Alissa Johnson wears many hats—bar owner, urban farmer, distillation tinkerer, and systems wizard. In this episode, we follow her unexpected journey from a $5/hour counter service job to running some of Oakland’s most beloved bar spaces: Legionnaire Saloon, Beeryland, and The Oakland Whiskey Library. We explore how she’s navigated burnout, pandemic pivots, and industry shifts with curiosity, grit, and a whole lot of SOPs. From WWOOFing to juicing for Starline, Alissa proves that adaptability and care are the cornerstones of longevity in hospitality.
From Urban Farming to SOP Queen: Alissa Johnson on Adapting, Surviving, and Reimagining a Business
In this episode of The Walk-In Club Podcast, we sit down with Alissa Johnson whose path through food, farming, academia, and bar leadership is anything but ordinary. Alissa is the heart behind Oakland’s iconic Legionnaire Saloon, Beeryland and The Oakland Whiskey Library—but her journey started with a $5/hour counter service job and a dream of becoming a chef.
We dive into Alissa’s early roots in urban farming and food systems, her love of side-by-side coffee tastings, and the pivotal moment she realized the classroom wasn’t where she could make the biggest impact. From speech therapy grad school to building her own distillation rigs during a WWOOFing experience in Napa, Alissa’s story is one of reinvention, resilience, and serious resourcefulness.
After juicing citrus behind the scenes at the Starline Social Club, Alissa stepped behind the bar and never looked back. We hear how she helped lead through the chaos of the pandemic, a shifting bar identity, and the realities of tip fatigue in a changed industry.
We get into:
🌱 Learning distillation by actually building her own rig
🏫 The burnout of working in under-resourced academic systems
🍋 Juicing for Starline Social Club as a gateway to bartending
🏛️ BTS of operations behind the bar
🛠️ Becoming the "SOP Queen" and how structure helps fill in the gaps
💬 Why it's cool to care—and how community, systems, and adaptability are key to surviving the long game
Alissa’s story is a reminder that hospitality is about more than drinks—it’s about connection, curiosity, and the courage to change course when the path ahead calls for it.
🔗 Follow @legionnairekaraokesaloon, @beeryland_oakland, and @oaklandwhiskeylibrary to keep up with Alissa’s work and pour into the East Bay’s most intentional spaces.