Kiss My Glass: 'All you gotta do is do'

Feb. 25, 2019 3:55 PM PT

Tim Mays knows a thing or two about just doing something. Most well known around America’s Finest City for his role in the legendary music venue, Casbah, he has also played a big role in shaping San Diego’s food and beverage industry.

Good at recognizing under-served neighborhoods, Mays has persevered in areas that were otherwise seen as questionable for opening a new business.

Take, for example, Starlite in Middletown (above the airport). The restaurant and bar has been at the forefront of the cocktail scene since opening 12 years ago. It’s most notable contribution: bringing the mule to San Diego and revolutionizing one of its key ingredients — ginger beer.

In this episode of Kiss My Glass, Mays sat down with host Edwin Real to talk about his many projects as well as the following:

30th anniversary of the Casbah in January
Evolving music scene in San Diego
Opening Starlite in Middletown (also known as Five Points)
Bells & Whistles designed Starlite
Classic cocktails, not craft cocktails
Small kitchen serving good food and good drinks
At the forefront of a long line of women chefs in the kitchen
Owning properties and getting bit on not owning properties
Running Turf Club and the pain of having to sell it
Krakatoa, the place where you can go early and stay all day
Cooking at home
Favorite restaurants when not cooking at home
Labor costs affecting industries
Neighborhoods that excite
Keeping up with changing dining landscape
Introducing Mule cocktails to San Diego
Going down memory lane

Kiss My Glass is a collaboration between PACIFIC and Facebook group Eating and Drinking in San Diego. The podcast is hosted on the U-T Podcast Network.

Listen and subscribe to Kiss My Glass and sister podcast Dish It Up wherever you listen to podcasts, including iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Soundcloud.