Keyatta Mincey Parker is planting seeds of community for Atlanta bartenders

“I always found peace in gardening because, for me, it was relaxing. You get to grow your own food,” Parker said in an interview with UATL.

The garden is open to anyone who has worked in hospitality, whether they want to read a book or simply relax, Parker said.

“Think of a place you can just be yourself,” she said. “You can do whatever you want.”

Parker said the garden is an opportunity for service industry workers to unwind. She claimed bartenders needed a place to take moments for themselves after engaging with customers who may have unloaded a lot of personal issues on them. Perhaps there could have been mishaps out of their control at the restaurant that could have impacted their tips.

“A lot of times, (bartenders) are the nervous system for every restaurant. The bar is essential to every restaurant – if there’s a bar,” Parker expressed. “Even as bartenders, people unload on you so much. We sustain so many people, but who sustains us? And this was really the beginning for that. That’s what I wanted: a space just for us.”

For a sense of mental wellness, Parker has incorporated activities at the garden like yoga, Pilates and meditation sessions to help hospitality folks release energy from their jobs.

“A lot of times, as people in hospitality, we don’t necessarily eat the best even though we work in great restaurants,” she explained, adding that food industry employees have to rush during meal breaks.

For Parker, it has boosted her ingenuity as a mixologist for special events.

“To know exactly where (an herb) came from, you know exactly what it’s going to taste like, and you can even spark your creativity with combining it with different things that you grew yourself,” she said. “It makes it special to share with someone else.”

Parker, who has been concocting drinks since 2002 at popular Atlanta bars like The Sound Table, the James Spirit House and Copeland, came up with the idea for A Sip of Paradise Garden while competing in Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender competition in 2019. She was accepted into the competition after impressing judges with her “Eve’s Pot Liquor” cocktail that fused green apple and collard greens during initial qualifications for the contest.

“If you choose collard greens, the flavor on it is kind of going to give you this savory mouthfeel of bitter,” Parker recalled. “But if you manipulate it with the right sweetener, it’ll be beautiful.

“Creativity doesn’t necessarily mean putting a thousand things in a glass.”

Parker was the only Black finalist who made it to the top 12 contenders. She traveled to London, which she said, made her a bit anxious about being stereotyped.

“Everybody wanted to talk about collard greens and hip-hop. What did I do to myself?” she recalled asking herself before forming friendships with the other contestants.

During the competition, contestants were required to create a project to pitch to investors. Parker had an idea: She would create a garden for bartenders to grow their own herbs and garnishes for drinks.

Though she didn’t win the overall competition, she returned home with an idea she believed would find support and interest from her hospitality colleagues in Atlanta.

A quarter-acre of land was gifted to Parker through a lifetime lease with Georgia Power, in partnership with a community farmers’ market. After securing permits and registering A Sip of Paradise Garden as a non-profit organization, Parker built a team and came up with a set of bylaws for its 50 members.

After six months of preparations and just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the garden came together.

“It gave people a sense of something,” Parker said. “The garden gave us purpose, and it really became our safe space.”

A Sip of Paradise Garden regularly accepts applications for new members on its website. Parker has obtained a garden director to help facilitate where and if certain plants could be fostered in the area. She credits gardening visionary Maurice Small as her mentor.

Initially, planters had their own plots but the garden shifted structurally to immerse gardeners. Today, individual gardeners share plots and local businesses can lease plots and engage with the community by donating food grown in the garden.

In the beginning, Parker said gardeners were unsure of what to harvest and brought plants from home. Now strawberries, mint and oregano populate much of the garden.

Beekeeping is located in the back of the garden, allowing planters to cultivate fresh honey and utilize wax for candle making. A wooden bar sits to the side of the fence for people who bring their own alcohol to mix cocktails.

Growing season is from the beginning of April until the middle of December. Parker said gardening takes a pause during the winter, giving the soil a break and preventing frost from killing the plants but her crew also utilizes the Farmers’ Almanac to determine planting guidelines for the season.

Parker said funding over the last six months, from federal grants for urban agriculture and food justice to mental health, wellness, and environmental stewardship has stalled for the garden due to the structural changes with the USDA.

“Our programs are designed to uplift the hospitality community and promote sustainability, health and economic empowerment,” Parker explained. “To be clear, we design these things for the hospitality community, but everyone is welcomed and received.”

Though the garden hasn’t solely relied on grants, Parker said individual and brand donations are even more important.

“I know how to stretch a dollar,” she vowed. “For me, it wasn’t about the money. It was more so about having a space for my friends, for us to play in the dirt.”

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Ultimately, Parker said the community garden has empowered the group of hospitality gardeners, who she said are often overlooked.

“In this industry, we give so much of ourselves: late nights, early mornings and emotional labor,” Parker said. “A Sip of Paradise ... It’s a garden, yes, but it’s also a support system, a classroom, a therapy session, job resources, a celebration spot and so much more.”

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