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Hospitality Gems: Suzu (Christian Suzuki-Orellana)

Bartender Atlas: Where were you born?
S: I was born in Martinez California, allegedly the home of the martini. They have a plaque and there is a wikipedia page. So yeah, Bay Area. I grew up between the Bay Area and Tokyo.

BA: Like Hayward? Or only Martinez?
S: I lived all over the Bay area. Oakland, San Francisco, Concord, Santa Cruz…

BA: What city do you work in currently?
S: I don’t know if I have a job right now. Hahaha. The world is my work place.

BA: What city are you working on working in?
S: Manhattan.

BA: Where do you go out to eat and drink when you are in Manhattan…or wherever you happen to be on tour?
S:
That’s a tough one because I am so new to Manhattan and I haven’t really gotten to explore everything. However, there is a bar/restaurant down the street from my house and it is called Trad Room. It used to be an old Irish pub but it’s a Japanese restaurant now. It’s solid. Great people. The people are so wonderful there. Great food, great drinks.

BA: What do you do outside of work on your days off? When you aren’t just eating or drinking, what are your “fun” things?
S: Right now it has just been work and I feel like I am guilty of that for the last…oooh 15 years. However I have had a very grand life outside of bartending. Before I got so invested in hospitality I was teaching wilderness survival.

BA: Like bows and arrows, axe throwing, guns?
S: No more-so teaching survival on the ocean. I worked on Catalina Island and would teach people how to retrieve canoes when they capsized or how to set up a sail so you don’t have to paddle for hours. I would take them around the island for a full week. Also, before getting into hospitality, I was into sports and music. I went to a sports high school with a scholarship for soccer and I also play music.

BA: What do you play?
S: Mostly woodwind instruments. Saxophone, clarinet, mostly things with reeds. But I suck at oboe. Oboe is not my jam. Hahaha. I try to incorporate some of that stuff into my everyday life or at least once a week.

BA: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten? 
S: Don’t be a dick.

BA: What is something you are excited about?
S: Oh my gosh! There is so much to be excited about! I mean, for me personally, definitely my bar opening. That’s a big big thing.

BA: What is the name of the bar?
S: Kagano Bar and it will be in Manhattan.

BA: Other than the bar opening, what is shining light on your life right now?
S: On a personal level, I think with a lot of the attention and successes that I have had in the last couple years from the work that I put into my career, the extra little boost from Drink Masters, it’s allowed me to finally feel like I am in the position to put my mom into retirement. I might try to take over her business so she can just chill out for the rest of her life. It sounds weird but that’s something that is my ultimate goal right now.

Find Suzu on Instagram

 

RETURN TO ALL HOSPITALITY GEMS


This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Posted December 2nd, 2024