AUGUST 2023 16 with Josh Katz, owner of Sip Coffee & Beer Garage F rom the age of 15, Sip Coffee & Beer Garage Owner Josh Katz has worked in the restaurant industry. Starting as a busser, he worked through college and continued growing his skills. Now, Katz owns three Phoenix businesses that center around giving back to the community, creating a space for its customers, and providing a unique experience with every visit. Give us a brief history of Sip Coffee & Beer Garage. Sip is under the TruColor Concepts umbrella; TruColor is the parent company of 36 Below, Sip, The Rose Garden and another concept coming soon. Sip opened its first location in Old Town Scottsdale in 2014. We opened the Arcadia location in 2015, and in late July, we opened a third location at Sky Harbor Airport. From there – 2020 – the pandemic changed the world. We were subletting another cocktail bar called Undertow that relocated next door (in the Century Grand building). They wanted to have all their concepts under one roof, and we were excited to take back the space, so we did and rebranded it to 36 Below. It was a huge success out of the gate. Year one was crazy; because of that success, we thought, ‘Let’s do another,’ so we opened The Rose Garden downtown. What is TruColor Concepts? We formed TruColor in 2018. It was merely a pass-through company to hold my ownership equity for Sip because some other people were involved. I’m not the original founder of Sip – Tida and Travis Radevski were – and they hired me on as a consultant. My background is in casual dining and high-volume restaurants, so I did some consulting for them, and at that time, they said, ‘Hey, how do we get you to be a bigger part of this?’ I came on full- time and in 2018 and acquired both Sip locations. Your official title is owner? Yes – my responsibilities are more big-picture-type stuff. I oversee all the operational people, like the ops guy and the beverage director; my wife does all the marketing, so my wife and I work together and oversee operations for all the businesses. I’m not really in the day-to-day anymore. I do marketing, branding, new locations, negotiations, financials, stuff like that. Did you always know you wanted to be in the restaurant industry? [ laughs ] I’ve only always been in the restaurant industry! My first job when I was 15 was bussing tables at The Barn on the west side of Glendale. After that, I worked at a Garcia’s, bussing and serving, and I always thought it was really fun. I was drawn to the energy of the restaurant and the camaraderie of the servers and bartenders. What did you study in college? I went to NAU and was undecided about what I wanted to do. I looked back at what I had done in terms of work and thought, ‘Well, I like restaurants,’ and they happened to have a good hospitality program, so I studied hotel restaurants at NAU and found my passion in full-service dinner and casual dining. I did that for 15+ years. I had the opportunity to work at some resorts and hotels, but most of my experience is in high-volume, casual dining – mostly in Arizona. I worked for King Seafood Company in California and RA Sushi in Chicago. I’ve done mom-and-pop, national chains, everything under the sun. What can folks find at Sip? We specialize in coffee and beer – it’s in our name. Over time, we’ve gotten into a phase where it’s more cocktail focused. We’re predominately a beverage company, but some casual dining options are coming soon. We do coffee, food, beer, and events – we’re involved in the community and work with various charities. We’re all about creating a space that people can call their own. The building used to be a garage, right? It used to be called Avis Lube [fast oil changes]. We are right now [in the downstairs private room across from 36 Below] where they used to change the oil. The cars would drive over where the stairwell is, and 36 Below is where they would stack the tires and store oil and stuff like that. Before that, it was Frank’s Hot Dogs and an A&W Root Beer Stand. What was the inspiration for turning it into a coffee shop? Travis was a visionary in the sense of what he saw for Sip. The space spoke to him. The bar came later from other ideas, but he saw an opportunity to do something different that appealed to the Arcadia market. Who comes up with the recipes for the coffees and cocktails? We have a beverage director named Kendall – a.k.a. Kendall Cocktails. She started with us as a bartender at 36 Below, and we saw an opportunity for her to hone her skills in a creation-type role. She was ecstatic. She’s the creative mind behind everything you see from a beverage standpoint. What about the food menu? Our team works in collaboration with our ops guy, Moe. However, we see a need to be more food-focused, so we’re toying with the idea of bringing on a chef to oversee the food at all of our locations. Right now, at Sip, it’s basically breakfast burritos, sandwiches, and yogurt parfaits. We’re thinking about how to elevate that. It’s been a bit of a battle to get the kitchen back to how it was pre-pandemic. It’s 3620 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix • sipcoffeeandbeer.com In the Kitchen

