Business Partners and Life Partners: The Perfect Love Story for Valentine’s Day

Raymond & Jaclyn Foley

Foley Publishing Corporation

Email: [email protected]

Website: Bartender.com

Phone:  732-449-4499

THE   PERFECT MIX
Husband and Wife Team at Helm of BARTENDER® Magazine
—

 Business Partners and Life Partners: The   Perfect Love Story —

The popular magazine, which Ray and Jackie started 35   years ago, far out sells and has long out-lasted numerous rivals and out and   out copy cats. Over 150,000 bartenders and restaurant professionals   around the country read BARTENDER Magazine for its cocktail   recipes, feature articles about new products and industry news, profiles of   people and bars, jokes, trivia, special offers, and the Foley’s unique brand   of clever humor. And as if that wasn’t enough, Ray and Jackie also manage a   thriving book publishing business.

To uncover the recipe for Ray and Jackie’s successful   publishing empire is to first examine what makes for a successful marriage.   Ray and Jackie met in 1980 while both were bartenders at The Manor, a   1,500-seat restaurant in West Orange, NJ. Brought together by their mutual   love of cocktails, spirits and bartending, they soon married, and together   embarked on their journey to becoming thriving publishers and made-in-heaven   business and life partners.

“If not for Jackie, I never would have gotten this   far,” Ray says. “Not only did she work three jobs to support me and   the magazine when we were first getting started, she has always been my   biggest champion and my motivation for everything I do.  Everything   about BARTENDER  Magazine is truly a love story.”

From the moment the first issue of the magazine was   published 35 years ago, Ray and Jackie together have aggressively sold   advertising, written content, developed the subscriber list and managed   production of the magazine — and they still do to this day.

“BARTENDER Magazine was the first true   magazine for people who work on-premise, who have daily direct contact with   their customers, and better know what to suggest when they’re asked what’s   good or if they’ve heard any funny stories lately,” says Ray. “It   was the first time that a magazine recognized and championed the hard work of   pouring professionals, and people in the industry sincerely appreciated that   and supported the magazine.”

In 1983, after 20 years as a bartender and restaurant   manager, Ray left The Manor to devote his full efforts to BARTENDER Magazine while   Jackie held numerous jobs to financially support their budding business, and   to learn skills she’d need as a magazine publisher. Together they grew the   magazine from a little-known quarterly publication with an initial   circulation of 7,000 copies, to a respected glossy, quarterly magazine that   today, with a circulation of over 150,000 copies, is the largest on-premise   magazine in the world, out-selling and out-lasting numerous rivals.

“People ask us all the time what it’s like to live   together and work together. For us it goes hand-in-hand. There’s simply   nobody I’d rather spend my days with than Ray,” says Jackie. “We   love each other and we love what we do.”

In 1995 Ray and Jackie started www.Bartender.com which now receives between   600,000 and over 1 million hits per month .

In recent years, Ray Foley has become a book author and   publisher and today has 14 popular cocktail and bartending guides to his   credit, including: Bartending for Dummies™ (5th edition), Running   a Bar for Dummies™, Spirits of Ireland, The Book of   X-Rated Drinks, The Ultimate Little Shooter Book, The   Ultimate Cocktail Book, The Ultimate Little Martini Book, The   Ultimate Little Blender Book, The Ultimate Bartender’s Guide, Tequila   1000, Rum 1000, Vodka 1000, Beer Is The   Answer – I Don’t Remember The Question, and God Loves Golfers Best.   Jackie’s books are Skinny Cocktails, The Pink Drink Book and Girls Night Out.

“People are always interested in learning cocktail   recipes and how to properly mix drinks,” Ray explains.   “Through BARTENDER Magazine, and my own work as a   bartender for so many years, I’ve learned just about everything you can know   about cocktails and pouring, and I thought writing books would be a great way   to share my knowledge with a wider audience. Not to mention, I have a lot of   fun doing it!”

While fun truly is the name of the game in the Foley’s   business, they also acknowledge the serious side of bartending and have taken   lead roles in helping address important issues affecting the industry. Ray   and Jackie have long been involved in responsible drinking initiatives and   seminars to educate bartenders about the dangers of excess drinking and   promoting moderation in alcohol consumption.

“I love what I do,” says Ray. “And to   think, back when I left my bartending job to become a magazine publisher,   Jackie was the only person who thought it would last — and she was right…