Austa Somvichian-Clausen Transcript
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Hi, everyone. You're listening to The Future Of Food Is You, a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. I'm your host, Abena Anim-Somuah, and each week I talk to emerging talents in the food world and they share what they're up to as well as their dreams and predictions for what's ahead. As for me, I'm the founder of The Eden Place, a community that's all about gathering people intentionally around food. I love this new generation of chefs, bakers, and creatives making their way in the world of food, drink, media, and tech.
Today's guest is Austa Somvichian-Clausen. Austa is a freelance journalist and founder of Grotto, a sapphic bar pop-up concept. Grotto has partnered up with spots like Ludlow House of Soho House, female owned beer company, Talea, a newly minted 30 Rock hotspot, Pebble Bar. Austa and I chat about growing up in a multicultural household, her start as a travel journalist, and how Grotto fits into the history and culture of queer food establishments.
Thank you to Kerrygold for supporting today's show. Kerrygold is delicious, all natural butter and cheese made with milk from Irish grass-fed cows raised on small family run Irish dairy farms. Kerrygold farming families pass their craft and knowledge from generation to generation. This traditional approach is the reason for the rich taste of Kerrygold. You can enjoy delicious sliced or shredded Kerrygold cheddar cheese, available in mild or savory flavors. The shredded cheddar is perfect for those who love making mac and cheese. And now the grilling season is here, the cheddar slices will take any burger or veggie burger up a notch. There's also Kerrygold's classic salted butter in the gold foil. It's perfect for slathering on corn on the cob, always a summer fave. And the unsalted butter in the silver foil is an absolute must if you're turning sweet summer strawberries into strawberry shortcake. Visit kerrygoldusa.com to find the Kerrygold retailer nearest you and lots of great recipes. And now let's check in with today's guest.
Austa, thank you for joining us on the podcast.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Can you tell me where you grew up and how food showed up in your life?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I grew up in Claremont, California, which is about 40 minutes depending on traffic away from the main Los Angeles area. Food showed up in my life in so many different ways. Growing up in a multicultural household, I feel like food was the binder for us, especially because I grew up in my grandparents' house for the first six years of my life. They are Thai and Filipino, so every night cooking together... My parents do not cook, have never cooked, I don't know why. But my grandparents are really the ones who inspired my love of food and they would cook for us every single night. And that was kind of like how we all communicated and how we showed our love, I guess.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And so you grew up with your dad, who's Icelandic and your mom who's half Thai, half Filipino. What were some of the standout meals that you remember that were on the kitchen table? I guess mostly from your maternal grandparents' side?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Some of my favorite dishes that my grandparents would prepare when I was a kid actually really reflect how I cook today, which is less about specific dishes from Thai or Filipino cuisine and more about ingredients. The way that I cook and the way that they cooked was choosing those Asian ingredients and then just having fun with it. A lot of pork, fish, vinegar, a lot of soy sauce. And one of the things that I would put on absolutely everything and still do to this day is Maggi.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes. Yes.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Okay. Did you grow up with Maggi?
