Meet Aidan Wren

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aidan Wren and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aidan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I think that any good entrepreneur sees a problem and starts a business to solve that problem. That’s what we did with Mile High Mixologists. I’m at the age with I go to three to ten thousand weddings a summer. A couple of years ago I was standing in that dreaded start of reception drink line at a friends wedding talking to another friend who had gotten married the year prior. He was lamenting to me about how at his wedding the bartenders were tasked with making two speciality drinks, a Moscow Mule and an Old Fashioned. I remember him saying “We kept it that easy for them and they still f*****d it up”. This is when I got the idea to start Mile High Mixologists and bring a collective of full-time professional bartenders to your events. There are two great advantages that show when we work an event versus a competitor, our bartenders efficiency and competency but even more importantly, our hospitality.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Mile High Mixologists is the culmination of years of experience in hospitality. I have done every job from dishwasher to general manager in every setting from neighborhood sports bar to fine dining. I’ve wanted to bring those skills to helping brands and restaurants flourish and ensure that top notch beverage services can be provided at events. Our company has three divisions: event production, hospitality consulting, and brand advocacy.

In event production, we specialize in large scale and corporate events. We have done events from 200-600 and have the infrastructure needed to ensure these are seamless. The biggest hurdle with these is always planning and that’s where we thrive. The small details make or break an event. What is the plan for waste disposal? What is the infrastructure for cold and frozen storage on site? What types of rolling bar works best in the space? These are all questions we ask and answer when planning every event we’re a part of.

When working on consulting projects, we lean on the wealth of experience we have in this space. Everyone who works alongside me on these projects has a similar pedigree in hospitality as I do. But, our differentiator from other hospitality consultants is formal education. I graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver C*m Laude with a B.S. in Accounting. I won a scholarship from the Institute of Management Accountants while at MSU and am currently working to become a Certified Managerial Accountant. Coupling these analytical skills that I have learned and battle tested experience in hospitality gives us the ability to ensure that we can solve operational issues while increasing top line revenues and bottom line income.

In brand advocacy, we have worked with different brands to launch their product across various markets. Having been a buyer for many years, I know how to help these brands get visibility with on-premise accounts. We have also helped brands develop their brand story telling and are experts in experiential marketing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We definitely would do the cliche Colorado hobbies and get up into the mountains. Do some hikes, spend some time in Summit and Eagle counties, even a trip to Steamboat or Glenwood for some hot springs time (if you’re in Glenwood, The Pullman is a killer restaurant).

One of my girlfriend and I’s favorite hobbies is eating out and trying new restaurants. We’re suckers for Italian food and we met while working at Jovanina’s Broken Italian so that’s an obvious must stop for us, Jake Linzinmeir, the owner, has something special there. Staying on Italian, Restaurant Olivia is without a doubt one of the best restaurants in the city. Austin, Ty, Heather, and Erika have made a culture that exudes hospitality to it’s fullest extent. We’re big fans of Tommy Lee’s restaurants as well and love taking people to Hop Alley and Uncle (the West Wash Park location is walking distance for us and Javi and Jordan have created such a fun atmosphere). We also love Blue Pan, I know pizza is a polarizing topic for a lot of people especially deep dish styles, but they crush it. For drinks, no doubt that Williams and Graham is a must stop, Sean, Saydee, Jimmy and their whole crew make killer cocktails and their whole crew are not only creative but hospitality professionals in the truest sense of the phrase.

I think that Denver and Colorado as a whole have so much to offer. Spend some time in Denver and eat and drink through the city. Get up to the mountains and chill at Dillion reservoir, drive to Buena Vista and have a beer and Eddyline while looking at the majesty of the collegiate peaks (also – didn’t Salida just make a list of best night life towns in the US?!), stop in Leadville on the way back and have a drink at the Silver Dollar Saloon. Hard to really say what’s the most fun and interesting thing when there is so much to do in this state but hopefully this list helps a little.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people who have helped me on my journey in becoming an entrepreneur. My parents, mentors, and my friends who have all supported me and been my champions. My girlfriend, Miriah, without her nothing I have done is possible. She is accepting and understanding of the long work hours and lack of work life balance than comes with entrepreneurship and has supported me through all of it.

Website: milehighmixologists.com

Instagram: milehighmixologists

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064366771283 

Image Credits
Conner Stehr Instagram: @shake_and_stehr