The wine and hospitality professional at Beaumont’s and The Bull Moose discusses staff education, guest communication, inventory management, and the importance of creating a beverage program with purpose.

Ryan Hoffman has worked in hospitality for many years, with much of his career focused on wine and spirits. After moving to Chicago 25 years ago, influential mentors helped develop his passion for wine and sake. Today, he is part of the team behind Beaumont’s and its steakhouse, The Bull Moose, while also consulting on beverage programs and cellar management for private collectors.

In this interview, Hoffman shares his approach to understanding guests, training restaurant teams, growing beverage sales, and building a balanced, value-focused wine program.

Tell us about yourself and your current role in little detail

I have worked in the hospitality industry for many years. Most of that time has been focused on wine and spirits. I moved to Chicago 25 years ago to finish my undergraduate degree and was working as a bartender.

Through a couple of influential mentors, I became very passionate about wine and sake. I got pretty lucky. I was managing a Sushi restaurant and learning how to curate a beverage program at a time when a lot of restaurants didn’t have a full-time beverage director. Sake was still very much a niche market. Online resources were scarce. It was an exciting time in my career and in the industry.

Over the years, I have seen so many changes in the restaurant business, in the wine and spirits industry, and in how people across these industries interact with each other. The accessibility of information can be a blessing and a curse. What remains a constant for me has always been the face-to-face interactions.

I recently had the opportunity to become part of the team that opened Beaumont’s in Lincoln Park, as well as our steakhouse, The Bull Moose. In addition to my time there, I work as a consultant, creating beverage programs and cellar management for private collectors.

Why did you want to become a sommelier?

It seemed like a good way to drink wine I wasn’t going to be able to afford by any other means!

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that my education in wine was an education in history, geography, global politics, etc. There is truly a story swirling around in every glass. I love that.

I think that the relationships I have had with mentors and colleagues are at the core of what made me choose this path.

I have joked that the perception of a Sommelier’s work is tastings and decanting decadently expensive bottles of wine, when the reality is trying to find a place to fit cases of glass pours to get through the weekend.

Questions you would ask a customer who doesn't know anything about wine to get the conversation going at a restaurant?

My questions for guests usually have nothing to do with wine. I want to find out about their day. I want to know why they chose to spend their time with us. The answers to those questions are what is going to help me offer suggestions. When they are telling me about their day, they are also teaching me how they use their words to describe the world around them. It helps in the process of communicating.

What are some of the most important skills for a sommelier? Please write in detail.

Empathy is pretty much right at the top of the list.

Building a wine list is, at least in some part, an egocentric thing. You are deciding what the best choice to fit all of these criteria and you assemble your composition. Once you have done that, you are personally invested. Putting that aside and really listening to what your guest is sharing with you about what THEY want is a special skill.

It also helps if you are compulsively organized and completely self-motivated.

How I would train my new staff member in their first 7 days of joining.

Joining a new team can take time, but first impressions matter. I try to provide new team members with a lot of information and a prioritized list of what order they will be responsible for knowing it. I think it is essential to be a resource to new team members, but I also expect them to work hard to get up to speed quickly.

What methods do you use to grow beverage sales in your business or ideas you may have? Please explain with examples and how your ideas resulted in growth in beverage sales.

A beverage program is dynamic. Whether you like it or not, vintages change, supply chain issues, allocations, and a number of other factors require you to be able to adjust quickly. At the same time, you are hopefully providing your guests a level of consistency.

While I find value in seasonal offerings and paying attention to short-term trends, the most successful tool for increasing sales is education, hands down. Staff training, guest speakers, and providing team members the opportunity to taste are absolutely the best way to grow sales in a way that is ‘guest forward’. Diners are savvy and understand when you are giving them VALUE, at any price point. You don’t have to have a big list to make everyone happy, but you do need a team that can speak confidently about it, and if possible, personally. You can tell when most people are reciting a script as opposed to sharing a personal experience.

What methods do you use to grow net profits? For example, how do you save costs, increase margins, and create efficiency? Where do you normally look first?

