Jenni Wagoner, Wine Director for Sepia and PROXI, Chicago (USA)

Years In Industry:
If you count my first job as a roller-skating car hop at Blue Top Drive-In in Highland, Indiana, I have been in the industry upwards of twenty years. It wasn’t until I moved to NYC after college that hospitality became the focus of my career. While working as a server at Blue Water Grill in Union Square I fell in love with wine and the stories and people behind them. I wanted to know more and I wanted to share this newfound excitement with just about everyone.

I took classes at the International Wine Center and worked part-time at a wine shop while mostly unsuccessfully working as a part-time musician. I took a chance and moved to Miami for ‘a few months’, which ended up turning into eleven years of amazing challenges and successes running wine programs for Zuma, Mina Group and the Fontainebleau Resort.

A serendipitous opportunity to lead the programs at Sepia and PROXI brought me back home in 2017.  I feel whole being around my family once again as well as being part of a strong community of beverage professionals.
 
My Biggest Challenge To Wellness:
My desire to do a million things at once! As a hospitality professional (and a Midwesterner through and through) I often find that my need to create positivity and happiness in the lives of others takes precedence over creating those same elements in my own life.

It has only been in the last few years that I am able to find balance in taking care of others and taking care of myself. I am very thankful for the friends and family that surround me and allow me to do so. It has made me a more valuable educator and professional to understand the importance of finding happy mediums and encouraging myself and others to take a step back and breathe.

How I Keep It Together To Stay Well:
Saying thank you and appreciating the opportunities, successes and failures that ultimately create the bigger picture. Realizing that the smallest gestures of kindness may be the most important, especially when in a role where people come into and out of your life over the course of a meal. Being positive and focusing on the steps we can take to make our world better instead of dwelling on the negative.

Being there for other women in the hospitality community and lifting them up and encouraging their successes. We opened up the patios and dining rooms for guests in early July (at both Sepia and PROXI) and it has been encouraging to see the familiar faces that we missed while closed for four months. The outpouring of support from the community keeps me hopeful that our ability to adapt as an industry will get us through these challenges. The teams at both venues have become closer as we reimagine what hospitality means during a pandemic and how we can create memorable experiences in the midst of adversity.

On a practical note: spending time with family, cuddling with my kitty (Juniper) and my pup (June Carter), making candles and talking to my plants are all a necessary part of my personal wellness plan.
           
You can connect with Jenni on Facebook, Instagram @Scarlettartois and Twitter @Scarlettartois