Breaking Records and Pouring Success: Daniel’s Journey from Youngest Sommelier to Bar Owner
The latest episode of BARVOX The Podcast features an inspiring conversation with Daniel Frumushachi, a hospitality professional who went from washing glasses in Copenhagen to owning his own bar, all before the age of 24. His story is one of relentless ambition, strategic risks, and invaluable lessons for bartenders, managers, and entrepreneurs in the industry.
From Moldova to the World of Wine
Daniel’s journey began at 16 years old in Moldova, a country famed for its winemaking heritage. While most of his peers followed conventional career paths, he took an unconventional route, enrolling in a wine-making and sommelier college, much to his family’s initial dismay. But passion drove him forward.
Determined to make his mark, Daniel didn’t just rely on formal education, he chased recognition. At 18, after months of preparation and securing sponsors, he smashed a Guinness World Record for saber-opening champagne bottles. His philosophy? Skill is essential, but visibility is everything.
Proving Himself in a Skeptical Industry
Despite becoming the youngest certified sommelier in Moldova and Romania, Daniel faced skepticism from seasoned professionals who dismissed him for his age. But the Guinness World Record changed everything, media attention led to job offers, proving that self-promotion is just as crucial as expertise in hospitality.
A Bold Move: Reinventing His Career in Denmark
Just as his career was taking off, the Ukrainian war disrupted Moldova’s wine industry, forcing Daniel to pivot. He made a daring decision: to relocate to Copenhagen with no English fluency and start from scratch.
Beginning as a glasswasher and tapas prep, he quickly climbed the ranks, learning English on the job, moving to front-of-house, and becoming bar manager within six months. Soon after, he bought the bar, cementing his place as a business owner before turning 24.
Key Lessons for Hospitality Professionals
Daniel’s journey offers invaluable insights for anyone in food, beverage, or hospitality:
- Start Humble, Dream Big – Every role, from dishwasher to bartender, builds the foundation for success.
- Stand Out with Bold Moves – Competitions, records, and PR can catapult your career.
- Adapt or Get Left Behind – Economic shifts, wars, or personal challenges demand resilience.
- Hospitality is About People – Great service isn’t just drinks, it’s creating unforgettable experiences.
- Take Smart Risks – Whether moving countries or buying a bar, strategy matters as much as courage.
What’s Next? Expanding the Vision
Now running Not Your Usual, a Copenhagen wine bar spotlighting obscure wine regions, Daniel plans to launch a restaurant, blending wine culture with full-scale hospitality. Challenges? Absolutely. But if his track record proves anything, he’ll defy expectations again.
Inspired? Share this with fellow bartenders, managers, and food & beverage pros.
Transcript
Daniel’s Journey from Youngest Sommelier in Moldova to Bar Owner In Copenhagen in JUST 6 Months
Auto-generated transcript; it may contain small transcription errors.
he's the youngest fam year in mova and Romania but you also hold two Guinness World Records yeah they were super disappointed like we cannot do that that's illegal I just saw the bottles my knife and nothing I was so stressed like and then bum I did it the break point the war no more my project no more money and then after few more month I bought the plate how why so Daniel yes thank you so much for being uh my guest in here and thank you
for accepting this idea of coming to a podcast that you knew nothing about before I want to start it with a question for you yeah with actually your background how did you start it how did you entered in this hospitality industry actually it's a funny story cuz um when I was 16 I had to continue my the the high school but in uh in mova um like also in other countries you have two options for the high school so you have you just go to the
high school like three more classes mhm and then after high school you go to university uh but in mova at least you have the option to go to the college yep so you do in the same time high school and also you will get a profession mhm uh and then I think is it's much better it's just my opinion because you can finish the high school at like let's say 19 years old and then you have finished high school and then you also you are a
professional I don't know economic it or all that stuff yep and then um I decide to choose something different because I mean ah sounds boring to go 0 sounds boring to go in finance uh and then let me choose something different something totally totally different but again with with with a nice potential not just something random random different than usual and then um um I found a bit of information on the websites about mova economy mova and and all that stuff and then uh at one
moment I understood that we are quite famous for uh making wine and for in general wine industry MH and then um I found some people who just finished the same College then I had a nice coffee with them like hey guys can you tell me more how is the wine industry how was the college and and is their potential in general MH and they were super happy they finished the the high school and the college at 19 years old and then they they got a job
like at 19 years like that's fantastic yeah a job not like a student job but like a job so you are the the guy you're the man you're the man exactly you demand So you you're not just helping but you're doing the proper job you're professional okay uh and then um I I choose wine making and wine growing college for sure my parents and relatives they were super disappointed on me they had like a 9.6 something like that when I finished the the N classes that's
quite a lot so at this moment you can go for uh I don't know the it in the financial 9.6 out of 10 in mova and Rania it's a bit different system than we are here in the nordics just for the clear exactly uh so um they expected that I will go for medicine something like really fancy or something like high society and all [ __ ] um and then for sure I choose the wine making College they were super disappointed like all my relatives it was like
U that disappointment of the family the disappointment The Shame of the family exactly uh I will I will be an alcoholic uh I will do nothing I will just drink I I'll will be an alcoholic that's their mindset about uh my job okay and uh all right then I ended up to study in uh wine making College there is four years three years of high school and plus one more year uh then uh when I was I I started at 16 so when I started at
