This piece is part of our LOUtoday Q+A series. Do you know someone we should interview? Nominate them here.
Eric Wentworth + JD Mitchell are the two minds behind Modica — the world’s first superfood cocktail mixer brand based right here in LOU. As the burgeoning brand continues to grow, it’s looking to take its antioxidant rich mixers across the country and is gearing up for the release of four new flavors.
We asked Eric and JD 10 questions about Louisville. Keep reading to find out their wildest flavor idea + what they think the 502 will be known for in 10 years.
- Describe your perfect day in Louisville in the length of a Tweet (280 characters).
Eric: I’d go for a nice walk around Cherokee Park, have lunch at Wiltshire Pantry, and then dinner at bar Vetti + late night drinks at The Hub or Big Bar.
JD: I’d have brunch at Con Huevos, browse at Carmichael’s + dinner and a movie at Ramen House and Baxter Avenue Theatres.
- Name 3-5 other local leaders, influencers, or movers + shakers you’re watching.
JD: The whole team at Spiritless. I’m really interested in how they’re moving, what they’re doing, and they’re a woman-owned brand which is really cool. Another really cool, kind of emerging brand is NKD LDY. They do a non-alcoholic tequila. There’s also Elixir Kombucha, they’re awesome + I love seeing what they’re doing and they just launched a new flavor.
If you zoom out a little bit more, I love everything Edward Lee does. I read “Buttermilk Graffiti” and loved that book. Everything he’s done — from his restaurants to his philanthropic and community-centered work throughout Louisville has been awesome.
Eric: I would add the guys at Phocus — they’re doing some really big things. Our friend Ryan Rogers at Eternal Optimist Hospitality. And FreshFry, they will be in 10 countries next month and have just built their own production facility.
- You can only choose one local restaurant menu to bring with you to a deserted island — which one is it and why?
JD: Vietnam Kitchen — I could be stranded on that island for a year and not repeat any dishes and never feel disappointed.
Eric: The one food that I can always eat and never get tired of is Japanese food. So, probably Sapporo or Hiko-A-Mon.
- What were the last 3 things you did locally?
JD: I had drinks at Atrium, I love their pastry sours and I think it’s super fun that they’re a microbrewery so there’s always something new to try. Also, plant shopping at Frank Otte — I’m the proud owner of an agave plant. Evidently, they’re hard to kill, which is a big bonus for me.
Eric: I’m always at The Hub, just because it’s my place. I also just had a lunch date at Señora Arepa + I got takeout from Nam Nam Cafe.
- Who are 2-3 other local leaders you’re inspired by? Why?
Eric: JP Davis is a go-to answer. He’s always championing amazing causes and making stuff happen. Morgan McGarvey, as well.
JD: I am really excited about everything Charles Booker is doing. I think the perspective he brings to Kentucky isn’t one that I’ve seen other local politicians bring and I’m really excited for that and for him.
One more Louisvillian I admire is Chris Hartman, who directs the Fairness Campaign. It’s incredible how well-versed he is in Kentucky politics and LGBTQ+ issues. Among others, he’s been advocating for a statewide fairness ordinance for decades so Kentucky’s LGBTQ citizens are treated as fairly as anyone else.
- Tell me about Modica’s expanded distribution + rebrand?
JD: We just launched new branding to make everything a bit more modern, pop a little bit, and to really emphasize the brand itself. The bottles should start showing up in stores but they’re on our website. Right now, we’re distributed just through Kentucky, but we’ve started expanding to single stores in other states. We’ve also got a presence in Asheville, NC, Indianapolis, IN, Brooklyn, NY + a few others. We’re trying to get into independent spots so we can entice a distributor. But we’re looking for a more regional or national distributor at this point to really move us forward in 2023.
- How did you know this business was something you wanted to pursue full-time?
