Gianna Johns
Baby Gee | Long Beach, CA
April 2024
At 13, Gianna Johns got her first job in the restaurant industry. Initially startled by some of the industry’s headaches and hiccups, she got over the fright of overflowing dishwashers and developed a love for hospitality. When she was 18, she went to work at Tar & Roses in Santa Monica as a host, and then as an event coordinator. While working as a server at Bestia a few years later, Johns took advantage of the company-sponsored cocktail courses taught by Rising Stars alums Julian Cox and Leo Robitschek. The intense crash course took Johns by surprise, and the experience was so inspiring that she switched to bartending without a second thought.
After training under Cox and Robitschek, Johns worked her way through Los Angeles’ clubs and dive bars before taking her newfound experience and knowledge to Harvard & Stone. There, she refined her speed and skill and pushed the limits of her creativity while running weekly menus at Harvard & Stone’s specialty R&D Bar. In 2017, Johns joined the opening team at NoMad Los Angeles, where—as head bartender—she had access to high-quality spirits and local ingredients.
After the pandemic hit, Johns consulted on bar programs across Los Angeles, until she and her fiancé, Daniel Flores, decided they wanted to open a bar of their own. They started looking in Flores’ hometown of Long Beach, and after nine months of searching, they got a call that the former location of The Red Room—a local favorite that recently closed—had become available. At their bar, Baby Gee, Johns and Flores have created a cozy, inviting, community-focused space with one-of-a-kind handmade tiki mugs and decorations pulled straight from their home. The cocktail program is imaginative and approachable, showcasing Johns’ know-how and whimsy while still tempting locals and regulars to try something new.