16 so I was not able to drink wine or taste wine but I also was super passionate about so media profession like all right you taste wines it looks so fancy so nice I was super excited but I was not able to to start so how did you end up cuz not not most of the people know in Copenhagen or at least I didn't know you before meeting you in the bar but uh how how did you became the youngest salier on my own shame I'm
from Romania I did not know you are the youngest salier in Romania and mova at the same time how did you end up achieving that cuz yes I get you got the college but what is the what is the path to it how did you end up when you had 18 when you were 18 to become like this some ear year so I was 16 when I started to spam a lot of mails to the somia school in in mova and they just I I mean
hey relax you are 17 we cannot do that that's illegal we cannot do that and then uh all right but when I will be 18 can you accept that and they said like yes we can do and then at the second day after my birthday like guys you promised you promised that you will accept me me I I had money I had everything to to pay for the study and then uh after few years I had a honest chat with the with the director of uh
suia school and then uh he was laughing with me at that time like all right let's AC let's accept this teenager just an experiment to see I mean 18 Wars 18 years old nobody nobody wants to study this and uh I was the youngest one who applied for this uh uh course mhm and they accepted me uh I saw my colleagues at at this course and I was the youngest one so they were like uh 30 plus at least 30 plus until like almost 60 and
I was like all right but in the same time when I was 18 olds I started this course I already I was the the second or third year at the college so I already had a bit of uh knowledge about wine and experience mhm and uh for sure I was the youngest but in the same time the bestest knowledge because the people that they were there they they were from different Industries absolutely not from the wine industry it Financial a lot of stuff so they had
zero knowledge about wine uh and then I was the the best one there but for sure because I was 18 hours no credits for me like and nobody took you in serious or exactly okay hey keep coming fine you're the the Kido so just relax what what were other challenges when you are in this such an environment when you have the 50 30 plus and you are the 18 they took me a joke as a joke okay to be to be honest and how did you
overcome it they knew they knew that I have a lot more knowledge than uh than for example than them but they took me as a joke like hey you're Kido hey relax kid I come with us you know like you're nobody you know that you're nobody here and then um at the exam I took the highest point for sure and then after that they they took me a bit a bit just a bit more serious all right you're good okay okay but still Kido mhm and
then I finished the S course after three months of uh intensive learning mhm um and somehow from the TV channels they uh um they they they they heard that and they invited me for an interview of the TV for sure I went there uh we had a nice interview and the next day a lot of TV channels they invited me to to tell the story like hey you the youngest Su in the world like 18 hours for example in the US you are I you are
not able to drink wine alcohol until 21 years old and then here you are the expert how come and then um uh I became a bit recognized In This Moment uh and then one a big wineries from mdova um they saw that they have a bit of potential yep and they invited me for an interview for a job application or okay ex exactly for a job application uh the biggest wiar yeah all right so they invited me uh I was 18 years old so I I
I knew nothing about who's the owner what what the [ __ ] is is this company and I and I was like a Kido coming in the big office like a lot of big guys waiting for me and then I had an interview with one guy I didn't knew who is this guy how rich is is he and uh and all that stuff I had an interview actually with the with the owner of pkar um one of the richest Winery and one of the the most recognized Winer
now Eastern side of Europe yep uh and I was like I took it not that serious yeah like all right all right ciao who are you but he was super rich and he now he's one of the the most famous in in Eastern Europe um and they saw they they they told me like you see we have a lot of potential we see that you have a lot of potential U for the future we would love to to invest in you so let's start to have
a job together just let's start and then in the future you'll be uh higher and higher in our company because we see a lot of potential all right I accepted their job but I was 18 so I didn't finish my studies so I I I I couldn't continue to to work as wine maker because I didn't finish my studies so I started to do wine tastings at the winery Wine Tours it was fantastic uh and then uh yeah at the same time studying at the college
then a lot of TV channels and then again after this they took me just a bit more serious but again not not enough I had a lot of knowledge compared to to other experts in in the industry at that moment in in mova I had much more knowledge but I was not recognized because I you are 18 You're Nobody and then I thought like all right if I want to be a somia then I have to do something to be recognized what should I do um
and then I understood that I have to do something that I will became super super famous because I understood that you don't have to be a real expert you have to be just famous you're just marketing so that's not important you have knowledge that's fine but you're nobody you have to be famous if you want to have a lot of projects a lot of events you have to be super famous and then I got an idea that all right what should I do to be famous
and then I um I got the the idea to break a a Guinness record like all right I will appear everywhere on TV blogs blogs everywhere and then um should we continue on that on this direction definitely we should continue on this direction cuz uh we have to to say it he's the youngest Famer in Moldova and Romania but you also hold two Guinness the story it's something that I want personally to hear I've read about it I did a bit of research but uh we
