EARLY LIFE

Born in a small town in Minnesota as an only child of divorce, Kait learned to be self-sufficient at an early age. It’s that she attributes her attention to detail- she cares greatly about the small things, and cultivated a sense of empathy and a desire to see things from other people’s perspectives. Kait also grew up admiring the strong women in her life, whether it was her aunt or cousin and especially her mom, who was always working two jobs. 

Kait was always into performing. Anyone that knows Kait, knows that she is certainly not shy. This was honed through a childhood spent in dance, musicals and choir. She always wanted to put on a show and make people happy. 

In search of a new beginning, new people and a way out of a small town, Kait moved to Phoenix at the age of 17. Mom had moved there a year prior.  

JOURNEY BEGINS

Kait’s 1st job in hospitality was working in a quick service restaurant. She started as a cashier at age 15, becoming shift manager by her senior year of high school. Able to save and buy herself for her 1st car for her 16th birthday (Chevy Malibu). 

Due to the circumstances of her youth, Kait loved the sense of control that leadership allowed her. She was able to make good decisions for her team and herself. For a while, she even aspired to be the GM. As she began college at Arizona State, the focus shifted, and to better accommodate her school work, she left quick service dining and entered into retail. This is an important step in her journey as this is when she realized that selling was about relationships and not transactions. 

As Kait turned 21 and was legally allowed to drink, while most people that age drank for the side effects, she became fascinated with the idea of building a palette. This started a true passion where she began reading anything she could to better educate herself on the topic that would eventually become her forte. This passion inspired her to leave a job in finance (a role which she created by her efforts) to pursue bartending.  

In early 2020 the pandemic began, and like many of us, her life was in for a shake up and she re-evaluated her life after losing her job. As fate would have it, she went to visit her best friend in Atlanta and she fell in love with the city. She loved it so much that she planned to move to Atlanta before she even got on the plane back to Arizona. She set, and accomplished, a new goal to move by her next birthday with the intent of continuing her education and going to law school (criminal law).  

Kait graduated from Arizona State during COVID. She had majored in Business Finance with a minor in Sociology, graduating Cum Laude. Then her Atlanta journey began.  

Her Atlanta hospitality journey began at a full service restaurant where a family friend of a friend helped her get a job. Her intent was to go to law school, but couldn’t get an opportunity in any jobs in that field. Kait decided to pivot once again.

Y3S

While scrolling LinkedIn for jobs, she found an ad for an unopened place called Your 3rd Spot and it just so happened that ‘3’ is her favorite number. After an interview with Director of Operations Kirt Strock, she was challenged to look more into the culture and ethos behind the brand before making any type of decision on the role, and she did just that. Just scrolling through the website, she found a sense of belonging and was hooked on Y3S. 

During the pre-opening process Kait distinguished herself as one to watch. Her confidence, energy and commitment are hard to miss. She excelled and earned the respect of the leadership team and her peers. To recognize this, Kait was promoted to Assistant Beverage Manager & Lead Liquid Architect where she supported Beverage Director Charles Williams in evolving and executing the beverage program.  

Kait thrived with this increased responsibility and earned the role of Beverage Manager where she will continue to evolve her passion for spirits and cocktails and take the Your 3rd Spot beverage program to an entirely new level. 

To be continued…

When not at Y3S, Kait enjoys watching television (hot take: prefers TV over movies), especially shows involving significant character development. Her Mount Rushmore is Ozark, Jane the Virgin and Breaking Bad. Her bucket list includes sky-diving and a trip to Europe, specifically Greece and Italy.

Kait’s journey is just getting started and we’re excited to see where it takes her next. Stay tuned…