Walk.In Club is back with Den Stephens originally from Portland, Oregon and the force behind Tallboy in Oakland, California — just named a U.S. West Regional Honoree for Best U.S. Cocktail Bar AND Best U.S. Bar Team by Tales of the Cocktail. As a kid he dipped his toes in telemarketing while basketball and poetry kept him busy. His real foot in the door came as a dishwasher, where he eventually fell in love with the team energy of the service industry and never looked back. 

He worked his way through the industry and found his calling behind the bar — and it was at Higgins where something clicked and he realized this could actually be a career. From there, Den got into consulting, sharpened his craft, and this past year hit a milestone most bartenders only dream about: 30k martinis. We get into how he built that number, what the journeys taught him thus far, and what it really takes to build a bar program earning national recognition this early in its journey.

Check out custom made jewelry by Den’s partner and muse, the insanely talented Emilie Jehng at Soft Good Studio. For one of a kind, intimate pieces. 

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The Walk.In Club is hosted by Nick White and Hannah Claire Le

All Walk.In Media and terrible jokes produced by Sean Stepp

Music written by Ethan Luck