Abigail Gullo at Ben Paris, Seattle

For more than a decade, Abigail Gullo was a key mover in NYC and New Orleans’ cocktail scenes, helming the bar at acclaimed Nola destinations like Compère Lapin. In early 2019, she moved to the West Coast, opening and managing Ben Paris in Seattle’s historic State Hotel, one block from Pike Place Market. In pre-pandemic days, she and her team crafted Martinis and Spanish-style gin and tonics from carts tableside.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN THE PANDEMIC?

Like a spinning ballerina, I’ve been doing takeout, to-go cocktails, virtual classes and happy hours, temperature-taker, contact list keeper, cleaning/sanitising crew, busser, prep cook, waiter, host, room service, delivery person, private dining creator, and oh, yeah, sometimes I still get behind the bar and make really good cocktails. As a member of the craft cocktail community, we’ve always done our work with an unmeasurable sense of purpose. This now includes life and death care as we are thrust into being essential workers. I always felt we were essential to a robust community. But it’s also scary to see how poorly some of my fellow service industry has been treated in other parts of the country.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION LOOKING AHEAD?

A lot of places will close, but a lot of places will open, and when they do, I hope they do so in a new environment that values the health and wellbeing of all their employees and guests. If your people are happy, they’ll take good care of your guests. And hospitality is built on making people happy. That’s something we’ll all need more of in 2021 and beyond.