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes. Well, I guess Maggi in the bottle, right?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah, in the bottle.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It looks like Worchestershire sauce, but it tastes different.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
It tastes like deliciousness. I don't know, it just makes everything better.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I guess. It's like an umami boost, maybe, something like that.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Oh, 100%.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
It's all about the umami for me. For me, for any dish, it's all about umami and texture. I can't have food that's all one texture, and I think that's something I loved growing up too, was playing around with texture. My grandparents always made this one dipping sauce that I would put on everything too. That was kind of like vinegar, a lot of cilantro, garlic, soy sauce, and it just makes everything taste amazing, especially-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's awesome.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Rice, pork, et cetera.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. And then on the Icelandic side, what were some of the things that your dad brought out? Because I know there's fish, dairy.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Oh, yeah. Well-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Components of Icelandic cuisine.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
That's what's kind of so funny is there are these misconceptions about Icelandic cuisine that I still get brought up to me all the time today. think any Asian knows that when you grow up, you have to deal with, "Oh, your food is gross or stinky," or whatever, but I actually have dealt with that way more with Icelandic cuisine.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
No way.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Well, what are some of the three dishes that have been gross or stinky that you've had to defend?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Well, everyone who goes to Iceland is like, "Oh, Icelandic cuisine, that's all-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Hot dogs-
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Horse meat and-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh. Damn.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Horse meat and pickled sharks and whatever. And I'm like, "Listen, guys, that is not Iceland cuisine. They are just trying to sell that to you to be cheeky," okay? But-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's funny. They're like, that's how we get the tourists.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
That's how we hook them is with that pickled shark, but we are not eating that. Mainly it's lamb. When I think of Icelandic cuisine, and especially with my childhood, I always think about Christmas. My family's not even religious, but we still celebrate Christmas because it's fun. A big component of celebration is lamb and hanging meat, so that does sound funky.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Like hanging meat to dry?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah, it's meat that's hung in a cellar for long periods of time, and it's smoked, so it's super smoky ham. We always serve it with these little round creamy potatoes-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, yummy.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
And sometimes pineapple, which is interesting. Yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
How do they get pineapple in Iceland? I mean, I'm sure there was a way, but yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Oh yeah, I think that's just like what my grandma likes honestly. There's this one type of bread too that I always associate with Christmas because it's eaten on Christmas by basically every Icelandic household. It's called Laufabrauð, and it's this crispy flatbread that almost looks like a doily. You know how you have those certain flavors that you try one time and then you crave it throughout the year, but it's so close yet so far away, you can't really get it? That's me with Laufabrauð.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Laufabrauð. Well, maybe there's an Icelandic bakery hidden somewhere in the city that is whipping it up.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Oh. If you ever go to Reykjavík, you've got to let me know because I'll give you all my bakery recommendations. They have legitimately the best bakeries.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's awesome. And so you head down to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. for college. What did you study and also how do you think it applies to the work that you're doing today?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah. I went to American University in Washington D.C. and I studied communications and environmental science, and I minored in international relations. My degree factored way more into the beginning of my career because I immediately started working for National Geographic, which was a dream for me. I actually partially chose to go to school in Washington with the dream of interning at Nat Geo, and I never got that internship, but I got the job.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
One way or another, right?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
It took a little bit longer to manifest, but once it did, it did so in a big way. But I started out in the PR office of Nat Geo Channel, and then I shimmied my way over to editorial. And I was writing about environmental news and all of that kind of stuff, and it was really inspiring. But what was interesting is that was my life goal at the time was to work for Nat Geo, and here I was, it was right out of college, and I feel so blessed to say that now, but I was kind of like, okay, well, I need a new dream now.
And luckily, because I was writing there, I also was talking to a lot of other writers. One of them connected me to a small publication in D.C. called Brightest Young Things, which I wrote for I think for free. But I got to go intern to press dinners. And I remember my first press dinner, I had an old fashioned with a piece of meat attached to it, and I was like-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Interesting.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I was like, this is amazing. I want to do this.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
So you think that's what kicked in the obsession with food and food editorial?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I mean, I've always been obsessed with food. When I was growing up, my favorite show was “Chopped.” I was obsessed with the idea of being on “Chopped” one day. But yeah, I think that starting to go to these press dinners and examining food from an editorial lens in that way really inspired me I guess. That's why I started moving away from... And I still love to write about sustainability, I still think that there are a lot of intersections to examine in that way between food and culture and the environment, and it's all very intrinsically linked. So I think in that way it still very much translates to what I do now and what I hope to do in the future, but not as directly as it used to, I guess.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And so you moved to New York City and you start writing for more lifestyle, home, apartment?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
