This year’s Holiday Gathering was a simple reminder of why this community matters.

Bartenders, operators, brand partners, and friends came together at Tall Tales to reconnect, laugh, and spend time in the same room after a long and demanding year. There was no program to follow and no agenda to keep. Just familiar faces, new conversations, and the shared understanding that hospitality is built on people showing up for one another.

Moments like these are what sustain a community. They give us space to slow down, check in, and remember that none of this work happens in isolation.