chatted before but it's still better if you say the story okay so um we have to break a a global record a Guinness record all right let's do that which one and then we found that there is a record opening champagne bottles with W like Sab and then um again I was 18 years old at that moment like talking about 100 bottles of bubbly like no money no money where to buy that bottles practice how did you practice for it I was uh uh first of
all I had to find the partner yeah because I had no money for uh hundred hundreds bottles and then uh I was sending uh mails to all the wineries in in mova and uh the same [ __ ] like who are you man hey just keep C nobody there nobody accepted my my my idea uh nobody was even interested to have a meeting mhm and then I gave up and then uh one of my friends he's he told me like you know I have a friend of mine
he's uh the marketing director at one uh Winery not the one not not the best winery not the highest quality but uh it's was my last chance my last Winery and all right let's let's have a meeting he he organized a meeting and then um he was super excited about this idea like all right what do you need okay 200 bottles and a bit of money to to to make the setup and all that stuff all right let's do that W so easy okay I see
a lot of potential so let's do that Just One Winery the last one my last chance they are um very famous now yeah super super famous now super recognized and also the record was one of the points um but probably because the this guy the director he was super young mhm also almost like like my age that's why probably he was openm and all right let's do that we did we made uh to have two records after six months of preparation like making the the paper
War for for the record uh finding the place and prep all the preps yep uh we managed to have like after one year after we did the record to to get the the answer um the first one in 30 seconds 49 bottles we got it as official record we got the diploma Y the second one was disqualified just because one of my friends moved the bottle okay uh that's the only thing but unofficially the record is mine for sure because I did like a big difference
for example the first record in 4 49 bottles the previous uh record holder did 36 so the difference is quite super big so even if I went to do it next year to repeat the the the 30 seconds one I think I will not do that and you will compete basically with yourself exactly did somebody beat it until now or no no they will not no nobody for sure but I think nobody has a chance they have to be super fast I was 19 years old
at that moment I was super skinny full of power exactly and full of power and full of stress for sure and uh I I'm quite sure if I will try now I don't have even a small chance to to break it how many battles have you broke before how many tries we actually I had no so much experience uh like lineups I I opened for sure a lot of bottles but just one or two but not like 100 on the line um I I think I
I broke like 200 bottles I opened not broke but broke I think two bottles in my life that's it um so we did those two records again at the next day all the channels uh news only my name and this event like mova again in Guinness book record mova all all the channels but that happened after the second day did you try to contact them before or to get them this was my mistake I cont actually not mistake probably probably it was the the key of
success probably mhm I was idiot and um I called them before before the breaking the record M like hey guys uh I mean it was a bit of promo so probably I was not idiot but I had a big risk y I contacted them before the record like hey guys I want to break two Global records with wine to promote the country the wine industry uh if you want you can put it on the news and then they got super excited and then okay few days
before the record a lot of news about the potential Global record and few days after I had to break the record what's happening if I will not break it no no no more career I mean it's a big [ __ ] [ __ ] up like uh just imagine all the news like this guy will break the will break the record 100% but what happened you did it basically I did it but it was a big risk I was super stressed like ooh guys what what what I will do
if I will not do that if I will not break it mhm uh and I had my I think the adrenaline in my blood was so high I was so concentrated on the bottles like I I had no sound nobody there were like 100 peoples people but I just saw the bottles my knife and nothing nothing I was so stressed like like that and then bum I did it 49 bottles 30 seconds and then the the the second one uh 1 minute 79 bottles and then
uh the next day like just all the channels talking about that so I had only one week with no no work just going to the interviews channels and all that stuff and then after this moment my career started my my my serious career started so after this point people started to take you serious and you've done what cuz you've arrived in Copenhagen one year one year and a half ago that's a bit later that's a bit later there's still a gap that I I personally don't
know what we have to talk about war there is more exactly uh so after this event I became super famous in in wine industry and not not only in wine industry I was for sure not that recognized but if I will I will tell someone like hey guys there is a guy who break the record with the sparkling yeah yeah yeah we know him I oh you are so so yeah so in wine industry like 99% of the people they they they knew me um I
became super famous famous after a few days super recognized I got a lot of projects a lot of private events with opening champagne making show um and then my colleagues they took me serious all right so you have both all right all right let's do that uh I I got a job uh at porkar yeah for sure a bit higher uh and then I in the same time I was still studying at the college the third year and the fourth year uh and at that moment
I had more knowledge than my teachers uh like it was boring to go and I I talked with them like guys I I work there I I I I get more knowledge uh just working at the winery than being here with you like maybe I will go and did you finish it I finished it uh but the last two years like two or four years I haven't been there almost like just exams mhm and uh just exams okay nothing which is actually don't legal to do