So I moved here to become the Instagram manager for Apartment Therapy and The Kitchen, and I learned within a year that social media was not for me as a full-time gig. I really missed editorial and I had planned to go full-time freelance. Then I ended up becoming the lead respect writer for Changing America, which is a satellite publication for The Hill, more left-learning, and I was writing about diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Which was fortunate because then the pandemic happened, which obviously put a huge halt to travel writing and I guess food writing to an extent, or I guess it really changed the landscape of food writing.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. It became more individual based than publication base. I feel like, yeah, we got a lot more range in individuals publishing their thoughts versus, oh, these were the five or six big publications that we rely on for different takes on food. Yeah, for sure.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah, and a lot of those big publications also had a reckoning.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
1000000% and perhaps still today. So what were some of the best articles that, if you were to look back on all the bylines that you had, that you enjoyed writing?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I think that being a freelancer is the best thing for me because I hate being pigeonholed, I hate writing about the same thing every day, and that I think was what was tough for me being on staff anywhere was you get into this flow or this rhythm of writing about the same thing. I encourage anyone who is interested in being a freelancer to try it. It is intimidating, but it's cool that you can pitch a story about anything to anyone at any time. I've had a lot of different stories that don't relate to each other in any way, but excite me nonetheless in all these different kind of ways. I think one of the stories that I wrote that was the most exciting for me actually does have a lot to do with the pandemic. Even though I write about whiskey and I write about travel and all of these different things, I think one of the things that does intimidate me is really the stories where I have to write about myself or delve into my own story. It can be scary to share intimate details of your life with whomst ever is reading it.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. There's a desire for privacy, but also wanting to include a little bit of yourself in your work.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
But it was for this publication, a smaller print publication called Compound Butter.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, that's a great publication. Yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Which I also love because my cat's name is Butter.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's so cute.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
So I was really stoked to be able to write for them. It was a whole issue that they had with all queer writers about their different stories. And mine was about coming out prior to the pandemic, meeting my ex-partner, and us living together and cooking together, and how that kind of forced me to, in a good way, examine and learn so much more about my own queerness and also my Asian heritage because I was able to finally dust off those cookbooks and-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And share that with someone.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
And share that with someone, yeah, exactly. So that was really meaningful for me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
When it comes to your travel writing, what sort of philosophies or things are you thinking about as you put pieces out into the world?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I think really my favorite stories about travel or really anything are human-centric stories. I also love doing itineraries because I love to create itineraries in my own life, and it's almost like a love language for me. So it's really fun to be able to create those qualitative itineraries for publications and have those be shared with people. Besides that, I love to shine a spotlight on, kind of like what you do, on amazing people who deserve a spotlight and don't always get them. Writing for publications that are very male centric, like I write for Men's Journal a lot, I write for Rob Report, I write for Inside Hook, which all have male leaning audiences, which is so interesting.
I actually have this fantasy of them reading this story that's like, oh, here's how to roll cigar, here's how to drink whiskey, and-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
From a woman.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
They look at my byline and it's just little old me. It's actually this small brown woman. I think it's really fun to write for a male leaning or male facing publication, but then be able to spotlight women. One of the most recent stories that I loved working on earlier this year was about Alex Thomas for Men's Journal. She's one of the first and only master distillers of Irish whiskey, and she's the master distiller for Bushmills, which is the oldest licensed distillery in the country. It's been around for over 400 years. So being able to talk to her and tell her story I think was really meaningful. And I went to Ireland late last year and got to meet her, we drank Whiskey on Giant's Causeway, it was all just a magical experience. I think those are my favorite things about travel writing is going to the place and then finding the angle while I'm there, seeing what's the story, and then be able to put that pen on paper.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, that's really cool. Well, that's a perfect segue to my next question is what's been your favorite destination to write or report about, and then what's a destination you're hoping to write about later in the future?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
So I didn't write about this destination for a publication, but I think my favorite destination I wrote about, and it was just in my newsletter, was Puglia, Italy. So magical. I think that what made Puglia feel so magical was that it was not just one big city, it was all these tiny little destinations that had their own food culture, that had their own architecture, that had their own crafts that they specialized in. And I especially was obsessed with Matera, one of the oldest cities in the world, and all of their homes are built out of caves.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
So gorgeous.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
That's a must for sure.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And the food culture there too is just-
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I mean, yeah.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Outstanding. I mean, it's southern Italy, right?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah. Well, especially one of my favorite things to do when I travel in certain European countries is force whomever I'm with to come with me for olive oil tastings.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Nice. Yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I love visiting olive oil farms. Manifesting for myself one day an olive oil farm.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. Maybe in Spain, maybe in Greece, maybe in Italy. Who knows?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
The next destination that I am going to be writing about and I'm really excited about is Indonesia. I'm going there in October.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very cool.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Look out for that.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah. Are you going to Bali, Java?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I'm going to Bali.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Okay, nice.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah, super excited. I've been there once before. I love the food. I think nasi goreng is now one of my favorite dishes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Let's take a quick break and we'll be right back.
