Zoey D’Arienzo is a boss lady. The Buffalo, N.Y., native has been climbing the corporate ladder in Las Vegas for 15 years, all the way to vice president of food and beverage for The STRAT.
After working for many years as a server and bartender, she figured going into food and beverage management was the next logical step. After jobs in Connecticut and Florida, she moved to Vegas in 2004 to ramp up her career. She’s helped run F&B at The Venetian, The Palazzo, MGM Resorts’ properties and Caesars Corporation, and joined The STRAT in August. Her position includes running food and beverage for all of the restaurants, banquets, bars, lounges and pools at the property. “But the biggest part of my job is mentoring managers, making some high-level decisions and coming up with strategic planning,” D’Arienzo says.
Her job is also about the way she leads her team, she says. “You have to have empathy for your employees—that’s what makes for a good vice president. I also want to lead with respect and care about the people that work for me. I love working at this iconic place. I love it. But I love working with the people inside it better.”
D’Arienzo also works with a lot of talent on property. “I have a lot of talented chefs and bartenders and I get to do a lot of tastings,” she says, smiling. “But I always think about what the guests want, not what I want. That’s important with menu development. And, when we select a chef’s dish, a bartender’s drink and it makes it on the menu—the look on their face—that pride is my favorite part.”
And what about D’Arienzo’s pride—being a female in her position in a very male-dominated industry? “Some days I wake up and think, ‘Do I really live in Vegas?’”she says. “To have all these amazing resorts in the same place and being able to use them as leverage to continue my career; you can’t find that in another city. I’m a badass and I’m proud of it.”
Libation: Botanical Bliss
We photographed D’Arienzo on the 108th floor of The STRAT’s tower. The 108 Drinks bar is the perfect reprieve for some delicious cocktails and unbeatable views. New to the menu is the seasonal cocktail Botanical Bliss, a blend of Ketel One Peach & Orange Blossom vodka, Empress 1908 gin, lavender syrup, ginger syrup, lemon juice and sparkling water. If you need a little nosh after your cocktails, walk just around the corner to 108 Eats for light bites, ice cream and some of the best Oreo-covered popcorn you’ll ever taste.
Benefit: 108 Drinks happy hour (3-7 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.) offers 2-for-1 SkyPod admission access and 2-for-1 cocktails.
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