Recipe for Success: Mike Lawlor

Mike Lawlor

Owner and operator, Mr. Beery’s

2645 Mall Drive, Sarasota

How did you get into the bar and restaurant industry?

I was a financial advisor for 13 years. That was my original career, but I had experience with working in bars and restaurants since I was young and throughout college. I tended bar and waited tables. I did pretty much everything.

How did you first get involved with Mr. Beery's?

I’m not the original owner. I took over about two years ago. I was going through a change in my life with what I wanted to do with my career. I’d always been a craft-beer fan. When I started looking for options, I wanted to purchase a business or start a franchise. This came about, and I said, "absolutely."

What beer do you recommend most often?

That’s a tough one, because everyone’s taste is different. We thrive on introducing people to beer we think they would like.

How were you introduced to craft beer?

I got into craft beer in college. I went to the University of Florida in Gainesville, and I just started trying new beers instead of sticking to the macro main beers. 

If you could only drink one beer on your tap list for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Right now, with it being so hot outside, I’d have to go with a session IPA. My go-to lately has been Ballast Point Even Keel.

Do you have a favorite beer?

I’d have to say Cigar City’s White Oak Jai Ali. Their Jai Ali is an excellent IPA, and they do an aged, white-oak version of it. It’s just so good.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Probably the relationships I’ve forged with people, whether it be employees, patrons or other people in the craft-beer community.