Bartender / bar director
Keenan Anaya
- Discipline
- Bartender / bar director
i. Biography
Keenan Anaya has been Bar Manager at Nolita Hall in San Diego since 2022, a role that sits at the center of a career built on steady progression, hands-on leadership, and a working knowledge of how the parts of a hospitality operation fit together. The practice also includes restaurant and bar consulting, adding a second track of work that reflects operational fluency and attention to the details that shape a guest’s experience from first pour to final check.
The Path
At Bare Back Grill in San Diego, California, United States, Keenan Anaya worked as Assistant General Manager from 2014–2018. That stretch kept him close to floor rhythm, staffing, and service flow, with responsibility focused on the timing and coordination that keep a room moving. He then shifted behind the bar as bartender at Tower23 Inc; JRDN Restaurant in San Diego, California, United States from 2018–2019, moving into a more immediate guest-facing role where technique and communication sit side by side. From 2018–2022, Keenan Anaya worked as Lead Bartender at Juniper & Ivy, a position that points to more than execution. Lead work in a bar calls for pace-setting, standards, and the kind of consistency that comes from managing service while maintaining the line on quality. Across those years, his path moved from operations into bar leadership, with each step narrowing the focus from room management to beverage service. Since 2022, Keenan Anaya has been Bar Manager at Nolita Hall. The role brings together the earlier layers of his work: management discipline, bartending instincts, and the systems awareness needed to keep hospitality stable behind the scenes as well as on the floor.
The Work Today
Since 2022, he has managed the bar at Nolita Hall while continuing to advise on restaurant and bar operations. His work centers on the practical labor that keeps hospitality businesses running, and his own description makes that clear: he says, "Enhancing operational efficiency and optimizing processes with my extensive experience as a Beverage Director." He also says, "I assist in menu and beverage development, financial management, and bookkeeping." That mix places him between the creative and administrative sides of the business, handling the shape of a menu while also tending the records that support it. It is a working profile built on both taste and order.
In Their Words “Enhancing operational efficiency and optimizing processes with my extensive experience as a Beverage Director.” “I assist in menu and beverage development, financial management, and bookkeeping.”
Career - Bar Manager — Nolita Hall, San Diego, California, United States (2022–present) - Assistant General Manager — Bare Back Grill, San Diego, California, United States (2014–2018) - Bartender — Tower23 Inc; JRDN Restaurant, San Diego, California, United States (2018–2019) - Lead Bartender — Juniper & Ivy (2018–2022)
FAQ What is Keenan Anaya's current role? As of 2026, Keenan Anaya is Bar Manager. Where did Keenan Anaya work before? Keenan Anaya's earlier career included Bare Back Grill, Tower23 Inc; JRDN Restaurant, and Juniper & Ivy. What is Keenan Anaya known for? Expert restaurant and bar consulting.