Kerry Diamond:
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Abena Anim-Somuah:
Before we dive into your project, Grotto, I want to touch base a little bit on queer representation in the hospitality world. How have you come to experience it in its current state, in New York City, and then on perhaps a national, and especially as a travel writer on a global scale too?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
It's interesting. When I was first coming up with the idea for Grotto, weirdly, because I don't know that much about the global representation of queer bars, but it was when my ex and I were in Iceland visiting my family for Pride, for Reykjavik Pride, and we realized that there was only one gay bar in the entire country. I mean, granted it's a small country, but there was only one. It's called Kiki's. It is iconic, small, and it just got us thinking because this is a country that is constantly on the leaderboard for the most LGBTQ friendly countries, and yet there's only one gay bar. And we were also talking about kind of the landscape of New York sapphic bars. Right now, there's four with the recent opening of The Bush in Bushwick, but for context, there's also over 30 more male-centric gay bars in New York.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Interesting.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
So four versus maybe 40. When you look at those numbers, I mean, they can't lie, it's pretty ridiculous, especially when you look anywhere outside of New York City, there's maybe one lesbian bar in each city or less. So I think a lot of queer women have to depend upon parties or sporadic events or what have you, to find their safe space. In 1980, there were over 200 lesbian bars in the country.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Wow.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
And that number dwindled down to below 20 in 2021.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Do you know what was the cause of that decline?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I can only speculate on the decline, but I think a lot of it maybe had to do with, I don't know, price. It costs a lot of money to own a bar, and I think also the needs and wants of the queer women community were changing. I think that a lot of the more classic lesbian bars are modeled after more male-centric gay bars, but that's not necessarily always what women want to be out and doing, especially maybe on a weeknight. We're not going to be going out to the club, not all of us. I think it's so important to have diverse representation of nightlife offerings for the community, which is how Grotto came to be.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Well, can you tell us about the name and the concept of Grotto as it exists now?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah. So the name of Grotto came about in terms of thinking about really how I want the space to feel. I want it to feel soft, organic, sloping lines. It's actually proven by psychology that when there are no 90 degree angles in a space, your mind is more instantly at ease. And so I think about something like a grotto, like cave, where you feel enclosed and safe, and obviously it's also a cheeky reference to the female body.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Dang, that's really cool. What's been really interesting is you started the concept by popping up at existing bars. Why did you think that was a smart way to go about that? And then what does a typical night look like at the different popups that you've had?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
What's funny is originally I really did not want to do popups at all, especially because the name Grotto has so much to do with how I picture the space to feel, I was really hesitant to pop up in someone else's space. I wanted the intention to be there from the get go and I think Grotto is all about intention. That's how you create a space that feels real for the community, is by creating it with intention specifically for them. But I unfortunately am not a billionaire-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yet.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yet, more manifesting, and it's really expensive to open a place in New York City. So I was originally looking at permanent spaces, I ran the numbers and I was like, you know what? I think if I wait, this is never going to happen. And I think a lot of entrepreneurs or founders say this, but you just have to start something, even if it's going to be imperfect, even if it might not feel right or it might not be your complete vision at first, you just have to do it because otherwise fear and schedules and timing get in the way and you don't end up making it happen. Fortunately, I had been talking to a friend of mine who is now leading up communications at Soho House, so she was like, we have this space for you. It was originally supposed to be a space in DUMBO. That didn't pan out, but I ended up chatting with the management at Ludlow House in the lower east side of Manhattan, and they were interested in the vision that I had, which felt really affirming and exciting. So we took over a really beautiful room in Ludlow House. It had a fireplace and cushy armchairs-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Definitely grotto vibes if you've been to Ludlow House.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Definitely grotto vibes. And it was separated from the rest of the space with a velvet curtain, so it still felt like a good home base for the concept at the time. We were supposed to only be there for two months, and I had no idea if people would like it, I didn't know what the demand was going to be, which is also a great thing about doing popups. You can figure out who your audience is and what the interest levels are, and the interest was there. There are a lot of queer women in this city, and they love cocktails and they love talking to each other and meeting each other and feeling safe. So we were able to expand to four months. We were there four times a week, so it was like operating a bar pretty much.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And were you at capacity for most of those nights?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah, we were completely sold out, almost every single seating.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's really impressive. Congratulations.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Thank you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
