Nora Furst

Nora Furst, originally from Seattle, grew up in a restaurant family.  Her parents opened a French restaurant when she was still a toddler and some of her first memories are of sitting at the bar before service eating crème brûlée.  She began her career in hospitality at age 15 washing dishes.  She continued to grow in the Seattle restaurant and bar scene while finishing her degree in education and creative writing.  At 24 she began bartending and quickly took on a management role, opening Local 360 in Belltown.

She has spent the last 12 years establishing herself in San Francisco.   She cut her teeth as bar manager at Lolinda and beverage consultant for multiple projects within the Back of the House Group.  In 2016 she was heralded Bartender of the Year by 7×7 Magazine.  In 2017, as operating partner and beverage director, she opened Uma Casa Restaurant in San Francisco’s Noe Valley alongside chef Telmo Faria.  She sprinkled some brand work in between, opening the NorCal market for Seedlip and BERTOUX Brandy.  She currently is partner and co-operator at Buddy in San Francisco’s Mission District- a natural wine bar and cafe. She runs a Beverage Consulting company, West Bev, with two partners and is proud to have a wide variety of clients up and down the West Coast.  She splits her time between Portland, Oregon and San Francisco.