# The Hospitality Hyphenate: Lessons in Restaurant Entrepreneurship with Liz Mendez Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-perfect-bite-7237404/the-hospitality-hyphenate-lessons-in-restaurant-entrepreneurship-with-liz-mendez Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-perfect-bite-7237404/the-hospitality-hyphenate-lessons-in-restaurant-entrepreneurship-with-liz-mendez.md Podcast: [The Perfect Bite](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-perfect-bite-7237404) Published: 2026-02-26T13:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://the-perfect-bite.cohostpodcasting.com/episodes/the-hospitality-hyphenate-lessons-in-restaurant-entrepreneurship-with-liz-mendez Audio file: https://pdcn.co/e/audio-delivery.cohostpodcasting.com/audio/3619c374-2f55-4f02-9bc6-33f11b7b3c6c/episodes/ce028675-315b-4f9d-8e60-0c422ab2d6e4/episode.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-perfect-bite-7237404/episodes/the-hospitality-hyphenate-lessons-in-restaurant-entrepreneurship-with-liz-mendez Duration seconds: 3571 ## Resource From sommelier to restaurateur to hospitality consultant, Liz Mendez has built a career rooted in community, beverage expertise, and reinvention. In this episode of The Perfect Bite , host Sarah Perkins sits down with Liz Mendez, founder of Aldea Hospitality, to talk about building sustainable careers in the restaurant industry, the rise of non-alcoholic beverage programs, and what it really takes to open — and close — a restaurant. Liz shares her journey from Chicago wine professional to opening the beloved Spanish wine bar Vera, the lessons learned from entrepreneurship, and how she now helps hospitality professionals design more balanced careers through consulting, education, and her concept of the “hospitality hyphenate.” This conversation covers: Becoming a sommelier and working in Chicago restaurants Opening and running a Spanish wine bar focused on sherry The realities of restaurant ownership and closing a business Transitioning into consulting and hospitality tech Building Aldea Hospitality and coaching industry professionals The rise of non-alcoholic and dealcoholized wine and Liz’s refocus on these products Creating sustainable careers in hospitality Why community and mentorship matter in entrepreneurship Whether you’re a restaurant owner, beverage professional, or founder in food & beverage, Liz shares practical advice on building a creative career that evolves over time. To learn more about Aldea Hospitality, visit www.aldeahospitality.com . You can follow Liz on social media @mendezmusings . Subscribe to Liz’s Substack The Luncheonette ! Subscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!  You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-perfect-bite-7237404/episodes/the-hospitality-hyphenate-lessons-in-restaurant-entrepreneurship-with-liz-mendez/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-perfect-bite-7237404/the-hospitality-hyphenate-lessons-in-restaurant-entrepreneurship-with-liz-mendez.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.