STAFF FOCUS: Justin Ayotte
Common House Richmond’s Bar Manager
“THE MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE I’ve had in the industry happened a couple months ago during COVID,” recalls Justin Ayotte, a distinguished hospitalitarian and beverage maven in Richmond’s restaurant scene. Before becoming Common House’s Bar Manager, he worked at Saison, which is where, as Justin recounted, two regulars came in to pick up their meals to-go. “They asked for a gift card. I said, 'Absolutely, for how much?' And they said, '$1000,'” he pauses, “it was one of those moments where I just wanted to hug them and tell them you don't know how much this means to us. You’re doing this at a time when everyone is struggling, and you’re willing to do this.”
During the early days of the pandemic, businesses, especially restaurants, didn’t know if they could weather the storm. The future looked precarious with unemployment climbing and people significantly scaling back on dining out. Justin states, “It has been really hard watching friends get furloughed or laid off and seeing people trying to pivot in every possible way just to keep the lights on.”
Last spring, when dining was limited to solely carryout, he packaged to-go drinks, then dropped them off curbside. Contact was purposefully limited but so, too, was communication. Justin was nostalgic for the days when patrons gathered around the bar, each person sharing stories and talking about their lives. He missed talking sports with guests and nerding out over craft beers; “that’s why we do this. It’s about the people.” The act of generosity from the two patrons at Saison exemplified the mutual benefit between both diners and restaurants: Diners need restaurants as much as restaurants need diners.
“They understood the struggle, in a time in which, like everyone, needed a lifeline,” Justin notes. He describes how this is just one of many instances where people have gone out of their way to ensure that their favorite establishments remain open, so that one day, people can convene all together again. “I hope all restaurants in this city have people like that because that’s the only way that we’re gonna all get through this.”
His deep love of people, his craft, and his city is evident in what Justin does and who he is. He entered into his line of work as a college student. After transferring from CNU to VCU following multiple sports injuries (three knee surgeries in three years), Justin began working at Capital Ale House part-time. “The plan was to become a guidance counselor but I ended up falling in love with hospitality. After eight years at Capital Ale House, Justin received the opportunity to grow with Saison, where he first started bartending then moved his way up to Beverage Director and ultimately part-owner.
At Saison, his beverage knowledge expanded beyond ales and into cocktails. “Chris Elford, Saison’s original Beverage Director, told me on day one, 'Okay, these are the books you need to read and the courses you need to take.'” Under Chris’s guidance, Justin spent hours in training, rigorously studying spirits. The beverage bootcamp paid off. Justin is a masterful mixologist. His calling card is making tropical drinks, especially daiquiris. He, too, is a diehard Negroni connoisseur, so much so that he has it tattooed on his leg.
Even though Justin’s cocktail and beer knowledge is vast, he is humbled by how much there is to know within the beverage world. Coffee and wine are two arenas he'd been itching to learn more about. When Justin discovered that there was an opening at Common House Richmond, he was excited by the prospect to work alongside Chauncey Jenkins, Erin Scala, Michael Smith, Lenita Mincey, James Leonard and many others. “If I’m going to learn anything about wine, it’s going to be in this building,” he states, "I'm surrounded by people who are going to be able to break it down and that's an exciting part of growth here." Justin knew making the transition from Saison would be bittersweet, as he was a driving force there for over eight years, but he's looking forward to a new chapter with Common House.
For four months, Justin has played an instrumental part in seamlessly running service to ensure that members and guests are safe, comfortable, and taken care of. Whether making a drink or managing his team, he does his work with heart. This past year has brought its fair share of challenges, disruptions, and transitions. It, too, has evoked a mentality of loving-thy-neighbor. Justin’s gift card experience demonstrates that.
With 2021 around the corner, he reflects on the rise of neighborly goodwill during these times: “I’ve seen people who don’t have a lot but are still sharing what they can to those who are in the same boat. It’s very heartwarming. I really hope that once we all get through this that those values are still present and that we don’t get back to focusing on our own individual lives.” 2020 may have upended our day-to-day lives but in the process, it has forced us to reassess our values, question what is no longer serving us, and appreciate acts of kindness, because, as Justin concludes, "we really are all in this together."