Mixologist
Colleen Hughes
Cocktail Service Professional
- Discipline
- Mixologist
- Based in
- Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
i. Biography
The Path
In Charlotte, cocktail work for Colleen Hughes runs on pace, texture, and control. As Head Mixologist at Supperland and Beverage Director for Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group, she shapes the drink side of a group that asks for consistency across different rooms and different service rhythms. The value of that role sits in the execution: the same standards carried from one bar to the next, with each concept allowed its own shape. At Haberdish, Hughes also manages and bartends, keeping the work close to the guest side of the bar. That combination of oversight and service matters in trade terms. It means the decisions made at program level still have to hold up in the glass, in real time, under pressure, with the bar team and the room both reading the result.
The Work Today
At Supperland, the Head Mixologist post places Colleen Hughes at the point where a restaurant’s beverage identity is built and maintained. In her Beverage Director role for Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group, she carries that same responsibility across the group’s cocktail programs, balancing cohesion with the separate character of each concept. The work is less about a fixed signature than about keeping multiple programs aligned without flattening them.
Signature
Pear Supply is one of Colleen Hughes’ named cocktails, and it reads like a distilled version of her approach: direct, polished, and built to be remembered without leaning on excess. In a portfolio spread across multiple venues, a named drink like Pear Supply becomes a clear marker of authorship, the kind of house cocktail that tells you something about the bar program as soon as it lands.
Acclaim
Colleen Hughes’ recognition includes a James Beard Award nomination (2025) and the MICHELIN Guide American South Exceptional Cocktails Award (2025). Both notices place her work in a 2025 frame and register the reach of her beverage program work at Supperland and across Tonidandel-Brown Restaurant Group.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Colleen
What is Colleen Hughes's current role?
As of 2026, Colleen Hughes is Head Mixologist.
What recognition has Colleen Hughes received?
James Beard Award nomination (2025).