that so the the the teachers they did a big job for me uh uh being not legal again uh but I passed the exams like I know guys why should they spend so much time with you to teach me the same [ __ ] that I already have in my brain it was fantastic I I had a lot of free time like two years of doing job projects and all of stuff and the same time studying High School like high school you have to be there every day
y but I was I wasn't there okay so projects projects like I had a vlog um I had a lot of private tastings a lot of wineries they wanted to uh to work with their wines a lot of job offers uh so at that moment my career like real career started like yes how did you know which one to choose how did you choose them uh obviously when you have a lot of yes I I got a lot of offers from the wineries okay but um
I thought like nah if I will take just one job then I have to work exclusively with one Winery MH and then I refused all of them all of them I don't need exclusivity and all that stuff I want to work with all the wines not only with the with one Wineries and then um I took a job as U uh s in kisho at the wine bar because pkar was fine was fantastic experience but it was like almost 200 kilometers from the capital and the
village no people no contact with the with the city so it was not uh it was not funny for a long time so I decided to move back in 19 years old you are living in a village exactly exactly uh and then I moved back in kisho I need more people I need more projects I can't be there in the village and then I started to work at the the wine bar with a shitty um salary uh was difficult but again I had better off offers
to work at the winery but I don't want to mhm um and then in the same time I took this shitty salary but I had flexibility and I had a lot of free time like like guys if I will have other projects you can't complain I will be here8 hours or less sometime sometime more but I need the the freedom I need Freedom guys you started selling wine in a wine bar basically selling serving being manager in in in in the wine bar um but with
a lot of freedom for how long have you been the manager bartender wine familiar whatever so at the bar at this wine bar in mova I had to do many tasks mhm that was not good and that was good at the same time that was not good because I did also the counting job uh carrying boxes uh doing making coffee uh pouring wine making cocktails making food so all the the the things that we had to do in the bar we did which is good in
the same time because I got some skills like skills of management accounting like yeah which is important I think uh skills of making coffee MH so I'm happy to be honest for for that because now I can make a nice Espress so I know about coffee I know how to make a good coffee yep uh and a lot of other skills but the most important thing I had freedom so I I started my my blog about wine about wineries uh another project with is which is
called wine doctor I was judging wines I was judging wines honest which is which was super weird for mova because you have to kiss their asses if you want to get some money so you cannot complain if you're a somia you have to to you oh this one is fantastic even if it's [ __ ] but I was super honest probably because because I'm young yeah and people they they loved my honest opinions like all right what do you think about this one is good or not it's
not good so I was super uh respected in mova just because I was honest okay I was super honest if even if they they they made an offer like hey can you promote this one like go guys you can give me like more but I will not do that because this one is [ __ ] I can promote Maybe wine from your winers which is good but not this one this is not good I can't do that um wine doctor and then the blog for sure a lot
of videos and they had also budget from from the wineries my career was just fantastic so it was only a cling only exactly but super fast like super super super fast new projects uh got an offer to work at TV as uh judge in the the kitchen like kind of Master Chef but but the cheap version uh I I became super famous in the wine industry I had nice project with nice Revenue at that moment in mova at this age like 19 years old then why
did you left cuz that's a question that I don't have an answer I continued two years like that I was 21 until 21 my career super fast [Laughter] it was super super super high and fast and then the breakpoint the war the war exactly the Ukrainian War um it was a big [ __ ] up in wine industry because because a lot of wine experts started from Port of Odessa and then they had they had to to find another way to export Wines in in in China Japan
they they they uh they took another Port from constanza from Romania M but it was much more expensive compared to Ukraine and then uh pricer the price got higher uh and then less export because we have a war in the world less export uh in in in in wine industry we got bottles from Ukraine we got the aluminium capsules from Ukraine some of the labels we got from Ukraine no more so no industry basically no industry they they had to to find bottles from Italy much
more expensive uh capsules from Romania more expensive uh so prices on wine got got hired and then uh a lot of ukrainians they moved in in mova we were neighbors we helped them a lot for sure at one moment I um I I had like one week with with no job just to help ukrainians to help them to send in Europe to to give them some food and all that stuff so I spent like few weeks like that uh and then for sure inflation 27% uh
wine that's a luxury product that's not food so people they they save money so no more no more wine sales like not a lot of sales uh Less sales for the wineries for sure and no more marketing money no more marketing budget and then no more my blogs no more my projects no more money so how did okay you were in the point where there were no more coming money there were more no more coming money projects and evolution okay and uh you end up in
Copenhagen somehow somehow exactly so I had this bad time like for let's say almost one year mhm like doing kind of doing my job but with surviving mode like got money I paid rent and some food and uh no more no more money no extra money for sure and uh at that moment I had an offer for many many years ago the the ex owner of my bar he invited me in coping like hey hi come to work in my wine bar you have a nice
potential why you have to be in mova in this shitty country poor country like and then and then I I was like I movan I was born here I will live here I will die here [ __ ] Patriot uh that's why I kind of refused the offer mhm and then I got so nervous and disappointed on mdova my career my life cuz I was doing nothing uh that I I was like in one day like that calling my girlfriend like Nicole let's have a coffee now now