It felt, like I said, really affirming. It felt like, wow, the need is here and people want this. They want a space to connect. And I think something that really set us apart from the get go was the addition of social seating. The very first seating we ever had, my partner at the time and I walked around the room and we talked to everyone about What do you want to see from Grotto? What are you expecting from a queer cocktail bar that is specifically for sapphics? And I say sapphics too, instead of calling Grotto a lesbian bar.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yes. Can you talk about the distinction between lesbian and sapphic? I ended up going down the deep Oxford Dictionary rabbit hole, but for our audience.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Well, I mean for me, I am pansexual, so I don't identify as a lesbian, I identify as a queer woman or a sapphic. The word sapphic directly relates to Sappho, who was a Greek poet on the island of Lesbos obviously.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, if you read any Greek mythology, you probably know about that.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Then you know about Lesbos, which is where we're going to open the bar. No, I'm just kidding.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I mean, go for it. Manifesting on the pod. Yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
But yeah, so when I think about the word sapphic, I just think of it as being more inclusive to all queer women, all women who love other women and want to be with them versus lesbians who that's one part of the community. It's one really important part of the community, but I really wanted to be intentional with my language of having Grotto be open to all. And how can I as a pansexual woman not think about that? And I think that is why it's so important to have different types of founders who are starting these concepts for the community, because I think that a founder really directly represents or relates to their audience, the people who are coming in the door.
Anyway, so walked around the room, was asking people, what are you looking for? What do you want from a queer bar? People were just saying they want to meet other people. They were thirsty for connection, and I-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Pun intended.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
They were thirsty for cocktails and thirsty for connection. And I don't just mean romantic connection, I think that is one really challenging thing in the community, especially for queer women, is meeting friends. You're at a bar, first of all, there's, as we established, only four bars for women in all of New York City, you're going, it's loud, you don't have a place to sit, you feel awkward going up to someone. And I think that there's always that underlying fear that you coming up to someone, they're going to think it's immediately romantic. Some people just want to make friends. Some people are in relationships, like I was at the time, and still want to make more queer friends and build up your community, people who you can talk to, people you can go to things with, people who you can relate to.
And so that's why after the very first seating, we added a dropdown to our booking system where you had to say how social you feel like being that night. So maybe you're going on a date and you don't obviously want to be talking to other people. You would say, "I'm not interested in meeting someone tonight." Maybe you came with a couple of friends and you guys are semi-open to meeting people, I might put you with another group, I might not.
But then there was a lot of people, especially towards the end of the popup, and this made me so happy that came as single bookers just by themselves to this cocktail bar not knowing who they're going to meet, and they said, "I'm looking to meet people tonight," and I would seat them all together. Sometimes we'd have tables of eight women who just met that very night and they would connect, and I would come by and they'd be laughing and they would be trading numbers. I've gotten messages of people who are now super good friends because they met at Grotto, people who have come back altogether as a group that met at Grotto, group chats. My favorite thing so far about starting the concept is fostering those connections.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
It's really beautiful to hear that you're still creating a great outdoor experience, but that also encourages people to really commune and really socialize.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah. I mean, it's intimidating to make new friends. And I think with social seating, it's so great that there's already that built in layer of consent. You know that everyone who's being sat together has given consent to being spoken to and given consent to being social. I think it breaks down that intimidation barrier of not wanting to make others feel uncomfortable and not feeling uncomfortable yourself. And I think now when people come to Grotto events, they immediately feel like they can just go up and talk to people, even if they are introverts. We hosted an upstate retreat recently to kick off Pride Month with a lesbian owned distillery called Catskill Provisions-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very cool.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
And it was an entire weekend of 20+ queer women coming together. We did fly fishing with a female instructor, we drank whiskey, we played flip cup. We had a very high low experience. It was like a lovely dinner cooked by Christine Lau, who's an amazing, queer, female chef, you know-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Is she based in New York or is she out-
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
She's based in New York.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Okay, very cool.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