JD: It’s insane, but it should feel that way — startups are kind of insane. I have been working a really steady 9-5 for the last six years, but during that time, several things just kept lining up. I was able to get my MBA, which is where I met Eric, who has tons of beverage experience, and we were able to start Modica because we won several business plan competitions + that capital was really essential to getting us up and off the ground. There was something initially that was really scary about leaving something so steady for an industry that is notoriously the opposite, but at some point, I started realizing through conversations with Eric and lots of therapy that you really only live once, all of these things are lining up for you to go do this, and you really just have to do the big scary thing. It also felt exactly right to me, it feels exactly like the right thing to be doing.
Eric: I’m definitely the opposite, I’ve never had a classic 9-5 job, so in some ways now that I am working full-time it feels very weird and different. My background is mostly hospitality in the food and beverage industry, so I’ve co-founded two restaurants here in town + I currently own The Hub on Frankfort Avenue and that’s been a lot of fun, with a lot of great experience both businesswise and in beverage. My background is in cocktails and mixology, so it’s been fun to bring that to the table and I feel like JD and myself are the perfect marriage of talents and skills to take this to market. It’s been a lot of fun so far and it is very weird and terrifying and exciting all at once. It’s definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done — even after opening two restaurants, which is supposed to be the hardest thing ever, this is way harder than that — but it’s been really rewarding as well and we’re really excited about everything that’s coming.
- What is the wildest flavor you’ve ever experimented with for Modica?
JD: We did have this list going for a long time of flavors we wanted to try, and Eric has lots of experience with bartending and mixology + he mentioned that he loves Japanese food and flavors. I’m a little more conventional with the flavors I enjoy, like, I really love berries and fruity flavors. But I remember talking about the next flavors we were going to launch and Eric was like, “Okay, what do you think about a seaweed martini?” And I was like, “Eric, NO. We cannot do that, only you and five other people are going to drink that. We cannot do a seaweed martini.” And he was like, “Okay, okay. What about a kelp martini?”
Eric: In my defense, if you think about it from a flavor profile perspective, a dirty martini has a very similar flavor profile to any kind of kombucha or seaweed, really staple flavors in Japanese cooking, so it’s not super far of a stretch when you think of it from that perspective. But, looking back, it might not be the most approachable, however, it is a superfood and it’s delicious. I just don’t know how we’ll we’d be able to market that one.
A dirty martini has a very similar flavor profile as kombu. Not super far of a stretch. May not be approachable + it’s a superfood.
- What’s something that every Louisvillian should know about?
Eric: Everybody should know about the Tres Leches cake at La Bodeguita de Mima. It’s my favorite dessert in town right now.
JD: Louisville has a really thriving art scene, especially for the size of the city. It’s pretty incredible that we’ve got multiple theaters, an opera, a ballet, the orchestra — it’s wild to me that we have all of that in a city this size. I think sometimes smaller groups don’t get quite as much airplay because there’s so many big artistic groups that are happening, but Pandora Productions is an entirely LGBTQ+ theater company, so all their shows are LGBTQ+ and I think that’s pretty amazing to have a thriving production company that can just do queer stories, and that they have a really strong subscriber base. If you haven’t seen one of their shows, they’re always great and I would highly recommend them.
- What do you think Louisville will be known for in 10 years?
Eric: The food and beverage scene. It’s incredible for the size of our city. I used to bartend at Proof forever ago and guests would be in town for bourbon tourism or what have you, and I would always hear from guests, “Louisville is incredible, the food and beverage is amazing and we had no idea and we’re going to go tell everybody.” It blows my mind how it’s thriving and continues to grow.
JD: Also from an arts perspective, the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre is an enormous event and lots of theater that ends up on Broadway comes out of the Humana Festival, which is really cool. I feel like Louisville doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves because it’s surrounded by much larger cities — which I’m not really complaining about, I like the size of Louisville and it’s really easy to get around — but I would like to see Louisville get more attention than it’s gotten in the past as a really awesome place to live, work, and visit.