I was super super nervous nervous and disappointed let's have a coffee right now so we met we had a Cofe coffee I was super nervous she me he what happened what happened she almost finished the wine School the the the high school in that moment and I was asking her like what plans do you have for future so now we finish the the the high school what do you have in plans I don't know I went to apply for University where I don't know but not
in mova where I don't know Denmark is fine like why Denmark Denmark is fine yeah hey it's fine all right just a moment calling the ex owner Cornelio hey Cornelio is the offer still available for me like y always always all right then I will come soon thank you accept it uh calling another friend of mine student Cen hey Mii uh is the time to apply for University now yeah yeah all right done hey Nicole we go Denmark we decide like that 5 minutes 5 minutes
no more chats no more [ __ ] just 5 minutes we decide that we move in Denmark okay that was just 5 minutes 5 minutes like now we decide now and then on the next day I told to the my employer like uh I think I'm moving sooner in Denmark but I I just need more time because because I was Patriot I was like I will die here and then I I I had no Romanian uh documents or EU do documents for sure I I applied like few
years ago before that but I had no R documents and then after that I I still had I think like four months to work with the documents to finish all the documents you got them uh I got them and then I moved here in September 2 years and two months ago I moved in Denmark I sold my motorcycle because I had no money okay no money I sold my motorcycle for €2,000 my backpack and you mve to Copenhagen basically exactly with no English that's a very
important thing with no English so my English was like okay so you learned while being here the the language yeah exactly so I moved here with my backpack and then I started to work in the in the kitchen uh just cleaning glasses and making Tapas because I was not able to sell wine I had no English mhm still for the actual bar that you are doing right now or for another one no no no for for for the for the bar that now I own okay
and how was the career you said you started oh that was the difficult part because I knew that like [ __ ] I have to start everything from the beginning like everything like in mova I was at the one of the highest points I have to start again I had a bit of depression for sure I mean like [ __ ] again like again from the beginning like all right um but this was the the hardest point to be honest after moving here like [ __ ] I have to start everything
in the beginning and even to start to to to learn a new language and then uh two months just in the kitchen cleaning glasses learning English and and uh making Tapas that's it then you became the front house then I started to help in the front a bit a bit I I got more Enthusiast to start to talk a bit with people for sure with a lot of mistakes my my broken English but I started and then pom pom pom after a few months in the
front I got the normal English level and then I became the front and then after five six months I was the the manager at the bar so a super rapid career as well up in the because I had I had a lot of experience I had experience but I I my English was super low so the only barrier was the language exactly and why not Danish why you start to learn English and not Danish okay I'll give you this question for you there was no needed
there is no needed to have Danish but uh I'm just curious cuz because it's much easier obviously it's much easier for a foreigner I me my English took like two three months to start to work mhm in English but Danish I think it takes much more than that okay much more much more and then um uh yeah for sure much more more time but I I had no not so much time to to to clean the glasses and making tapa so like all right I will
be in in the back like for one two months but I have to go in front a bit I don't know because he told me like I was comfortable to be honest in in in the back cuz I I was afraid I was scared about talking in English uh but the guy told me like hey I invited you here not to clean glasses I hope I have glasses cleaner here but we don't need that so you have to be in front so go so somehow he
pushed you from the back yeah yeah yeah he did kicked you out of the kitchen exactly exactly he did and then um and then yeah 6 months after 6 months I became the bar manager and then after few more months I bought the place okay how why okay not a not a bad story I arrived in Denmark I moved in five I decided in five minutes to move to Denmark then I moved to Denmark clean glasses for two 2 months then bar manager for 6 months
and then I bought the play what the career but uh from the outside it it seems easy you know I'm pretty sure it wasn't that easy from uh it wasn't it wasn't easy for sure uh but it was also a bit of luck negotiations at the right place with the right person in the right time okay so there's also a bit of luck what do you need to buy a place so the previous owner uh I I became the bar manager because the previous owner um
he had no more time to manage the place because they opened another place a private wine club um but you need a good guy if you want to if because this is a small business this is not about the product that you sell and serve it's about who's selling this wine and who's selling this product it's about the people who work there so they were looking for a nice guy to be the manager and to be the the front to be the face of this place
and they they they they found a lot of potential mhm in uh in my in in me and um um yeah I took the bar I I I I made more sales like the the bar was was going uh higher and higher but for sure not that fast because I'm still a employee an employee and then I cannot work more than 9 10 hours you know I cannot because n you have to pay me you don't have the motivation basically exactly I had motivation but I
can work one two more hours but I cannot work like 12 14 or 16 mhm because you will not feel comfortable as the employer because you have to pay me more and uh like double shifts I will ask you more CU like two hours I can do that we are friends I will do that for this business but not double for free and uh uh he decide at one moment to sell the bar because they were looking for more money to invest in the next business