She used to be with Kimika.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, nice. Yeah, that's a great restaurant.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah. It was just so great to see all of these connections being formed and fostered over an entire weekend, having these experiences together that were really bonding. And several of the women who came on that trip told me that actually they are introverts and they don't even feel comfortable usually going out to bars. And it was so special for me and really eye-opening to me that people have started to associate Grotto with being able to foster those connections in a qualitative way. And that's really everything that I wanted to create with Grotto, so I think that's really amazing. I had one woman who came up to me during the trip and she said that this was the only time she's ever felt comfortable in such a large group of other women. I was like-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Crying in the club.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Crying in the club-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Or crying in the camp, because we're not in the club.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Crying at camp.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Crying over my flip cup.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I hope we get to see more sapphic, lesbian, queer bars in the city that create those spaces for people and allies who want to join on the fun.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
100%. Allies are welcome.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
We love a good ally. Obviously, something I want to talk about is when creating any sort of concept, as much as our ideas are really important, the financials are also really, I would say just as or even more important because you need money to make these businesses run. When you were thinking about putting this together, how did you think about the financials and what aspects of the financials you really needed to keep things going?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
The good thing about doing popups is that you can start something with not too much money down. And luckily being in the spirits industry, I already had a lot of connections in that realm, so I was able to chat with some of the brands like Basil Hayden and Agua Mágica, and all of these different really amazing supportive spirits brands about donating product. So that was how I was able to get product for the beginning popups, and for Soho House. And then now more recently, we did a month long pop-up with Talea, which is the first women owned and women operated brewery in Brooklyn. Great place. I love that they have super approachable beers. Even if you're not a beer drinker, you'll still love something from Talea.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I know. I'm not, but I love the Raspberry Sour, especially now they have it at Trader Joe's so you can get it too.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yes.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, really rad.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah, so with Soho House and then with Talea, we did revenue shares, so that way we're both benefiting. Grotto's taking some home, the company that is hosting us is taking some home. So it's a win-win. And that's also what we are doing now with Pebble Bar.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's huge. Congratulations.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Thank you.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's like a big New York City establishment, yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah. Well actually, I guess with Pebble Bar, making money on the tickets and they are making money on-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
On the drinks.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
The drinks and the food. But I'm also creating the cocktail menu.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very nice.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
So it's a lot of collaboration. Our series that we have this summer is with Pebble Bar and the Rockefeller Center. We're doing this Sapphic Sounds concerts, which is really-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Very cool.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Fun. Yeah, I think that there's nothing that brings people together quite like music, you know? You go to a show, you're experiencing the magic of this artist and their performance, and you're grooving and moving with these random people that you don't know, and then I think it really brings you together in a certain vibe. That's personally why I'm not a big stadium show person. I like to go do a more intimate venue where I feel like I can actually see the artist with my eyes and-
Abena Anim-Somuah:
I don't want to see them through a screen. Yeah.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Maybe they'll make eye contact with me. Who knows? And you feel connected with the concert goers too, which is why I thought it would be so fun to do kind of a sapphic version of that. Kind of like an NPR Tiny Desk meets a So Far Sounds meets gay. Also being able to shine a spotlight on up and coming artists that are queer women. Our first show that we just did on Pride Sunday was with Madison Rose, who I met because she came into Ludlow House and was like, "What is this that's going on?" And I told her about Grotto and she came in and she made new friends and all good things. And that night she shared with me a sapphic song that she had been working on, and then she ended up being booked for this show and debuted the song fully finished at the show, which was a full circle moment and felt like a full circle manifestation.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Where do you hope to see Grotto in the next five to 10 years, and how are you hoping that Grotto contributes to the conversation of cities and food communities being more supportive of queer establishments?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
I would love to see Grotto obviously as a permanent place where people can come in. I want it to be almost speakeasy style so that when you walk in the front door, there's going to be almost like a barrier to entry, if that makes sense. That's something that I thought of because the Henrietta Hudson staff, which is another longstanding lesbian bar in New York, they came in for their kind of staff retreat to Grotto, which was super fun.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
