Today we’d like to introduce you to Bevin Biggers.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My story started around 16 years old. Well, much younger than that, but as far as my space in hospitality, 16 years old. I was a dishwasher at a Vietnamese Catholic Church, I absolutely hated it! Ha! Ah, youth and making money. The pots were so big, the work was so unglamorous. That’s what I thought restaurant life was like. Convinced, I told myself, never again. Years later though, I became a Hostess at Katz in Montrose. Hated it. Became a cocktail Waitress at a nightclub in 3rd Ward, no one trained me, and let me tell you, I didn’t know the difference between any liquors or cocktails. Ah the memories!
After a few failed attempts I didn’t think it was my calling, but after dropping out of college, I needed to make more than Home Depot’s hourly rate.
I applied to a place in the Heights to be a Waitress, told them I was clueless. They trained me well, and the rest was history. Over the years I was published in Vibe Magazine, Afropunk, Houstonia, Houston Press, Free Press, Houston Chronicle, Paper City Mag and filmed on networks such as OWN Network, VH1, Fox 26, and HBO Max all for my activism work and bartending skills. As well as sponsored by brands such as Deep Eddy Vodka, Red Bull, Highway Vodka, Jack Daniels, Timeless Vodka, Gray Whale Gin, Starlino Aperitivo, Mijenta Tequila, and more.
Starting this was for the money, something that could always put money into my pocket until I knew where I was going, but I realized, I was already home. Hospitality is a job, a career, whatever you decide to make it, and as a black bartender, it’s historically ours.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I thought the color of my skin limited me, but I figured that was limited in certain spaces. Not bars out of all places. Being a black bartender in certain spaces almost felt like a lot of infantilizing. Almost as if one black bartender was too many; it would dirty the craft cocktail look. You’ll notice if you look around here in the south. I code-switched like many others in many career paths. I stopped that once I learned bartending history, and how much of an impact African Americans had.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
BnB Hospitality LLC is the umbrella company; it encompasses everything:
Recipe Development Consultation, Corporate Staffing, Private Bartending, Residential Retention Mixology Classes for large residential complexes and facilities as well as smaller more private groups, and specializing in comprehensive bar management and logistics.
Under this umbrella is also OhBevin, which is my personality name.
I envisioned doing more than just bartending and the things I’ve built encompasses that. I’m proud of it all honestly.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
This is going to be a long list, no one would ever let me read an award speech. Ha!
Let’s start with my partner, my stepmom Dawn, siblings, cousins, my Nana, aunts and uncles.
Friends, so many friends have supported me over many years through it all: Samaan Ashwari, Marissa Saenz, Fat Tony, Henry Dillard, Russell Guess, Crystal Lauren, Daniel Johnson, Mike Mogul, Nena, Dj Elevated, Mookie Copeland, Shiniqua Coffey, Phill Wade, Muna Javaid, Renee Jonard, Chinasa Emenaha, Dj Hollygrove, Anthony Gonzales, Elliot Guidry, and many many more (so many).
It takes a village, especially when I took a path where I was always in my own way. Everyone here and more put money in my pocket, put me in positions to win, supported my business, and posted, shared, and advocated for me. Made sure I knew I was in my own way and gave reassurance when I needed it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ohbevin.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ohbevin
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@ohbevin
Image Credits
Matthew Kelly
Devinn Campbell
Troy Ezequiel Montes