then they decide to sell it uh and then it was just a joke like maybe I will buy it exactly like I yeah if you have money sure like I don't have money I had no money for sure uh all right you can you can find a partner maybe an investor and then I was trying to find an investor again I I got some offers but like hey I invest your money you have 15% and then you run the place and do everything and then I
wasn't happy about that mhm and then I found my actual partner and then we were negotiating with the previous owners like hey guys look we don't have all the money we can give you a part a third let's say or something like that but uh the rest we can pay like during the 2 three years if it's okay for you and because we were friends we were friends with the previous owner they accepted that okay because they knew that they will sell this place to someone
who will make this place better and more successful and still keep the concept and still keep the concept and still they they will be happy to come back in in this place to drink a glass of wine and to feel to feel home and to feel proud that they sold this bar to someone who who's really doing the same good job and uh will make it much better and will take care of this business but not we'll lose it and that's it so they were not
interested like only in money but also to to keep this this concept how how hard was it to find the the partner or the right partner cuz the right partner hm in general because I I I couldn't I could manage to to negotiate with them to get a bit of loan and then to to to take it alone mhm but I was thinking like I had two version or I will take it alone or I need a partner to help me in the same time and
then we are two we take the responsibility for two and then I decide to go together with the with a guy with the my actual partner uh that was the best decision in my life because even if we are two now sometime we we can't manage all the tasks mhm but if I was alone I think now I wasn't here exactly I wasn't here I was still working cleaning and all that St because when we are it's difficult to manage alone uh Hospitality business how is
is it uh mentally from the transition of being the bar manager to bar owner uh to be honest uh there is no a big difference between my job my passion before I bought the place and after so I did my best even if I am employee even if I work for 145 Kon per hour I did my best my best abs absolutely my best so just at the next day you you you will not feel a difference of my service of my hospitality is absolutely the
same it's just more responsibility more hours like management Administration and uh more stuff to do uh but my service is the same now and the before about the place okay so it's not not a very big change I was the best employee the best version of employee in Hospitality business I was doing I was doing it not for money but because I like it because I love this job and what uh what kept you motivated to go over and over and over and over into this
uh Hospitality because everybody is saying okay Hospitality it's uh it's an industry that you are going in there sometimes it's good sometimes it's not good but sometimes you want to quit what keeps you still going even if you have a very shitty day do keep going keep going keep going I think uh in Hospitality business you have to you you have to love not food that you're are cooking not wine that you're serving and not cocktails that you're making you have to love people I think
that's the secret cuz uh you can love to make cocktail you can love to serve wine you can love wine you can be so passionate about wine but if you are not a big extrovert big people lover then you will get the burnout like uh very fast because you have to share you have to spend your energy with all your guests with all your guests do you believe it you need to be only an extrovert or you can be an introvert you can be also an
introvert you can do it as actor uh but again you will you will get a burnout like super fast like smile on the face for eight hours like like a idiot and then going in the back and like [ __ ] I hate people I face and then again in the front like that you cannot do that for a long time m you cannot do that yes sometime you are sick sometime you have some problems in your family and for sure you'll do the fake smile sometime which
is normal to be to have problems in your life it's normal to have stress it's normal to to be sad uh but for a long time no that's impossible you cannot do that you cannot be introvert and uh working in the front Okay it's impossible and uh in the wine industry it's um I would say the the wi industry it's a bit different than the cocktail industry and the one that I'm used to it how how do we see it go I don't think so is
not I don't think so I don't have the experience I just want to to acknowledge it and see how different would you see it in terms of uh wine compared to cocktail if you have to compare the white bar Co bar um if we are talking about a nice cocktail bar not just a cocktail bar yeah and then uh a nice wine bar not just a wine bar then uh the difference is not big actually cuz uh people they are coming for experience in the in
nice places again we are not talking about commercial [ __ ] like I give me a Gonic and [ __ ] off I don't need your history about this gin and this tonic I just need the G and tonic and then my time mhm and so we are talking about good nice places when people they are coming just for Hospitality for experience and for good product but mostly for experience uh the cocktail that you serve that's an experience you will tell them the story the ingredients the flavors and everything
in my case with the wine is the same I will tell them the story of the wine of the region the flavors that you get this structure the the the detail taste and everything so I would say that's um that's the same that's the same because we are not talking about Bodega when people that come here give me a jar of wine and talking about like shitty pubs where you're getting glue on FL for the cocktail word for instance how do you put your personal touch
cuz when you create cocktails the way that I see it you put your personal touch on everything how do you do that in uh in the wine when you serve a wine uh okay I think that's a good question about difference between cockle bars I mean wine bars uh is the service I would say let me think about it actually that's that's that's a really really we can come back after that one no no no I think I just need a few more seconds uh I
