Candice Moore doesn’t make a point of telling people she doesn’t drink alcohol. Most customers wouldn’t even think to question it while she pours them a beer at one of the two bars she manages. But it’s true: The Overland Park native has been sober for six years.
Of course, Moore didn’t always forgo alcohol. She jokes that she “sampled plenty” during her early bartending days at The Foundry in Westport (RIP), Davey’s Stagecoach Inn (RIP) and The Blind Tiger (also RIP). Her experience has proven value, as she is now a sought-after beverage aficionado.
She built the beer program at The Riot Room and eventually became general manager at the Crossroads’ Brewery Emperial, where, along with managing the Strawberry Hill dive bar Hillsiders, she still is today. Soon, Moore will also be opening Loretta Jean’s, a restaurant with co-owner and chef Rick Mullins in the historic Seiden’s Fur building.
It was while working at Brewery Emperial during Covid that Moore decided to stop drinking to help her mental health. Oh, and another twist: Moore also has celiac disease.
“Yup, I was a sober celiac general manager of a brewery,” she says. “Really great title, right?”
Sobriety pushed Moore into non-alcoholic cocktails just as the mocktail movement was gaining momentum during the pandemic.
“[Mocktails] have gotten exponentially better, but most people just used juices or sodas for N/A drinks,” Moore says. “I was looking for something with all the layers—sweet, salty, citrus, a little bitter.”
While managing a brewery where customers primarily came for beer, Moore built an ambitious non-alcoholic program. She worked with herbs and shrubs to create her own vermouth and Campari alternatives, pulling tannins from hops, pickling Bloody Mary garnishes and fermenting fruits and vegetables to mimic the complexity and mouthfeel of cocktails.
These days, Moore continues to enjoy pushing the envelope with local seasonal ingredients, something she shares with Mullens. Currently, Moore says her fridge is filled with shrubs made from Norton and Concord grapes sourced from Prairie Birthday Farm in Kearney. (Morton grapes, native to Missouri, are often used in regional wines.) Fermentation is a favorite technique for both Moore and Mullens, and the two take a collaborative, slightly offbeat approach, playing with ingredients and seeing just how far they can take them into unexpected flavors. It’s this curiosity and experimentation that makes Loretta Jean’s one of the more exciting new restaurants on KC’s horizon–Especially with Moore’s plans to rethink how restaurants approach beverages in general. Instead of isolating the non-alcoholic ones in a separate section, the entire beverage menu will be built around non-alcoholic drinks, each with suggested spirit pairings for those who want them.
Toward the end of our conversation, I ask Moore the obvious question: How does a sober bartender create drinks with alcohol? Or maybe more importantly, how does she know they taste good?
“Yeah, that’s the crazy part,” Moore says. “I know what a lot of things taste like—I sampled a lot back in the day. But I have a really good nose, and I always have a handful of people to help me taste things. It’s about finding your people who are very honest with you.”
Moore admits she sometimes feels “a little out of touch” with new spirits, especially when they hit the market after she stopped drinking, like Bronson’s Milk Punch, a locally produced spirit launched in 2021. Moore has never tasted it herself, but she’s still incorporated it into a cocktail—a variation of a Paper Plane—that’s already become a hit. A version of it will appear at Loretta Jean’s—with Moore’s own creative spin, naturally. Keep an eye on Loretta Jean’s private dining room and basement bar, a space Moore says will serve as the team’s creative playground for unexpected drink and food pairings. Loretta’s will also have an espresso machine and serve Lo-Lo, a 3.5 percent ABV easy-drinking beer brewed exclusively for Loretta Jean’s by Brewery Emperial brewmaster Keith Thompson.
Moore has been in enough managerial positions and created enough bar programs to feel comfortable stepping into the role of restaurateur. When asked if she feels ready, she simply answers, “I survived in a dive bar.”
Candice Moore’s Perfect Day in KC:
Daily Grind: Broadway is my favorite place to grab coffee. I’m a basic gal and I love a dirty chai with oat milk.
Thrift Therapy: My friend Jill Castaneda in downtown OP has this cool little vintage shop only open on Saturdays called Storyteller Provisions. It’s only open from 10 am to 2 pm, but it’s sick. It’s all things that I wear—cool old t-shirts, Wranglers denim, flannels and some Western wear.
Taco Time: I’ll be going to San Antonio’s, El Camino Real or Bonito Michoacan, just depending on what mood I’m in. I’m getting al pastor tacos, and if I’m at San Antonio’s, I’ll grab salsa and some of their dry spices and peppers.
Hill Thrills: I’ll catch a show at my homebase, Hillsiders. One of the bartenders there has a band called Western Cuts. It’s like a honky-tonk country band and I love them so much.
