Raise a Glass to Mastro's Robbi Jo Oliver & Anna Orton-Pujol

I grew up mainly in Scottsdale, but I lived in Southern California for 16 years. Now I am back in Arizona married to Aaron, the love of my life. We have fun every day in our little bubble.

I am originally from a town outside of Buffalo NY called Williamsville. I knew at a young age it was not where I was going to stay and live. I started traveling at 19 moving to Athens, Greece and then backpacked through Europe with my best friend. In 2000, I took a leap of faith and packed my life up after graduating college and drove across the country to Los Angeles even though I had never visited or researched it.

We live in Santa Monica and my life is very busy. My husband and I have a 13-year-old daughter named Poppy and we just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary, so trying to keep what they call... work-life balance, is quiet the challenge, but I love a good challenge.

I went to Arizona State University to be a professor and then fell in love with the restaurant business and wine & spirits while I was working my way through school. Now I get to teach wine & spirits, culture and hospitality. I truly believe I have "the" best job. Ha! Funny you ask because my move to Greece was with a modeling agency named Action Models. It was not for me. Let's leave it at that. I had no idea the hospitality industry would be my future.

It will be 25 years on Jan 7, 2025.

I have been with Mastro's for 24 years in November. I started at the second location in Beverly Hills, where Robbi Jo and I have worked together for almost 24 years.

I was a bartender all through college and studied Sports Psychology. My experience was from being a host, cocktailer, server and bartender in my previous jobs.

Hostess at a fancy restaurant where we had an old school Sommelier that wore the tastevin. My first job was as a lifeguard during the summers. I loved it! Any time in the sun is where I want to be.

Training, the very best part is training staff, wine & spirits and hospitality. Right there with Robbi Jo. The favorite part of our job is training. Teaching classes to the staff and refreshing their vibrance for the industry as a whole, but also specifically, Mastro's culture. Reminding them all that the details matter. The details set us apart whether it is our wine service, sequence of service, spieling etc. It is all just as important as the next detail.

Having enough time to see all our restaurants often enough and spend enough quality time with the staff and managers.

Typically, once a year for the core BTG and BTB selected through a detailed blind tasting process. When choosing wines, they first have to be well made and delicious. We are always tasting wines with an open mind that there are many different styles of wines and many different preferences that our guests have. We do however add wines to certain locations as we find special gems and allocated wines throughout the year.

Mastro's is known as a celebration destination and what better way to celebrate than to have bubbles. We pride ourselves on our expansive Champagne and Sparkling selections.

We have a few creative wine cocktails on our list that we are very happy with. They especially do well at our locations that serve brunch.

We are very passionate about trainings and tastings. Whether it is Anna and I visiting a store and hosting a Wine & Spirits class or its suppliers coming to taste and training staff at pre-shifts, training is always priority number one!

Within the walls of the restaurant, we engage our guests by training our staff to relay a story about the products we are offering them. If they can say they recently tasted or share the history or backstory of the product you are engaging with the guest and you build a repour. Outside we engage via social media outlets.

Right after pandemic there was an increase in high-end hard-to-get wine sales. We have seen that spike come back down to earth again. Our guests are looking for a value whether it be in quality or price. It can be expensive but needs to be worth it.

We wish more people drank Merlot!

We have healthy wine sales at all our locations. Some have a community where wine weighs in a little heavier. But on average wine is more than half of our beverage mix.

We like to believe our wine list is attractive to all our guests and has something for everyone at all different prices. When you look at our sales, we are fortunate to sell wines at all price points.

Fantastic! What a great city with so many wonderful hospitality minded people. We were able to hire and train some of the very best in the business. They love their wine in Miami. The list is diverse, and it was really fun to curate.

We are opening a Mastro's in Columbus, Ohio in February, 2025.

Yes, I love visiting our restaurants around the country. It's always nice to see our coworkers and meet new guests. I do love it! Sometimes it takes a toll, but we are like one big family at Mastro's, so you never feel lonely. I love to see familiar faces and meet the new ones.

Tasting champagne at a holiday party when I was in high school. Does Bartles & Jaymes count? If so, that is it. We all had to start somewhere.

Absolutely not! My parents didn't have any alcohol in our house until my younger sister turned 21. I remember my extended family all drinking at family parties and events but not my parents. That has since changed. My mom has found a love for wine and champagne... I wonder from where?

I really love food of all kinds but if I must choose, probably sushi or pasta. I would have to say American Cuisine. I am a steak and potatoes girl.

French fries and champagne. I would have to say American Cuisine. I am a steak and potatoes girl.

Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Languedoc, Corsica, North & South Rhône, Provence, Chablis, Douro, Salta, Cafayate, Uruguay, Maipo Valley, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Willamette, Paso Robles, Central Coast, Barolo, Tuscany, Bolgheri, Veneto, Piedmont, Chianti, Valpolicella, Niagara, Adelaide, Coonawara, Mt Robe, Benson, Langhorne Creek, and Marlborough.

Pretty much. Champagne, Douro, Niagara, Paso Robles, Central Coast, Willamette, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Languedoc, North and South Rhône, Chablis, Burgundy, and Marlborough.

Thank you, we had a lot of fun with this!