think the way how we choose wines exactly how we choose products and wines yeah yeah I think so because again we can go in a classic wine bar and then you have Baro Italy Bordeaux burgundi and you come in my bar and then you have uh Macedonia you have Indian wines Lebanese and then um uh movian uh yeah I think that's that's my touch in in in this case mhm having something different something interesting something funny okay and also the our Personal Touch compared to other
bars is that we have the options that we care about the wines that you choose so you will get the menu but you will not order by yourself you can show me what do you want but I can say like all right do do you like this taste and no all right then let me give you to try this wine before you order and then we will make sure together that you like this wine because for us it's important to give you the right wine for
your taste mhm not to upsell and then sell whatever we want but what's good for your taste um so that's for sure a big difference between us and the other bars and this is our signature because we care about the ones that you order mhm how uh how about the the expansion cuz I know we had a chat before do you have any plans to expand do you have any plans to open a new wine bar perhaps or maybe something else um or do you still
have the plan to stay in this uh this industry I will uh we have I'm I'm I'm super creative uh I always get new ideas and all that stuff and then I'm like I'm I'm super excited I get super excited like so fast like bam now all right let's do that um I have I had and I have a lot of ideas uh the good part is that they have a good partner we are totally different I am the Kido who's dreaming flying in the sky
but he's the guy who is like taking it serious do doing some calculations and um uh making my my dreams on the white paper and numbers mhm like all right this is nice idea but look numbers this is not a good idea so keep calm let's find some other ideas so my partner vasil he's the he's the mechanic of my dreams the mechanic of your dreams exactly so that's the best partnership in in in business I think is to be super different so my partner is
my opposite is my opposite he's doing his job with the paperwork I'm doing my job so we had no we are together like for one and a half year almost in the business and then we we had no complaints uh we had no uh bad situations like no zero zero absolutely no mhm I don't know if you can believe me in that because many people they say like oh no you don't have to do the business with your friends and all that [ __ ] so he was
a friend of yours before being the part I'm not a big friend let's say we just knew each other we can have a glass of wine but not like real friends mhm uh but we became friends and then many people no you will not uh survive no that's not good don't do business with with your friends no that's [ __ ] that's [ __ ] we have an amazing business together amazing you just have to put everything on paper before you start hey I do this you do this you
will never tell me how to do this I will never tell you how to do this that's it that's it mhm so basically a signing task beforehand and then exactly we have no fights zero fights about this business in one and a half years that's impressive I think like no fight it's completely impressive and uh very interesting to to hear about it uh I know that uh for examp I had I have an idea a nice a really nice idea what should we open next y
because we cannot I think we cannot open another not your usual wine bar with unusual wines because it's very Niche it's it's a super super Niche when people we when where and when we get people like super interested about our product so we don't get people like all right let's have just a glass of wine at not your usual no we don't have that kind of guests so we are not McDonald's MH we are kind of I don't know let's say uh Nora not as price
not as level but as uh um selling some experience and some products that you will know yet in other places and people come at our place to have a nice experience and to have a nice experience is not about wine but it's about people and service so I think um um to find good people in our industry just as employee especially part-time it's very difficult to find a nice employees how do you find it right now after covid after war after the whole crisis in Hospitality
with not having uh people to work in service basically again we have uh I am the only one full-time employee mhm uh and we have three more part-time employees uh one of them is my girlfriend MH so by default she has to be super good CU she knows that she's working for us our money and then the the second one a nice friend of mine from mdova he just moved in Denmark for a master in the fund industry he finished the wine making University so he's
the expert Easy by default after just few days he became like amazing so my actual friend now I think he's the one person uh that he's doing an amazing job like I can go in holidays for one month and I know that this guy will do the best job like me I see myself in in this guy guy to be honest okay which is super rare to find that kind of people in U in hospitality industry because they don't care they just make some making some
hours to get the accelery to get the Su and then [ __ ] off they don't want to put myself so much in this in your business I just need 40 42 hours for my Su that's it but I have them now I have nice really nice employees for how long we don't know because I L one person few weeks ago she was super nice but she she got a job uh like a student job for for his industry then we are happy for her so you have
mixed uh you have experts people that actually have the skills into this one and you have a combination between somebody who actually is in this job temporarily exactly exactly so you know that they will be for a short time here so always you have to find new people that's the that's the bad thing and that's why we cannot think about opening the same place in other cities m i mean it will be easier to open another shitty wine bar just to make money just to make
money in other cities for example like hburg hingo is going to be amazing uh C4 just opening up a a nice just wine bar with nothing uh special yep but we went to open a restaurant at least I went to open a restaurant um I want to go a bit higher yeah like having a bar bar I think is just 50% of the hospitality business but restaurant you get full experience if you have both of them combined I I agree on this one if you have
