2021 Health and Wellness
Putting
PRIDE in Business LGBTQ Business Owners Share Their Experience and ‘Best Advice’
By Jerry Jones Puerto Vallarta is no stranger to LGBTQ owned businesses – from small retail shops, entertainment venues, property management, restaurants and bars, there are probably (and this is a guess) more than a hundred LGBTQ owned businesses here. We don’t have the space to profile all of the LGBTQ owned businesses here, but in honor of Pride and celebrating things that we have pride in, we talked with a few small business owners about what drew them to Puerto Vallarta and how they are putting PRIDE back into the local community. If you’re a LGBTQ owned small business, share your information on our Facebook page so our readers and followers can support you!
Elixir Mixology Bar Elixir Mixology Bar, located at Basilio Badillo 419, in the Emiliano Zapata Colonia, opened in January 2021 and is owned by Elena Esquer Zolezzi, her wife Sarah Rose, and Laura Jaimes. It was a lifelong dream of Zolezzi and Jaimes to open a venue in Puerto Vallarta to welcome anyone, and to be a predominant meeting and gathering spot for the lesbian and queer women in the community. “I have spent over two decades working in the service industry providing top-level service and management at restaurants in cities around the world,” explained Jaimes. “And Elena’s two-decade journey in the industry includes working as a highly experienced server in top restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, and finally traveling the world on Carnival Cruise lines working as a professional mixologist. We’ve been able to combine our skills and knowledge to create a cocktail bar concept new to Puerto Vallarta’s Romantic Zone.” And even though the bar is LGBTQ owned, all are welcome, and the owners want to stress that anyone who comes in will feel like they belong. “It is very important to us that anyone and everyone always feels welcome and loved at Elixir Mixology Bar, explained Sarah Rose. Rose said the one important lesson that the three owners have learned is that “On-time” is not going to happen. “Stay patient, let things flow, and trust the process,” Rose said when asked about advice for others seeking to build a business in Puerto Vallarta.
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H e a l t h a n d We l l n e s s G u i d e
Summer 2021
