Meet the Team
Our friendly and knowledgeable staff are passionate about what they do and make it their mission to help you find something you’ll love.
Meet the Team
Our friendly and knowledgeable staff are passionate about what they do and make it their mission to help you find something you’ll love.
Meet our staff
Adam
Wine Staff | Since 2012
In addition to being part of France 44’s wine staff, Adam (he/him) is also in charge of building maintenance as well as being the team’s unofficial ambassador for wines from Slovenia and Croatia. If he wasn’t working at France 44, he would either be a professional golfer, still working in restaurants, or training to be part of the first group of humans to colonize Mars.
Amy
Group Sales | Since 2020
Amy (she/her) is France 44’s Group Sales Manager and also a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. She is currently working on her WSET Level 3 Award in Wines. She is very into German Wines, as well as wines from Washington, the Jura region of France, Minnesota, and lots and lots of brandy. She loves the Minnesota Twins, gardening, her dog Kirby, and the North Shore.
Andrew
Cashier Staff | since 2021
Andrew (he/him) is our second deaf hire. IPAs and lagers have a permanent home in his fridge, especially from O’Dell Brewing Company and Fulton Brewery. Even though he was born in Ohio, he loves living in Minnesota and enjoys traveling both nationally and internationally. Andrew’s fun fact is that he’s a fraternal twin!
Benjamin
Foods General Manager | since 2008
Our Cheesemonger in Chief Benjamin (he/him) is in charge of overseeing all three foods retail shops as well as our production kitchen. He is particularly keen on bubbles, and always has a hunk of Comte in his fridge (as everyone should). He would like the world to know that he never eats cold cheese, and neither should you.
Bennett
Beer Staff | since 2011
Bennett (he/him) is a Certified Cicerone® and also one of our Beer Cave Trolls. You’ll see him lurking about the German pilsner and kölsch sections most often. He also enjoys Steel Toe, Odell, and La Croix and chocolate milk on occasion. If he wasn’t at France 44, he’d be trying to make it work as a full-time snowboard bum. He and his wife share a great Anatolian Shepherd named Bear.
Bert
Spirits Staff | since 2020
Bert (he/him) holds that he started working at France 44 when no one was looking, but we’re extremely lucky to have him as a part of our spirits team. His favorite libation deep-dive are the nuances of tap water. If he wasn’t working at France 44, he’d still be on his parents’ Netflix and maybe even Disney plus. He is Lance Corporal Seminar and Underwater Egress Training certified, as well as having completed two whole months of community college.
Bill
Beer Staff | since 2007
Bill (he/him) is France 44’s beer buyer. He holds his WSET Level 2 in Wines & Spirits, and was the 4th place runner-up in the 1985 Upper Midwest Yodeling Song & Dance Competition Quarter Finals. He regularly stocks his fridge with local craft pilsners, Chenin Blanc, gin, Cocchi Americano, and bubbles. If he wasn’t working at France 44, he’d be skinnier.
Dustin
Wine Staff | since 2011
Dustin (he/him) is one of our fearless leaders on the management staff with a focus in wine. He started working at France 44 nearly 10 years ago, which seems like only yesterday when you work at such an amazing place. He always has bubbles, Vizzy (for the antioxidants) and beef sticks in his fridge, and has a direwolf that he named after a wine grape.
Dylan
Spirits Staff | since 2016
Dylan (he/him) is a manager and part of our spirits staff. He finds Kentucky Bourbon and Rye Whiskey particularly riveting, and also keeps a decent amount of beer and too much vermouth in his fridge. He once tore his MCL doing the limbo, and has been to Bonnaroo 29 times.
Erika
Wine Staff | since 2018
Erika (she/her) started working at France 44 when she was still in school and broke but still wanted to drink good wines. She is currently a part of our wine staff, and loves Chenin Blanc and funky-good Aligote. Also in her fridge are foreign lagers, Drekker, sparkling wines, hot sauce, and dog vitamins and supplements. If she wasn’t working at France 44, she’d be a farmer working for her dad or an adventure tour guide in Costa Rica.
Hailey
Wine Staff | since 2020
Hailey (she/her) is our Accessories & Supplies Buyer, and is also part of France 44’s wine staff. She is WSET Level 2 certified and is currently working towards Level 3. She will forever be on a deep-dive into vineyard soil types and their effects on wines. Her fridge is always filled with a healthy combination of cheap beer, Riesling, and a shelf full of condiments.
Josh
Wine Staff | since 2018
Josh (he/him) is part of our wine staff, a wine educator, and the director of the France 44 social media. He has his WSET Level 3 certification. His favorite libation continuously changes, but right now he is really into wines from the diverse region of Piedmont, Italy. His fridge, though, is currently devoid of wine and full of unique, funky Jamaican and Haitian rums.
JoJo
Curbside Staff | since 2020
Jojo (ze/zir) is our fearless Curbside Pickup Operator. Ze is a tequila drinker, and particularly enjoys El Nivel for the quality, price point, and versatility in cocktails as well as by itself. If ze wasn’t working at France 44, ze would most likely be working with dog training and/or rescue work.
