Brad Nugent is a hospitality leader and beverage strategist with more than 20 years of experience building some of the most successful, high-performing beverage programs in the country. A self-taught operator who has spent his entire career in restaurants on the floor, behind the bar, and in the wine cellar.

Brad specializes in turning beverage programs into a competitive edge. Over the years, Brad has led multi-million-dollar beverage programs, most recently for Major Food Group’s flagship Northeast properties; including Carbone, Torrisi, THE GRILL and ZZ’s Members Club.

His expertise in curation, pricing, inventory control, wine education, sales training, and team development has consistently delivered double digit revenues and profits.

Today, as the founder of Innovative Beverage Strategies, Brad partners with restaurants to “make beverage the most profitable part of your business.” iBEVs offers full-service beverage management solutions and targeted mentorship for existing beverage leads, delivering operational systems, sales strategy, and guest engagement tactics designed to boost profitability, strengthen staff performance, and cultivate repeat customers.

Brad’s approach is simple: combine operational precision with creative, guest-focused strategy to produce programs that work; in the books, on the floor, and in the minds of your guests long after they’ve left the table.

Patrick Wert is a hospitality operator and beverage strategist focused on building systems that allow great beverage programs to scale. With a background spanning elite New York dining rooms and high-volume luxury restaurant environments, Patrick specializes in translating creative beverage ideas into structured, repeatable performance on the floor.

A graduate of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration, Patrick trained in some of the industry’s most demanding environments, including Eleven Madison Park during a formative era of precision and systems-driven excellence. He later worked with Major Food Group across both New York and Florida and was part of the opening team at THE GRILL, gaining firsthand experience operating complex, high-revenue beverage programs at scale.

Patrick has developed a reputation for turning vision into infrastructure by designing pricing models, sales frameworks, training systems, and operational workflows that allow beverage programs to perform consistently across teams and markets. His work lives at the intersection of hospitality and performance, ensuring that great ideas translate into real-world profitability.

Today, as co-founder of Innovative Beverage Strategies, Patrick helps restaurants operationalize beverage strategy; building the structure, clarity, and execution layer that allows programs not just to inspire guests, but to scale sustainably.