Meet Clayton Hoffman | Cocktail Pop-Up Owner & Operator

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

Hi Clayton, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have been in the service industry in Athens for the past 10 years, and while I love what I do, I reached the point of needing to do something for myself. I had a lot of ideas and concepts rattling around in my head that had built up over the years, but they weren’t things that I could exactly do at my current places of business. So it became pretty clear that I had to start doing something on my own; I just had to figure out how to make it happen. As Athens was coming out of the pandemic, a lot of businesses cut their hours and even days of operation down, so I had the idea to use my connections around town to see if I might be able to pop up in friends’ spots with my own concept on nights they weren’t open. Everywhere was super receptive, and from there I started small, then started adding more Branding, adding additional services, doing larger and private events, and here we are! While it is still a very small and pretty bare-bones operation; it is super rewarding to be seeing my own vision get realized.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Novena is a cocktail pop-up based in Athens, GA that takes inspiration from baroque art and Catholic imagery. We pop up in bars & restaurants that don’t focus on cocktails, take over bars outside of their ordinary hours of business, collaborate with food pop-ups, coordinate cocktail drop-offs, and do bar services for private events. Athens is a really small town that harnesses a bustling food and beverage scene. There is a lot of untapped potential to do really fun stuff, and we try exist in as many ways as we can to add to the tapestry. I’ve learned a lot from running the popup, but probably the most important thing I’ve learned is to get connected with your community and peers. You’d be surprised how many people are down to collaborate on ideas you may have! This popup would never have gotten off the ground if it weren’t for the great people working in Athens restaurants.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Okay here are your spots: 1. Happy hour on the Patio at ZZ and Simone’s, a fabulous 70’s-chic Italian restaurant and bar that does incredible pasta and pizzas with a fantastic wine menu.
2. Dinner for a group at Puma Yu’s, a bar that is cranking out the most cutting edge cocktails in Athens while also serving delectable Thai plates meant for sharing.
3. Date night at The National, the longest-standing best restaurant in Athens that focuses on Mediterranean cuisine derived from sustainable sources and local farms; with a banging wine list and smart cocktails to boot.
4. Late night at Old Pal, the color-bearer for the Athens cocktail scene with an unfussy neighborhood vibe. Make sure to get some “howdies” of house amaro!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife Haley is absolutely an integral part of Novena. She is there at every event, helps anywhere she can, provides me with a soundboard to workshop ideas, and above all else is my well of motivation and muse. Also, I guess I should shout out the Catholic Church for providing me the conceptual backdrop for the pop-up. Lol.

Instagram: @novena_athens