By Josh Watkins
Mixologist Jojo Martinez is raising the bar—both behind and beyond it. The San Antonio native turned Houston transplant is the founder of J. Martini Services, a full-service bartending company for weddings, parties, and special events (many of which give back to the LGBTQ community). But owning your own business doesn’t come easy—Martinez says copious amounts of hard work and sacrifice are behind her success.
Martinez’ interest in mixology began in high school. She describes her former self as a “troublemaker” who ran around with “bad crowds,” to the point she became a juvenile delinquent. But in these years of teenage rebellion, she also took an interest in mixing up different concoctions at parties. “Whenever I saw the bottles, juices, and mixers, I thought, I want to play with these things and create some stuff,” she says.
After a short stint in college, Martinez decided to attend bartending school in San Antonio. Post-graduation, however, she had difficulty finding a job without experience. So, she “fluffed” her resume a little. “If you’re aggressive and looking for opportunities, you’ve really got to figure out how you can get there. No harm, no foul,” she laughs.
Even as she gained experience, rising to the top wasn’t easy. As a self-described butch tomboy Latina lesbian, Martinez says she had to constantly prove herself and work twice as hard as others. “I’m not your [typical] hot bartender girl—I’m a butch lesbian with a passion,” Martinez says. “But I’m going to do what I do best. I’m going to go out there and make people smile and give you an experience to remember.”
After working in San Antonio for nearly 10 years, Martinez was ready for a change. Young and unattached, she moved to Houston in search of “a new beginning.” The move, she says, was the best decision she’s ever made.
Martinez jumped into the local bar industry, working in bartending, bar management, and competing as a flair bartender—using talents such as juggling liquor bottles to entertain guests. At the time, she was the only competitive female flair bartender in Texas. When she wasn’t competing, she was creating new cocktail recipes and helping to open new bars. She also became involved with the United States Bartenders Guild (USBG). “It just so happens that Houston is like the culinary Hollywood,” Martinez explains. “[When I became involved] with the USBG Houston Chapter, I just came alive. I felt my heart pumping and my blood rushing. I knew I had found [my people].”
Through these experiences, Martinez soon felt empowered to explore the potential of self-employment. She threw herself into learning how to market herself and her talents. “I wasn’t necessarily following the rules, but it’s worked out,” she laughs.
As an avid believer that “the more you give out, the more you’ll get back,” Martinez also wanted to find a way to combine her love for bartending with her innate passion for philanthropy and giving. She ties this desire to give back to her faith as a Christian. “There’s this thing we do called ‘tithing,’” she explains. “It means that you’re giving whatever God has given you.”
She recalls her most impactful moment of tithing, where she gave away her last $10 before payday. The following week, she chatted with a regular customer at the restaurant where she worked about her bartending competitions and goals of flair bartending. Just a few days later, the regular returned with his fiancé and asked Martinez to bartend their wedding in Hawaii. “I was trying to play it cool, but inside I was so excited,” she says. “A few months later, he called to confirm the details and asked how much to pay me. I told him that I’d never gone to another state or overseas for an event, so to tell me how much he wanted to pay.”
The client told Martinez that he’d pay her $5,000 and to bring a companion. Martinez brought her abuela with her, and the two explored the island together. “I was just like, wow, the bottles brought me here,” she says. “So when I remember giving away that last $10, something bigger always comes.”
Martinez hopes her passion will take her even further—in five years, she hopes to be a fully independent business, to help more bars and restaurants, to create more recipes and menus, to train aspiring bartenders, and to create memorable events through mixology, service, and talent.
When asked about her personal go-to drink, Martinez laughs. “Whatever the highest-paying customer is having! No, it just depends on what I’m craving and what I’m in the mood for. I love beer, wine, and cocktails, but I tend to go for the things that I haven’t tried.”