Inventory management is a big part of running a profitable program. If you have the budget and space to purchase in larger quantities, great! Most restaurants have a pretty finite amount of money and space for storage, so you have to pick your priorities smartly. Waste is also an often overlooked issue. Are you creating an environment where the staff is really invested in working with care and thoughtfulness?

How do you self-learn and improve your skills? Please name some podcasts or books you would like to recommend here, or you read for yourself.

I’m pretty fortunate in that I have an amazing community of wine professionals that I am surrounded by l. I have an opportunity to attend seminars and tastings.

What's the best part of your job, and why do you like that?

The exchange of information. I’m constantly learning and sharing what I have learned with guests and colleagues alike.

How do you elevate guest experience? Please give 4-5 examples and insights here.

Remember the details. A guest's name, their pet's name, a silly bit of minutiae that they shared with you the last time they were in. You can’t fake caring about people. Not really.

Remember that what you do matters. You get to be a part of some of the most special moments of people’s lives. They come to you and ask you to make their celebrations the most memorable moments of their lives.

Be confident that something will go wrong. I try really hard to be prepared for any probable situation. I usually am. It’s when something completely improbable happens that you need to open yourself up to all solutions and remember why you are there.

Your favourite TV show right now?

There are some sitcoms from the 70’s and 80’s that are so bizarre.

An unforgettable wine experience for you - tell us the whole story!

One of my first trips to Spain was to spend a week in Rioja, visiting wineries big and small. While I was on that trip, I was exposed to some beautiful Spanish Vermut. It would launch my passion for the fortified wines of Spain that continues to this day!

What are the biggest faux pas that customers tend to make when ordering and drinking wine?

I just want people to feel good about their selections. It can be a process to help people find their voice when it comes to expressing their wishes.

Any favourite food and wine pairing suggestions for drinks enthusiasts?

Break the rules! Enjoy the value in making a mistake when you try something different.

Your favourite book (does not need to be a wine book)?

The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway

What's your personal career goal? And how are you investing or planning to get there?

Retirement. My advice is to get in the habit of putting a little bit away early and budget that into the cost of living.

Give us one good story that you remember of a customer and you.

I was working in this little byob restaurant that only offered tasting menus. We had started to attract a lot of wine collectors because our menus were constantly changing and we didn’t charge a corkage fee. This was before I had started down the path of taking my CMS exams, and those guests ended up being the first blind tasting groups I was invited to.

How can suppliers work with you to drive sales?

Educational materials are always helpful. Mostly, I just hope to build relationships based on mutual respect.

Can you share with us an example of a solid wine program?

I think the wine program at The Bull Moose is eclectic, balanced, and value-focused.

What are the four main things you focus on daily?

Preparedness, humility, kindness, and gratitude.

What are the points you look at when selecting a new wine for your wine program?

This is an oversimplified answer, but purpose. A wine program should be greater than the sum of its parts.

According to you, what makes a good sommelier, and what qualities do you look for when hiring a sommelier?

Balance. It takes a special combination of character traits to passionately retain a large amount of information that is unimportant at face value, but essential to understanding the big picture. Then you have to filter that into helping someone you may have never met select a beverage that may or may not be the lynchpin to creating an experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives!

Or they just want a nice Pinot to go with their pasta.

What do you look for when you have to evaluate the effectiveness of the wine program?

Happy guests!

Ryan Hoffman is a judge for the 2027 Sommeliers Choice Awards. If you are a winery or wine importer looking to present your wines to experienced on-premise professionals and decision-makers like Ryan Hoffman, the Sommeliers Choice Awards provides that opportunity.

Every 2027 entrant will receive comprehensive feedback on each entry, including the score breakdown, constructive comments, channel-fit insights, serving suggestions, and information about who evaluated the wine.

Also Read:
Shaina Nestor on Leadership, Hospitality and Building a Guest-Focused Wine Program
Getting Listed at Sea: Charles Steadman on What Cruise-Line Beverage Buyers Really Want
More Feedback and Transparency For Entrants At The Sommeliers Choice Awards