“A Day in the Life” is a series where we’ll profile a variety of residents to get an intimate glimpse into their day-to-day. These are your neighbors. Get to know them.
When it comes to working for a restaurant group, Hannah Huke can tell you that no two days are alike. The marketing manager juggles everything from editing menus to planning events for The Briar Group restaurants, which includes Gather, Anthem, City Bar, Ned Devine’s, Solas and more.
Jumping from restaurant to restaurant throughout the day, the marketing professional works out of a different “office” environment daily – but notes “the food is great.” Here, Huke shares her busy day-to-day routine and tells us where to find the best sliders in Boston.
How do you spend most mornings?
I get up early – usually around 5 to 5:30 a.m. to make sure I can get some kind of activity in to offset all of the eating that goes with my job. More importantly, being active is the primary way I manage stress! I live in Jamaica Plain right near the pond, so I’ll walk or run a few laps, take a yoga class or hit Beacon Hill Athletic Club in Brighton Village for strength training.
What are the top priorities on your to-do list right now?
The fall! Pumpkin beer, football, students coming back, fall menus, and making sure each and every one of our venues is well on their way to being fully reserved for holiday parties via our event company, Boston Event Solutions. We’re planning a fun Halloween Haunted House and party at District Hall. And we’ve got some exciting renovations coming to The Harp.
What is the best part and the worst part about your day?
The best is visiting and working from all of the restaurants. My office always changes, I get to catch up with the staff and guests, get new ideas, and figure out ways to make things better. Working from District Hall is great – anyone can use the space as an office – so you never know who you’re going to meet or run into.
The worst is editing menus – not only is it tedious, it’s torture if you’re hungry.
What do you love most about your job as Marketing Manager for The Briar Group?
Every day is different and challenging. One day is a photo shoot and a strategy meeting, the next is getting ready for a fundraiser, researching uniform ideas, or crunching returns on a promotions idea. We operate many different concepts and we love to experiment with new ideas, so that always makes things interesting. The food is great, too.
What’s your favorite restaurant dish at the moment?
Pork belly is the best restaurant trend, ever. I love the sliders at MJ O’Connor’s at the Westin Waterfront. I’ve also been known to put away the charcuterie at Anthem Kitchen + Bar.
If you could impart one piece of advice to our readers, what would it be?
Be grateful for something, every day.
What would you do if you were suddenly granted a day off from work tomorrow?
I’d take it and unplug! Ask my husband to take the day off, get up early, and go on a yoga date. Then drive to my in-laws on the South Shore, hang by the pool, read the Game of Thrones books (just as good, if not better than the series), and have lobsters for dinner.
If you weren’t answering my questions, what would you be doing instead?
Figuring out if we can make a 1,000 person Oyster Festival happen this fall.
