Join AYC on Wednesday, July 25th in the Austin Chamber boardroom for our monthly speaker series, featuring Bridget Dunlap, Queen of Austin’s Rainey Street District and owner of Lustre Pearl, Clive Bar and Bar 96.
A native Houstonian, Bridget Dunlap was working as a Pilates instructor and technical writer, periodically taking jobs as a waitress or bartender, when destiny’s came calling. After helping a friend develop a business plan for a bar, a spark was lit. Within months, Dunlap had raised the necessary funds to open her own bar, and located and leased a space on Houston’s promising Washington Avenue. Three jobs and two years later, Pearl Bar opened in 2008 to extraordinary success, paying back Dunlap’s investors within a remarkable time frame of four months.
By late 2009, Dunlap had sold Pearl Bar and moved to Austin, where she discovered the struggling downtown neighborhood of Rainey Street. With grit and determination, she single-handedly transformed the dilapidated hood into an up-and-coming social district that Austinites have embraced wholeheartedly. She reigns as the illustrious bar queen of Austin’s stylish and wildly popular Rainey Street bar district, which includes the backyard bliss of Lustre Pearl; the edgy and unpretentious Clive Bar; and Bar 96, Dunlap’s version of a sports bar with TVs, highballs and plenty of patio. Dunlap will soon open Container Bar.
Dunlap is known for having the Midas touch. And whether it’s her moxie and creativity, or that she’s a force to be reckoned with, her success in the bar biz speaks to Dunlap’s determination and solid business philosophy:
Dream big and deliver … on your own terms.
Agenda:
11:30am- Registration & Networking
12:00pm- Introductions
12:10pm- Keynote Speaker: Bridget Dulap
12:50pm- Q&A
1:00pm- Closing remarks
Special thank you to our speaker series sponsor Texas Evening MBA! Ranked among the top ten part-time MBA programs by U.S. News & World Report (2011), the Texas Evening MBA program is designed for rising managers and seasoned professionals who seek a flexible path to an MBA that will allow them to continue working throughout their study. If you envision yourself needing managerial, analytical and quantitative skills to lead in your industry or these skills are already demanded of you in your current role, the Texas Evening MBA program will help you build a portfolio of knowledge and expertise that may be applied to a variety of careers. Here, you will get the best preparation available and a reputable University of Texas degree and alumni network that will travel anywhere. Our students have varied backgrounds and work experience, and we seek diverse individuals to create a collaborative, well-rounded class. To learn more and to register for an information session, visit texaseveningmba.info.