bar and restant as well exactly but it depends as well so much EX I I mean still bar it's one thing but to have kitchen I it's difficult is difficult is the next level it's a difficult we had this discussion the other day at lunch and I'm not a huge fan of uh working in the kitchen or working with food but yes it's needed is double more work I think and more responsibility with the food because you have alcohol just pouring the wine and telling a
bit about wine but the food is is just the next level so I want to try the whole [ __ ] experience being going Hospitality business and then and then maybe I will take few steps back and then I will do just business but now I want to feel all this experience because I'm I'm young and then I think I have to do it like right now how old are you for the people that they they don't know I'm 24 nice so at 24 years old you managed
to have Guinness World Records bar and uh being the youngest famili year and still counting trying to open more and more places yeah but I started at 16 that's the most important thing so I didn't start like two or three years ago I started like at 16 and then at 18 I was ready was an expert let's say I already had a paper like hey guys I'm wine maker I'm so official so I can start my job people normally at 18 or 19 they they finish
they just finished the high school all right Daniel so without the taking any more of your time I have two questions the way that we do on every podcast we have one static question which we ask everybody and then we have one question personalized for you which one do you want me to start with you choose okay let's go to to the static one I already went through it a bit into our podcast but is what motivates you to go daily on behind the bar what
keep what hits still keeps motivate you to go daily behind the bar people people can you elaborate on that one when you say people yes I love people as I told you a few minutes ago like this business is about people it's not about loving wine or making cocktails but it's about loving people um because they they are the F for you for me at least so when I uh meet new people new energy uh new stories new culture so we are always talking about like
where are you from what do you do what kind of business uh and then I just I get my energy from people from people because you cannot work daily like 12 14 hours with no reason I know for sure this is my business you have to to uh to put more more more time into it but people they motivate you yes they motivate me just people a lot of a lot of new people always always new energy always new ideas uh I I met so many
people that I helped my friends to get a job so my network is huge just one and a half year of having this business but I think in a few years I will have a huge list of contacts cool and then I have a mobile one one I have one that it's especially tailor made for you you said you started at 16 years old how would it be if you have to start everything from scratch at 24 at the stage that you are right now how
how could it be and how do you think it will be completely different or it will be the same path um I think I think it will be the same it will be the same I will take the same steps uh because I did nothing wrong I took this the the right way the right uh strategy uh right timing right people so uh I will do the same mhm probably now at 24 I have a bit more knowledge than I had at 16 so probably it
will take a bit less time and I will have a bit more priority because now I'm 24 but then I was like 18 16 so now I have more priority but still yeah the same the same the same steps the same strategy because there's nothing wrong on it okay and U I know I said that those are the last two questions but do you have any regrets that let's say you got a lot of offers if you say that you were going to do exactly the
same strategy did you got any regrets of not taking any deals when you were 18 no no absolutely not I think um if if I was 20 or 19 and I got this offer to move in Denmark I think I would do it faster than just staying in mova so probably if I I've moved here like not two years ago but let's say four years ago I think now I will have more success something more than one bar I think but again I can't complain about
my decision so I I think that was on the right time uh at the right moment so I had a nice career in mdova I understood that I can't go more than that because mova is too small it's a poor country and then I work in the in the luxury industry like whyne um and even if I will I get a actually offers now in mova to move back like a lot of investors like look I have money I will give you everything you just do
your business do whatever you want open the wine bar you have unlimited money open four five wine bars open restaurants I I don't accept the offers because it's not the right country for for this business it's just not the right country with the right people because here in Denmark we have nice people that's why I get a lot of energy from people but in mova not only but in Eastern Europe people they are different in in in hospitality industry they are the boss they pay money
they are the the the the big boss you have to do everything to satisfy them but here it's it's not like that here they come in your home they have to respect the rules they have to respect your your job they have to respect your time your money and your business at the end they will not complain about prices because they understand that you pay rent you have you pay high salaries and this is your time they they they appreciate your time and your business here
in mova no in Eastern Europe no it's difficult well Daniel on that note I also appreciate your time taking your busy schedule taking into consideration your busy schedule for I I really appreciate your time and I hope that we can do this one more time when uh we get a bit more skilled into podcasting when we we're going to go with the next season hopefully and then we can talk see if you opened that new restaurant/bar or where you are in maybe 2025 or 2026 so
without further Ado thank you so much and thanks for being here thank you thank you for joining us for this episode of barox the podcast this episode was produced by Mi PA and I Manuel Li with thanks to M Media Company please find us on YouTube Spotify and wherever you are getting your podcast be sure you subscribe and rate US thank you