A Toast to 4-Wall Economics, Pilsner and Purpose with Tara Hankinson from Talea Beer Co.

Talea Beer Co. has four taprooms in New York, NY, and sells its craft beer in-store and online. The first and only woman- and veteran-owned brewery in New York City, co-founders LeAnn Darland and Tara Hankinson were named to Inc’s Female Founders 250 list. They continue to make a splash in the brewing world with  their wide range of unique flavors and beautifully designed taprooms.

At Toast, we create technology to help restaurants thrive. We also know it takes a team of hardworking people from front to back of house to power great hospitality experiences every day. The “Toast to…” series salutes those individuals and gets to the heart of what makes this industry so special. We sat down with Talea Co-Founder and CEO Tara Hankinson to talk about her surprising journey to starting a beer company and the different ways she looks at success for Talea as CEO.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? How long have you worked in restaurants?

I am actually not someone who grew up in the restaurant industry; both my parents, though, have had long careers in hospitality. They met working at the Playboy Club in New York City. My mom was a bunny cocktail waitress, and my dad was a bartender. My dad was also beverage manager at the Park Lane Hotel, and my mom was the opening manager at Gotham Bar and Grill—so I kind of grew up with the hospitality lore but didn't get into the industry at the start of my career. 

I went to college in Pennsylvania and moved to New York City, and took classes in wine while I was working at a nonprofit. I went back to business school at NYU and used the opportunity to do as many wine and food-related projects as I could, but I was ultimately recruited for consulting. I had a full-time job lined up and decided to spend the last of my student loans on a summer working at Wolffer Estate [a vineyard] in the Hamptons. 

At the current size of the business with four locations it's a lot of paperwork and permits and some other long-term projects like new product launches. No day is really typical, but I think that’s the service industry—and part of being a CEO, too.

Above Photo Credit: Emily Frances

What’s the rewarding part of your job? And what’s the most challenging?

The most rewarding thing is being able to see someone consume your product in your space and get the experience that you want them to have—which is challenging with the way people have traditionally thought of craft beer. Our whole mission is to extend the craft beer market with beautifully designed spaces and really creative flavors. People who walk in and just expect a beer bar are wowed, and it changes what they think a brewery can be.

The most challenging part is definitely the people part. It’s a people business, whether you're talking about customers or employees. We have over 65 employees, and that takes managing all different dynamics to accommodate people as much as possible while also doing what’s best for the business. Every neighborhood is different, the customers are different, the needs of the business from the literal physical layouts to the types of needs of your customers are different. So building the right team to support that is definitely a challenge.

Getting experience in any way you can is important, but I think ultimately an outsider's perspective is really valuable. There are things in the hospitality world that you may need to learn, or you need to hire people who know them, but when it comes to creating a brand or creating a concept or a new tool for a restaurant, having an outsider's perspective can be an advantage. A lot of people who are in the industry have been in it for a while, so they don't necessarily have the inspiration from outside. So I would say don't be discouraged if you don't have the formal experience because sometimes that outsider's perspective is really useful.

At Toast, it’s our mission to help restaurants thrive — what does “thriving” mean to you? What does a thriving restaurant look like?

A thriving restaurant is one that has good 4-wall economics, that is profitable, and that is able to execute the vision and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) that are a part of that business. For example, we open at noon at our Bryant Park location. We make no money until like 4:00 p.m., but that doesn't mean we're not thriving because there's another purpose behind it, which is to become a neighborhood staple. 

Being the right fit, serving a purpose to your customer base in the neighborhood that you’re in, and knowing what your purpose is is also important. We're not an all-day Australian cafe; we're a beer bar that happens to be open during the day for when you actually want to sit down and open your laptop. And that's our identity and we're fine with it.

So I think at the end of the day, at the end of the month, the economics are really important, but being able to execute against the vision that you have, whatever that means for you, is most important.

Talea's Williamsburg Taproom // Photo Credit: Sydney Applegate

Who in the industry (friend/mentor/icon you look up to) would you like to toast? 

Scott and Angie from Don Angie. Before buying our beer, they didn't have draft beer and they now have our Al Dente Italian-style Pilsner. They also carry our beer at their new San Sabino location in the West Village, and we even made a Lasagna Lager with them for our West Village opening. 

Scott and Angie are really helpful and transparent, and have given us a lot of advice. To have another woman-owned business in the neighborhood that is mutually supportive has been so great. 

What are you Toast-ing with today?

We have a non-alc sour called Spritzy Sour, brewed with strawberry and lemon. So we actually make a sour beer and then go through a dealcoholization process so it's really true to a sour beer; it drinks like a regular sour beer. 

The whole purpose of having it on the menu is that while it's not our best-seller, if you want to come in for a business meeting and you don't want to drink like lemonade or coffee, we always have our non-alc on draft, and this one is packaged as well. Our whole mission is again to expand craft beer and be inclusive so having non-alcohol options is really important.

This interview was edited for space and clarity.

Tara Hankinson is CEO and co-founder of Talea Beer Co. To learn more about Talea, order their beer or find one of their taprooms, you can visit their website, or follow them on Instagram.