No way, that's cute. I love that.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
It was very cute. And they were telling me about how men will leer at their guests through the window because they're dancing and they're enjoying themselves and they're just being stared at by these weirdos, and it is an unsafe environment for them. And they're like, well, we can't shoo these men away from the street. So I was thinking, okay, when I create Grotto, how amazing would it be if you had to kind of check in. I love how when you go to a place like House of Yes, they read out their rules of conduct to you, and they tell you, this is an inclusive, safe space. We will not tolerate hate, we're not going to tolerate unwanted touching, and I want to incorporate that very much into what Grotto is. You know people aren't going to be staring at you, you know people aren't going to be acting a fool.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Yeah, act right, don't act up-
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Yeah, act right at Grotto or get kicked out. But yeah, I'd love to create that safe space, hopefully in Brooklyn, not in Bushwick, probably in Fort Green if I can find the right space or somewhere nearby. I love that neighborhood. I think it feels really safe, and there's a lot of people in the community that already live there. Fingers crossed.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Fingers crossed. Obviously we're huge manifesters on the podcast, and I know you've talked a little bit about the dream of Grotto, but are there any other people that you'd love to do popups or partnerships with while you're still in that phase of the project?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Ooh, yeah. I started a conversation earlier this year and hopefully we'll continue it with The Standard East Village.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Oh, very cool.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
They have a bar, it's called No Bar, and it technically is queer. I think it could be more queer and I'd like to be the one to make it that way.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Be the change.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Be the change you wish to see in the East Village.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Well, Austa, we're going to do our fun Future Of Food Is You tradition called our Future Flash Five. How are you feeling?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Oh, I'm feeling nervous.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Good. Here we go. The future of food journalism...
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Will live at intersections.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future of bars...
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Gay.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future of tourism...
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Qualitative.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
The future of queer culture...
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Inclusive.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
And the future of spirits...
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Me.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Amazing. Austa, thank you so much for joining us. I have learned so much. And if we want to keep supporting you, where are the best places to find you?
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
You can find us on Instagram at grotto.nyc. You can find my personal Instagram at AustaClausen, and you can find us at Pebble Bar on August 27th for our next Sapphic Sounds concert.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Amazing. Thanks so much.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Thank you so much for having me. This has been so fun.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
Before we go, our guest is going to leave a voicemail at the Future Of Food mailbox just talking to themselves 10 years from now. You have reached The Future Of Food Is You mailbox. Please leave your message after the beep.
Austa Somvichian-Clausen:
Hi, future Austa. It's been 10 years that I'm sure have absolutely zipped by. It seriously feels like every year goes by quicker and quicker. You're probably running over to the newly open third location of Grotto right now, but I hope you've also been taking the time to honor your own piece and put your self care first. I know we always like to keep busy, which is why that inclusive boutique hotel we've been dreaming up is finally in the works, but it's just as important to give ourself the space to breathe and think, which is why I hope we ended up buying that A-Frame cabin upstate or in the Berkshires and got those cute little chickens we always talked about. I'm sure our tomato arch and herb garden are the talk of the town and that you've been flouring around in the yard in those breezy little dresses.
Hopefully you've still been traveling too. Maybe not as much for work anymore, but with your soulmate who loves an adventure just as much as you do, and always allows your Sagittarian packed itinerary loving mind to run wild with ideas. We've always been an amazing manifester, so I can't wait to see what else we've been cooking up that I haven't even thought of yet. P.S., have we mastered glass blowing? Have we been hosting any...with friends at our Brooklyn brownstone lately? Have we been featured on the cover of Cherry Bombe yet? I hope so. Anyways, got to run. Love you, mean it.
Abena Anim-Somuah:
That's it for today's show. Do you know someone who you think is the future of food? Tell us about them. Nominate them at the link in our show notes, or leave us a rating and a review and tell me about them in the review. I can't wait to read more about them. Thanks to Kerrygold for sponsoring our show. The Future Of Food Is You is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. Thanks to the team at City Vox Studios, executive producers Kerry Diamond and Catherine Baker, and associate producer Jenna Sadhu. Catch you on the future flip.