17 AUGUST 2023 been difficult to find cooks, so we’ve had to pivot and streamline our menus to make it easier to execute. What – in your opinion – makes Sip so popular? Back in 2014, nobody blended coffee and beer, cocktails, or coffee in a bar component. Now, of course, everybody is doing it. Over the years, we’ve had to fight to secure our differentiation, but at the end of the day, it’s our culture, involvement in the community and commitment to our guests. We created a space for people to work, build their businesses, or just be a comfortable place to visit with friends and share a drink or food. Where do the beers come from? We only work with local craft beers. Every once in a while, we get a beer in from California that’s pretty popular. Arcadia is considered the “beer-muda” triangle [ laughs ] because you’ve got Helton Brewery, Huss, and a lot of spots on Indian School. So we prefer to keep it local. Tell me about your other concepts. With 36 Below, we probably picked the worst time to open a bar [ laughs ] – you had the pandemic, and it’s only 600 square feet of space, so it’s not the best environment for social distancing. We knew it wouldn’t be permanent, though, so we were excited to rebrand it. When I acquired Sip and saw what they were doing at Undertow, I was like, ‘Wow, if I ever get the opportunity to take back the space and do my own thing, I’m going to do it.’ When Undertow decided to relocate, I called my mixologist friend to see if he was interested, and we got to work, starting with conceptualizing the space. We were going to do a cave-like concept with stalactites and stalagmites. We brought on a branding specialist, and she asked what our goals were – we said we wanted to appeal to women, and she goes, ‘Well, do you think a cave is going to appeal to them?’ We then brought on a designer from House of Form. I came up with the name. Most people think it’s from 36 th Street, but it’s actually from the 36 th verse of Genesis in the Bible, which talks about how no trees or shrubs could sprout because two key elements are missing: water and someone to nurture the garden. We decided to do a greenhouse, but the bar is like a vehicle, with 75-inch VR screens transporting people to different locations. Right now, we’re on a bioluminescent planet with different colors, sounds and plants. We’ll run that for four months and then flip it – the drinks, food, scenes and music change. A few months after the opening, I got an email from a broker I’d worked with about a space downtown. I love to look at spaces. It’s like window shopping for me. So I called him with zero intention of doing anything. I just wanted to look. The building is on Monroe, with roll-up garage doors that bring in natural light and a nice patio. I loved it. At first, we were going to do a Latin-themed cocktail bar, but we noticed a lot of that going on already, so we decided to do something more elegant. We used many of the design elements we wanted for 36 Below in The Rose Garden. The peacock that hangs from the ceiling is called Penrose – he’s got a drink named after him. Do you have a favorite memory from your time in the industry? Creating 36 Below was probably the most memorable experience I’ve had. When you approach a project, you often run into a lot of walls, and it can be difficult to figure things out. This concept just flowed. It was so easy. We had a very talented group of people, from the IT guys to the guy that created the scenes, to the design team. Picking out the glassware, floors, colors and furnishings was really fun. People ask me, ‘How does a guy that doesn’t drink own a bunch of bars?’ That’s why, because I love the creative side of it, I love putting it all together and seeing the looks on people’s faces when they experience it for the first time. When you’re not working, what are you doing? I like to work out. I love being with my son and wife – we hang out together. We do a lot of family stuff. We love to travel and create memories. Anything outdoors, I love it all. What advice do you have for someone who wants to be in this business? Many people who haven’t been in this business choose, on a whim, to get involved, which is crazy to me, but if it’s something you want to do, put in the time. Find a place that does it well – like Fox Concepts – and learn every outlet of the business. I would say that to anyone; work in corporate America for three to five years, learn all the ins and outs, and then do it yourself. What’s next for the Sip family? We have a new business on Roosevelt that we are trying to extend a little bit. Right now, it’s just 1900 bungalows, so it’s got a little history to it. We’re opening a place called Motif, which will be very art-driven. We’re working with local artists, and we’re going to take their art, digitize it, and project it on the walls, so it’ll be a rotating art illustration. It will be more food-focused, Southwest meets the Mediterranean. It’ll have a rooftop deck. It’s something for the arts, the community, and a place people can call their own. Discover sophistication, urban living, and reprieve in the heart of the desert at Clarendale Arcadia – the oasis you’ve been searching for. 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