Karina
Wine Staff | since 2013
Karina (she/her) works as part of the wine staff, as well as a wine educator. She has her Diploma in WSET Wines & Spirits, and finds that her fridge is constantly occupied by bubbles, Riesling, and non-alcoholic beer. She and her partner share an adorable dog named Ziggy who loves eating sticks as much as she likes drinking bubbles.
Kayla
Beer & Cashier Staff | since 2016
Our beer lady Kayla (she/her) is a Certified Beer Server through the Cicerone Program, and a Certified Beer Professional through the Better Beer Society. She finds beers with Brettanomyces particularly interesting, and always has Coors Banquet in her fridge. She is currently studying for the second level of Cicerone.
Luis
Mr. Clean | since 2008
Luis (he/him) is the reason our store stays as clean and beautiful as it does. When he’s not sanitizing, sweeping, vacuuming, or replenishing paper towels, he helps out at the registers with bagging and carry-outs on busy evenings and weekends. Give him a wave and an “hola!” next time you see him.
Melissa
Systems & Curbside Staff | since 2017
Melissa (she/her) is our Systems Manager, Curbside Program Manager, and our resident Cider Pro. She is a Certified Cider Professional, and is particularly interested in ciders that are made with a lot of crab apples. In her spare time, Melissa is an avid reader who is always looking for good book recommendations.
Mike
Cashier Staff | since 2019
Mike (he/him) is one of our talented cashier staff, and helps out with the wine department and blog writing as well. His favorite libation deep-dive is a Czech pilsner with a White Claw chaser. He enjoys writing and recording his own music in his spare time. If he wasn’t working at France 44, he’d still be working at France 43.
Nick
Beer Staff | since 2018
Coming soon!
Peter
Foods Manager | since 2013
Peter (he/him) keeps our Cheese Shop running smoothly, and is also the grocery buyer for the foods business. His tastes are inspired by the changing seasons, and his fridge is currently stocked with the usual: fruits and vegetables, a few different cheeses, eggs, butter, jams, and ice cream sandwiches. His family’s farm business just turned 182 years old!
Rick
Wine Staff & Proprietor | since 2000 (or 1984)
Rick (he/him) started back in the family business just as it was about to undergo a major expansion. His first memories of the building go back to the mid-70s when his dad put him in an empty beer box and rode him up and down the conveyor belt. He worked on-and-off through his teenage years, dusting bottles, stocking shelves and bagging ice. His wine cabinet is dominated by pinot noirs and Piedmontese reds. If he were not working here, he would be looking for new excuses to travel to wine country.
Rob
Beer Staff | since 2018
Coming soon!
Sam
Wine Staff | since 2018
Sam (he/him) is a member of the wine staff, in addition to being a regular teacher for classes and events, and is Level 3 Certified through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. He’s on an impractical mission to get people to drink more fortified wine and thinks Chardonnay gets a bad rap. Sam still works as a theatre-maker through his arts group, Commutator Collective, and you can occasionally catch him combining his art and wine worlds for special events & classes at France 44.
Tasha
Wine & Cashier Staff | since 2020
Tasha (she/her) came to France 44 after the closing of the restaurant she was at due to the pandemic. She is actively studying to take her WSET Level 3 certification. She’s a huge fan of the Jura region of France, and there’s always a bottle of Marc Hebrart Champagne in her fridge. She loves the food and wine community of Minneapolis, but if she weren’t at France 44 she thinks she’d do rather well on a shrimping boat.
Tashi
Spirits, Curbside & Cashier Staff | since 2020
Tashi (they/them, and possibly just three raccoons in a trenchcoat) helps out in several different departments. You’ll find a lot of their recommendation tags on extra-sour beers in the cooler. When they’re not at work they love to hike, camp, cook, and snuggle with their three cats. They have a background in sustainability and are 100% that person at your party asking where the recycling bin is, and will probably sort your trash while they’re at it.
Teaghan
Wine & Cashier Staff | since 2020
Teaghan (she/her) is part of the wine team, spirits team, cashier team, and soon you’ll catch her a couple days a week in the Cheese Shop as a cheesemonger. She has a BA in Art History/Studio Arts, and currently her favorite region to study is Burgundy. She is obsessed with tiny things/miniatures, and she passionately hates white chocolate.
TK
Cashier Staff | since 2018
TK (she/her) is a part of our cashier team, and holds a WSET Level 2 Wines & Spirits certification. She has started falling in love with Cabernet Sauvignon, and currently holds a few sweet wines and ciders in her fridge as she is a gluten-free drinker. She is a proud deaf employee, and is happy to share her story and get to know others.
Tom
Spirits Staff | since 2012
Tom (he/him) is France 44’s liquor buyer. He loves doing side-by-side comparisons of different wild agave mezcals. If he wasn’t working at France 44, he’d probably be a bouncer like Swayze in Roadhouse. He and his wife have a three-legged Pitty mix named Pickles. He’s also extremely colorblind.
Employment opportunities
We are always on the hunt for service-oriented, honest and smart individuals who love to work hard. Visit our employment page to learn more about our job opportunities, requirements, and how to apply.