represent your personality?
Our gin and tonic and lychee lovely at Welton Room are just so beautiful—I love the intricate details that go into them. I feel like a lot of people would automatically jump to order a liquid nitrogen cocktail, because that’s our staple right now, but those other two are just masterpieces to me. They’re unexpected; they make you think “oh, this looks cool” but then they’re like, wait… there’s more.
Favorite way to end a workday?
When closing every night, we blast Mariah Carey—and I freaking belt it. I’m not a good singer, but while everyone else is frantically trying to get home, I’m usually living in the moment and jamming to Mariah.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
Man, there's a lot of hustling going on in my life right now. I work full-time as a bartender at Welton Room, I’m currently working on opening a coffee shop with my sisters, and I'm a single mom. Any extra time I get, I spend with my daughter, Tatum. At work, I’m pretty much the right hand of our owners. Outside of the day-to-day bartender duties, there are so many things I help out with behind the scenes. For example, when we run out of seasonal ingredients for our cocktail menu, you can bet that I’m the one running to the grocery store to find them.
When did you start bartending? How has your role evolved since?
My role has evolved immensely. I started from ‘ground zero’ in terms of bartending—my first day ever working behind the bar was also my first day on the job at Welton Room, which not many people realize. When I came here, I only knew the more ‘basic’ drinks (Moscow mule, mojitos, etc.) I had no real knowledge of all of the small details that go into making craft cocktails—like how specific measurements can truly offset the taste of things, etc. I’ve learned so much about what it means to pay attention to detail (among many other things) in my time at Welton Room.
Walk us through your typical workday.
As soon as I wake up, I hang out with my daughter as much as I can before heading to the bar at 2:30PM for set-up. There are so many aspects to set-up that one might not realize; like, I literally pluck all of our mint leaves by hand. I make sure that we have everything in stock and ready to go to make it easier—down to things like the rosemary garnish, which is perfectly sized for different cocktails, and the lemon, which are all pre-sliced before we open the bar. Then three o’clock hits, and it’s just go, go, go until we close.
What was your very first shift like?
It was a lot like throwing myself into the deep end. My first shift happened to fall on both Pride and Juneteenth weekend—one of the artists actually had their after party at the bar. I did freelance photography on the side at the time (and still do when I can) and was wearing a hot pink slip dress for an event—but that’s a story for another time. A friend of a friend introduced me to the job opportunity, and when they called me that day and asked if I could come in, I headed straight there from my shoot—in my pink slip dress. It was so fast—there was no thinking, no breathing, no training. I poured drinks and even shots that day that I’m still embarrassed about. But that’s the only way to learn in this industry.
What characteristics and skills do you feel are needed to be successful at your job?
Attention to detail, patience, and the ability to not let people get to you. In craft cocktails, every drink you make is like a work of art—which is the driving force behind why so many people come for the craft experience. Something I’ve also learned working under the owner here, Champ, is to really make the experience my own. Everyone behind our bar makes drinks a little differently, and it’s fun to be able to do my own thing.
How have your past professional and academic experiences prepared you for the work you do today?
Talking to people and learning to communicate properly are the skills that I’ve always been able to carry between the different jobs I’ve held—from retail, to photography, to hospitality. Communication is everything, and I’m grateful for the communication skills I’ve been able to develop behind the bar, too.
How has being a woman impacted your professional experiences? What can we collectively do to support and empower women in your industry today?
Being behind the bar as a woman is so much more accepted today than it used to be, which is cool. I haven’t had too many negative experiences, but there have definitely been times where customers ask me if “the bartender” can do something for them—assuming that I’m not a bartender. So I make it a point to make eye contact with them later while I’m shaking and pouring their drinks.
Specifically, how has being a WOC impacted your professional experience? What can we do to create more supportive and inclusive work environments inside and outside of your industry?
We’re an Asian-owned and operated business, so people from our culture definitely get excited to come in, which is always cool. We need more representation for people of color in general, though—especially in Denver. That’s also why I’m excited to open a Vietnamese coffee shop, and help promote more diversity in the hospitality industry here. I’m excited to bring more of our culture to the community.
What inspired you to open Tí: Cafê Ta? What led you to this venture, and what’s your vision for it?
Something I love about working at Welton Room is that the people around us really enjoy food and beverage, not just for the eating and drinking, but for the presentation, and the hard work that goes into it—the whole experience. I’m really passionate about food, but when I realized how hard it actually is to open a restaurant, I opted for the coffee shop route. Denver has such a huge coffee scene, but there aren't many Vietnamese coffee shops around town at all (to my knowledge), so I’m excited to bring something new to it. I’m also opening the shop with my two sisters, which is so special. As for my vision, it’s going to be super different. In Vietnam, you go out for coffee during the day and for coffee dates, but you really go out for coffee at night. We’re going to be open late, and always be cranking the Vietnamese hip hop. I’m so excited.
How has your own experience as a mother influenced your business and goals? What’s your approach to balancing these two important roles + aspects of your life?
Everything I do in life, and every decision I make, is for my daughter. I love being a mom, but it’s important to note that I’m able to do everything I do because of my support system. My parents and my sisters are our roommates—they help with childcare and support me in all of my endeavors. Because me and my sisters are going into business together, we’re able to work around each other’s schedules to make it happen. When my daughter gets older, she’ll see all of the hard work and sacrifice it takes to get to the place where you’re financially stable, and more importantly, happy. Any free time I get, I take her to the mountains. She loves hiking, and water, and being outdoors.
What’s something you’d like for people who have never worked in the service industry to know?
Especially with it being so busy and now that COVID vaccinations are coming out, people are definitely rushing to the bars and expecting fast service. I wish people would consider the term “craft cocktail” more, and realize that because they’re getting the ‘craft’ experience, it does take a bit more time. You’re not getting a rum and coke or a red wine, you’re getting an elevated experience. I’d just encourage folks to be patient with your bartenders—it would help things go a little bit smoother during the hectic times, especially with sanitation protocols and limited reservations.
How do you keep yourself from getting overwhelmed on really busy nights?
When I start stressing out, I get really quiet, and just tell myself to focus. A huge pet peeve of mine is falling behind—I always want to be ahead of the game. But I’ve trained myself to stop, breathe and focus—block out everything else. If I can block everything out, I can get back to just doing my thing.
What is one thing that you're proud to have accomplished so far in your career?
In the past, I used to be super closed off and didn’t always put myself out there. Working in this industry has really taught me to open up to people. Everyone is doing their own thing—it has helped me a lot to talk, open up and ultimately network with people. Building community and drawing inspiration from people has really changed things for me. So, I’m just proud that I’ve learned how to put myself out there and make opportunities happen.
Any final words of wisdom?
For me personally, when things get tough, it’s all about how you view the situation. Life is crazy unpredictable, so hold onto things that make you happy, and surround yourself with people that make you happy. At the start of my college career, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. Now, I’m a bartender—and I absolutely love it. You just never know where life will take you, so take deep breaths, take it easy, and push through—because something good will always be waiting on the other side.
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