Today we’d like to introduce you to Emanuel (Manny) Nguyen
Hi Emanuel (Manny), can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ll do my best to spark-note my story as much as I can! I was introduced into the service/hospitality industry in 2016. It went from working at a retail university bookstore to a banker, to phone sales associate, to serving/bartender, to restaurant managing, and now a cocktail bartender at Jethro’s Cocktail Lounge. How I got here was through a ton of trials and struggles and being able to land a position of loving what I do and never having regrets. Jethro’s is about to hit one year in April 2025 and I’m grateful to be on a team who has not only an amazing work ethic, but getting to see each co-worker’s ideas & innovations of bringing a new enjoyable cocktail into life. Jethro’s is an a cocktail lounge concept coming from Los Angeles, CA. My owners Russell Malixi, Wade, Andrew definitely brought a great perspective into Houston and I am very thankful for them. Now the person I will be forever thankful for, the person who brings out the best in me, his name is Jesse Rodriguez (Beverage Director/Partner). I’d call him the living legend cocktail mixologist in LA. He plays a huge part in my bartending journey showing me in depth cocktail perspectives that still blows my mind ‘till this day. Shoutout to the rest of my team; Symone, Felicia, Mark, Jose, Esperanza, Montserrat, and Imon who contribute into making Jethro’s the talk of the town in Houston.
Hospitality has challenged me in many ways that molded me into a person who can build connections and relationships that brings potentiality to take a business to the next level.
Outside of work I love to play pickleball, and my dream is becoming a professional player as well. I can’t thank my friends and family enough of the amount of support throughout this journey. I can’t wait to see where this path will lead me!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most definitely not! However, to make this as simplistic as possible, the road comes down to one’s mental health. My mental mindset has hit many rock bottoms that took me 5 years to build back a reconstructive positive mindset. As a person with diagnosed ADHD, it took so much mental energy to open up to a person who I trust to express the things I’m going through. I’ll give a quick example; say a person’s laptop battery life that lasts one day and a half, but say the laptop has been used for that amount of time without turning off or restarting the laptop, slowly you might see the laptop just out of the blue starts lagging, then we already know what the next steps are. In relation back to my ADHD brain, I tend to take in so much information until my brain goes on overdrive, gets burnt out and is in need of a mental rest. To recover from that, I had to set alarms or timers for myself as a cue with what my steps are to help my brain know when to take rests.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m currently a cocktail bartender/mixologist at Jethro’s. Hospitality is a huge niche I typically specialize in, and from what I have heard and witnessed, I am known for being attentive, detail oriented, anticipating customer’s needs, and creating memories. I haven’t given in much thought about what I’m most proud of, but if I must give one, then it’s building a mental mindset for myself. For the last question, I honestly do not have an answer for that, I’m just a regular guy living life to the fullest.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I typically watch Tik Tok, and the algorithm shuffles my scroll to inspirational videos that has helped me mentally, physically and spiritually. If you’ve ever watched Suits that stars Gabriel Macht, Patrick Adams, Megan Markle, etc. there’s a quote that Harvey Specter says that stuck with me, “First impressions last, you get behind the eight ball, you’ll never get in front.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/notmannywin?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZMwG8MbJWL5xtv54PkRAtxZsCByObZu0zqmrSiLpLzkLxYdxBFWHgM2tU_aem_582Fwnx0cpTgoaAGmWfrtA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notmannywin?igsh=NWR6MW1nN3B4dXFk&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forthenguyen12
Image Credits
Mackensie Snuggs, Michael Ma, CJ, Alan Truong
