Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacob Juarez.
Jacob, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I guess to start with, I grew up in Texas, not the ten-gallon hat, ‘Big Oil Rich’ cartoon Texas, but rather closer to Sun-brewed Sweet Tea Porch Sipping Texas. I can definitely say that watching grass grow is a beautiful thing, and to me, as close to understanding ‘your place in the universe’ as you can get without driving 30 minutes, highway speed, into town for just about anything. It was there, in the Texas sun, that I had this crazy idea. I didn’t want to give up my ‘big city dreams’. I didn’t want to be subjugated to mowing my neighbors’ lawns, fixing roofs, and looking for any fix-it-upper, handyman gig just to pay bills and sit on a porch. It wasn’t the work, or the stigma of being ‘simple’. I loved seeing the smiles of my community. When the farmer down the road saw me and my friends pull down his mile-long driveway to see if he needed help getting his hay bales loaded and shipped down the road to our other neighbor who needed the hay for his cattle during the winter. Or my neighbor, the devout church-goer, who couldn’t handle her push mower anymore, but somehow always greeted me with a plate of freshly baked cookies and lemonade, and yet the grass never stopped growing. I felt that I owed them something greater. I felt that I owed myself something that could make my family and my community understand the profound respect and admiration for all of the experiences and values I saw in living a life that was truly free. I’ll freely admit, while this selected bit of my past is much brighter and happier than the whole, the rhetoric I want you to come away with is this: The Absolute Power of Unconditional Love. So, it goes without saying the adversity, ignorance, and bigotry just aren’t as interesting to lament over, notwithstanding their effect on my determination to create and foster communities based on Love. After getting a job that actually printed paychecks at my local steakhouse, little did I know at that time, I was beginning this journey in Service and Hospitality. Unknowingly at this point of the story arc, I continued my studies toward a newly minted degree track, Biomedical Engineering, and worked full-time while chipping away at the double Major+Minor course load that degree track initially required. It became apparent very quickly over the next two years that all of my scholarships would not be able to cover the tuition, much less books and lab fees I had to pay before even being allowed inside the classroom. So, I had to drop college and find a ‘real job’. Luckily enough, my studies and hard work allowed me to move to the big city of San Antonio to work for AT&T as a lineman. It was there that I could have ended my story and assimilated into the mass populace. But again, I couldn’t shake this feeling that I was giving up on my promise to myself to build something. So, after some convincing from another amazing human being, coincidently the now Founder of the BRWN Collective, I moved to Austin and went back to work in Service and Hospitality. Since this move, I have simply just worked. I have been a part of some of the most notable restaurants and bars this city has to offer. Somewhere along the way, my monogram, JJz, became my calling card. Professionally, my consultation and dedication to providing impactful results for the Service and Hospitality Industry became the driving force that created the dialogue and groundwork for my projects. So, today what does that look like? Well, companies like Toast Entertainment are able to provide state-wide services in Entertainment while committing to living wages and empowering their staff to maintain their own work-life balances. Suerte, led by another visionary owner, is an integral part of the local, sustainably sourced Farm-to-Table movement while consistently delivering on its promise to provide high-quality experiences that come from a deeply passionate team of immaculate professionals. And moving forward to the immediate present, rising from the ashes of the pandemic, Periodic Acquaintances is working to bring the established drinking culture closer to the underserved areas of the city through revitalization efforts that focus on craft cocktail education, community development, and empowering urban greenspaces, like the Festival Beach Food Forest.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I’m sure the road hasn’t been completely perilous, but yes, building the establishments and going ‘against the grain’ of standard business practices has not been easy. The biggest single hurdle has been encouraging a change in perspective of the Service business model. While, undoubtedly, Service and Hospitality businesses can be seen as ‘Retail businesses’ in Business management courses. The reality is much more nuanced and involved. Simply writing business plans that detail dollars and cents do not address the fact that the vast majority of establishments will inevitably fail and close. So, understanding the reality of ill-fated, college-educated management dogma, the practice of cutting costs to increase profits, simply doesn’t work. This single hurdle addresses so many factors we see in our economy, lack of healthcare accessibility and affordability, disproportionate mental health appropriation, underutilized community advocacy, financial instability, and nonexistent equitable access to basic human services. These are the struggles JJz Concepts aims to address.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At a high level, JJz Concepts is focused on innovating and developing Service and Hospitality concepts with sustainability and empowerment in mind. Dialing into finer detail, I will take on freelance projects as a lead team member to create sustainable service processes and instill team dynamics that reinforce continual staff development and retention. On another front, Periodic Acquaintances works to develop a robust network of bar, restaurant, and sustainable food producers geared toward revitalizing underserved communities and encouraging responsible drinking culture. With establishments like Toast Entertainment and Suerte as long-standing businesses, I am proud to have been a part of those groups at a developmental level. It is this non-centered approach that has uniquely enabled me to navigate multiple arenas and stay on the leading edge of innovation without devoting all my efforts into one project over years and utilize my influence over communities and not just businesses.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
The general consensus about the twist in my persona; from those that know me best, the capacity for caring for others is truly rare. So, when we as friends can extend ourselves to our community we build opportunities to maintain a network of care. Those who know me, understand how my day-to-day cycles contribute to development and maintenance of this dream in progress.
Pricing:
- $5 Monthly Patreon Membership to Periodic Acquaintances is available to enthusiasts and people looking to support our community advocacy
- $20 Monthly Patreon Membership to Periodic Acquaintances for access to workshops and services provided to drinking enthusiasts
Contact Info:
- Website: jjzconcepts.wordpress.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nightclassatx
- Other: www.patreon.com/
NightClassATX
