Carlos Yturria at The Treasury & White Cap, San Francisco

Carlos Yturria has been a pioneering bartender for more than two decades in

San Francisco (and thus the world), and is a sherry expert, manager and owner of both The Treasury, in a historic downtown SF space, and of White Cap, across the city a couple blocks from the ocean. His gin mastery is apparent in creative cocktails like White Cap’s Juniper Spire: Oxley gin, Sapins (a French herbal liqueur), green apple purée, watercress shrub and lime.

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN THE PANDEMIC?

As an owner at The Treasury and White Cap, my thoughts are on my staff and keeping the doors open. We have had to get creative and change the way we serve our guests. The first thing we had to do was modify our hours to keep staff and maximise sales. In

SF, we currently have to sell food with our to-go cocktails, so at White Cap we have tried working with different local businesses to rotate food offerings. We’ve been offering single, bottled and canned cocktails, as well as beer and wine to go.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION LOOKING AHEAD?

I think to-go will be a lifeline to all bars and restaurants. Keeping morale up within your team and creating new cocktail menus will be very important. [As he currently talks service with his team] I think we need to be prepared for reopening as everyone will be out of practice and there will be a lot of competition between all bars and restaurants. Making our guests feel valued and keeping them interested will be my main focus.