#105, Jonathan Downey, cocktail bar empire builder and hospitality entrepreneur

Without Jonathan and the London-based international Match Bar Group he built, spanning 40+ venues at one time or another, cocktails in the UK would look very different today. 

Jonathan, a cheerful Mancunian former lawyer, invested heavily in bartending expertise when building his group: his first head bartender for Match bar was the legendary, late Dick Bradsell, he hired Dale de Groff to be a training consultant and partnered with the much-missed Sasha Petraske to open only the second-ever Milk & Honey, in London. Match Bars opened in Ibiza, Chamonix and as far afield as Melbourne, shaping the careers of literally hundreds of bartenders including Kevin Armstrong, Tim Phillips and Sam Jeveons.

His second act was pop-up street festivals, and last time we had lunch he was referring to himself as semi-retired - but now he's getting back in the game, opening two big new places in London soon. 

I love chatting with Jonathan, and this one - uncharacteristically short, as he had to go to his Pilates class at 730pm on a Friday(!) - was pure gold, as ever. 

Apply for a job with Jonathan: jd@londonunion.com

Jonathan on X/Twitter: https://x.com/DowneyJD?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Jonathan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/downeyjd/?hl=en

Get in touch with Duff!

Podcast business enquiries: consulting@liquidsolutions.org
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They need to be able to hang.
Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.)

Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.org

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