Westbound is one of the few (for now!) establishments that offer whiskey corkage along with corkage for wine and beer. I asked Sarah Meade, owner of Westbound, why she offers a full range of corkage while other drinking establishments might not be so anxious to do so? Her answer was simple, and pointed to her ex tensive travel experience: “When I travel, I often come back with something special that I want to share with others.” Offering customers the opportunity to share that something special be it wine, beer or whiskey, Sarah empathized, “I’d want this (corkage) if I were in their shoes.” So she decided to share her generous vision and welcome customers to Westbound with their personal bottles of joy. And that, dear imbibers, is the definition of hospitality.
So, Sarah Meade is exactly where she belongs – in the hospitality business by way of her gorgeous bar, Westbound, in the Arts District. Of course, it was a circuitous path to get here. After graduating from Pepperdine with an MBA, she spent time in New York in commercial real estate lending but felt there was more to life than banking. Like bars. And lounges. Plus her family thought she would be a natural in hospitality being the sociable organizer that she is, so she decided to explore what else was out there.
Sarah had an epiphany at London Cocktail Week. Cocktails will do that. She gave notice to her banking job and with a focused new mission, Sarah checked out bars, bar layouts, menus and designs of at least 50 bars in London, Manchester, Paris, Copenhagen, Munich and Berlin. That is thorough research.
Before taking the plunge directly into opening a bar, Sarah settled in L.A. and worked as an office manager for seven bars. That experience gave her the confidence to start looking for property for her bar. All that investigation into what makes a good bar is apparent at Westbound. Craft cocktails and simple, fresh seasonal bites in “an environment inspired by luxury railcars of past & present” make it “the perfect place to sit back and unwind, enjoy old-fashioned hospitality and revel in the mystery of your next destination.”
Corkage at Westbound is a wonderful opportunity to share an interesting bottle of wine, beer and/or whiskey with friends and to enjoy some lovely cocktails as well. Cheers!
UPDATE: As of May 27/18, sadly, Westbound is closed for business. But, we may see Westbound pop-ups and events curated by Sarah; so, we look forward to hearing about her next adventure!