Meet Sydni Tillman | Owner of Elixir ATL
We had the good fortune of connecting with Sydni Tillman and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Sydni, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have always been fascinated with the idea of having a “Social Third Place.” A third place is a location that bridges social interaction outside of the people you live or work with. When you are a child, your “third place” might have been your sports club or your local recreation center. As an adult, however, your “third place” can be a little harder to align with. Adults weather the mundanity of work/school/taking care of family, and these ventures leave little room to rest. Although Elixir ATL is not a brick and mortar (yet), the company I am building takes the idea of a social third place and makes it a mobile experience. No one will contest that spending quality time celebrating the milestones of the people you love is one of the greatest joys of life. Elixir ATL offers the ability to curate a specialized and immersive “third place” experience anywhere and at an affordable price. Social third places highlight the importance of intentional socialization, and although the foundation of an intimate event is always the guests, adding the social aspect of a bar tends to be the physical focal point of any event. I hope to shed light on the importance of intentional socialization for the purpose of adding value. Elixir ATL ignites social interactions for the purpose of building communities, fostering new business networks, and sparking quality relationships.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have never considered myself a creative person. Growing up, I was not phenomenal at drawing, painting, or singing, but I always knew I liked to do it. Indulging in artistic endeavors always made me feel good, but society sometimes has an “all or nothing” attitude on creativity. If you like to paint, you must know how to create portraits. If you like to dance, you must do it competitively. I do not align with these mentalities. It is time for our society to create spaces where people can just be creatively mediocre and partake in making art for the sake of expression. I can not hold a note to save my life, yet I love to sing. Nothing has just come easy for me, except for my love for people and the ability to effectively communicate. I pride myself on being an extrovert who loves to hear people’s stories. I am absolutely a people person, through and through. My love for people paired with my love for bartending was part of the foundation of creating Elixir ATL. I figured out how to build relationships while making someone a delicious cocktail. Furthermore, I realized that creativity and art come in different forms. Mine happens to be the art of language and communication.
About a year before I started Elixir ATL, I read a book called The Art of Doing Nothing: Simple Ways to Make Time for Yourself by Veronique Vienne. The book in short is a guide to what true rest looks like. I grew up in a community that did not see true rest as an option. There was always something to do, new things to achieve, and people to take care of. My generation is the first gen to truly lean into what rest and relaxation means to them. We are rationalizing the idea that you can have a career and own a business, while still taking time to rest and not burn out. This is what true work life balance looks like for me. I am empathetic to the fact that some people do not have this luxury. It just is not an option whether it be financial or familial obligations, so I want to preface that this idea is not a generalization. And it takes a young millennial woman like me who is new to business ownership to serve as an example to others in her community that prioritizing rest while also doing all the things is an option. We are an “all of the things” generation, with interest and hobbies that were not accessible to our parents or grandparents. So, I think about balance as an opportunity and luxury that not everybody can achieve. It is extremely important for me to express the gratitude I feel for the chance to live a work life rooted in balance, because although this is the case today, things can change completely tomorrow. I believe that doing our best to maintain a sense of balance directly correlates to maintaining a sense of peace, and a peaceful mind will allow more creativity and energy to operate a successful business.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The coolest thing about living in Atlanta is that it is so diverse. There is something for everyone to do and an adventure for every mood.
If I could create the perfect Atlanta itinerary for my best friend, we would have to start with the food. The perfect breakfast mashup would be the Chicken and Waffles from The Breakfast Club, the Cheese Danish at Sublime Doughnuts, and the Breakfast Bowl at Rosie’s Coffee Cafe. For lunch we would head to Ponce City Market and try the Cheesesteak Eggrolls at Bar Vegan and check out the different shops in the area. If she were in the mood for a rooftop vibe, we would stop by New Realm Brewery and try their Peach Green Tea cocktail before renting a scooter to ride over to Centennial Park.
My best friend loves the outdoors, and there are tons of outside activities in ATL. I would take her to my favorite local hiking trail at the Chattahoochee River. There we could rent a kayak or a bike for the day and ride down the river. Metro Atlanta has the best walking and biking trails, such as Cascade Spring Nature Reserve or East Palisades trail (which happens to be near one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta, Ray’s on the River). Cascade Nature Reserve is a 2-mile round trip hike centered around a beautiful waterfall. Not only is the hike easy, but on a good day you can catch the most beautiful wildlife. My best friend has a dog who loves to be outside, so the hike would be perfect for her, we will get a workout, a beautiful view, and quality time outdoors.
My friends have recently been wanting to find local speakeasies in Atlanta. The mystery around a speakeasy is what makes this a fun activity to do. The city has cool “underground” bars, such as Red Phone Booth and The Blind Pig Parlour Bar. Red Phone Booth has this delicious bourbon-based cocktail called the Brown Derby Cocktail that would be perfect for grapefruit lovers. Red Phone Booth is a member’s only environment, so this does add an additional fun element to the experience. The speakeasy has many summertime events for us to check out,
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
When Elixir ATL was born in October 2023, I knew one thing; I was a great bartender. The rest of the business ownership process did not come easy. This is where networking came in. I began to reach out to people that I knew owned businesses and ask them about their process and journey for the purpose of gaining insight. The community that I built around business ownership was the biggest blessing to the launch of Elixir ATL. I learned from teams who specialized in videography/content creation (shoutout @loveatfirstsitemedia_), businesses willing to sponsor (shoutout to Marc at @MishkaPremiumVodka), and so many more. The next question for me as the successful owner of Elixir ATL is how far do I want to take it? With the support of a dynamic business network and effective relationship building, Elixir will begin to partner with young adults who have aspired to bartend, but never knew how to start. Elixir ATL will be the catalyst that converts passion into impact; A business that could help my people succeed and become inspired! A business that was once just an idea has transformed into a spiderweb of interconnected opportunities. This is what true success looks like for Elixir ATL.
Instagram: ElixirAtlanta
Facebook: Elixiratl
Other: Email: info@elixiratl.com
Image Credits
Professional Photo – @loveatfirstsitemedia_
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