Welcome to Brewbound’s A Round With, a weekly feature that grabs a round with beer industry leaders to discuss business challenges, wins and more.
Our second installment features Haidar Hachem and Marilyn “Mari” Orozco, a husband-and-wife duo and the founders of Miami-based Shōjō Brewing. They launched Shōjō in 2021 as a Japanese-inspired beverage company, mixed with influences from the couple’s Lebanese and Nicaraguan heritages. Shōjō has mainly created collaborative beers so far, and this year began brewing sake, coinciding with the opening of Shōjō’s Dojo, their sake and craft beer bar.
Shōjō also made it to the semi-finals of the 2022 Brewbound Pitch Slam, and Hachem was a speaker at the same year’s Brewbound Live business conference, where he spoke about the importance of crafting a strong brand identity, sharing the stage with Talea Beer and Funkytown Brewery.
How did your beer career start?
Haidar: My career in beer honestly started when I met Mari. When we started dating, I would accompany Mari to her media dines when she was food blogging and I got bored waiting for her to take pictures and having conversations with the owner/head chef. So I started @thirsty_samurai_piggy and started beer blogging as well as blogging about drinks in general. I would drink and rate beers and do reviews on my YouTube channel, which then grew to meeting a bunch of owners/brewers and drinking a lot of great beers and spirits.
After proposing to Mari, we wanted to get married at a local brewery and the owner even was the officiant for our wedding! He knew how much I loved beer and how heavily involved in the industry I was and he offered me a brewing position. Then COVID happened, and that’s when Mari and I started Shōjō Brewing Co., which then evolved to us not just limiting ourselves to beer, but now we also brew sake as well! We’re proud to be Florida’s FIRST Sake Brewery & Bar.
Mari: Before Haidar, my first love was wine. So much that I became a wine sommelier because I just wanted to know everything about wine. Later, meeting Haidar, I delved more into beer. I have taken Cicerone courses with him and learned everything I needed to know about styles because I’m just as fond of beer as I am of wine. Fast forward, everything fell into place. We’ve always loved Japanese culture, so I am not even shocked we began to brew sake, and it’s truly an honor to be the FIRST sake brewery right in our home where we both were born and raised: Miami, Florida.
Have you had any recent wins that have surprised you?
Haidar: A big one for me was obviously the opening of our taproom. But beyond that, I applied and was selected by the Sake Sommeliers Association to take part in their Master of Sake program. I will be interning in Japan at Nishiyama Shuzo for two months learning how this well-established brewery brews sake so I can bring that information back with me to better my sake and scale production.
Mari: For me it was becoming a Sake Sommelier alongside Haidar. I never thought I would meet someone as enthusiastic about beverages as I am. We love to drink, not to get tipsy, but to socially educate people and become further attuned to what our community wants and needs from local companies like ours. Once we opened up our taproom, it all felt full circle as to why I became educated in everything that I have (even though I did it for fun, mostly). Now I get to have fun in my own taproom and teach others while enjoying delicious beverages.
What is the biggest challenge your business is facing right now?
Haidar: Keeping the doors open and making money. Beyond that, I would say having the space to scale our sake production as well as beer production. We’ve been wanting to contract brew, but haven’t had the luck of finding a brewery that we can work with so we can get our beers out there again. Our sake production is going to be small, limited-edition batches that we will release frequently. We are currently fermenting our third batch, which should be out early March!
Mari: The biggest challenge for me is coming up with events to keep our taproom full at all times. We successfully put on amazing events where we have tons of people show up. It just becomes exhausting to always be thinking of what’s next. For me, it feels like throwing a party at your house weekly.
Another is definitely increasing sake and beer production. People come in wanting to drink Shōjō stuff. Right now, we’ve pivoted to collaborating with as many breweries as possible (new and old friends around the world) to keep something in-house that represents us. We’re hopeful that we will find a facility soon with availability and good pricing to begin brewing our core beers again. Just happy we can keep our house sake readily available since it is the main attraction.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
Haidar: I would most likely be back at the office doing structural engineering work. That’s what I got my degree in and that’s what I was doing prior to meeting Mari and diving into this beautiful industry that we are in.
Mari: FUN FACT! I graduated medical school and found a love in gastroenterology. If I wasn’t doing that, then I’d be doing digital marketing, which I fell in love with as well. I didn’t go to school for marketing, I learned everything I needed to know on my own. I was doing this before we opened up our taproom, and I loved the flexibility it had to offer.
What’s the most unusual way you’ve found inspiration?
Haidar: Honestly, it’s Mari just pushing me to be better and do more. We already face a lot of challenges being the first sake brewery and bar in Florida. Adding to the fact that I’m Lebanese and Mari is Nicaraguan, we’re doing something new that hasn’t been done before and we’re doing it our way. What’s not to love about that?
Mari: I find inspiration in everything I see within my community. Taprooms should be a representation of who you are, where you come from, and Miami is where Haidar and I were born and raised. We of course have sprinkled in our nationalities and our love/knowledge for Japan too. Anything that I see that is trending or that people relate to within our community we try to incorporate it into our business as well to be relatable. We also always do one big event a month to give back through a non-profit that tugs at our heart. We just want to make a difference in this world even if it’s a small one, one drink at a time.
How do you create a successful employee culture?
Haidar: We are currently blessed to have staff, so Mari and I can step back and focus on other parts of the business. From when we opened in August to about the end of last year, Mari and I were the only ones holding down the bar, doing orders, hosting events and making the place what it is. Our staff are all female and they are doing the damn thing! They have been killing it making sake cocktails, as well as other cocktails with the residual mead and cider we had from the previous owners. We put them up to be creative, have fun and just set the tone for the workplace that they would love to work in. We want to grow with them in a successful business that we know Shōjō’s Dojo will become.
Mari: I agree with everything Haidar said! Our staff also has a huge love for Miami and have been in the industry for a while. We have learned so much from them as well, since they have worked behind bars longer than us. We’re also trying to create a brand new culture where women should all be respected in this industry. It’s something I have always wanted to do if I ever owned anything in this industry. The women we have working for us are smart, creative and passionate. We’re so lucky to have them!
If you could wave a magic wand and fix one troublesome part of your business, what would it be and what would you do?
Haidar: EASY. I would wave that wand and get rid of all those mounting bills that somehow seem to pop up more and more every month. And if we didn’t have to worry about said bills, I would be able to order more equipment and set up a brewhouse to increase production on the sake side, and brew OUR beer again!
Mari: We are only six months old (bless up), so I can’t wait until we have a better wage (for ourselves, our staff is well taken care of). But we truly believe that everything comes in time as long as you keep your eyes on the prize!
What’s the best advice you’ve received in your career?
Haidar: “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
Mari: “Never forget where you come from because then where you come from will eventually forget you.” No matter how big we can/do get, we want to always remain humble and thankful to our community and those who have helped us along the way. Rome wasn’t built in a day or by one person, and the same applies to a successful business.
Want to be featured in A Round With? Email news@brewbound.com.