Meet Helen’s “Belles Behind the Bar”
Meet Hannah Smarr and Kristine Brown, the creative duo shaking things up at downtown Birmingham restaurant, Helen. We're pleased to welcome them as our newest FACES of Birmingham!
You’ve probably heard about downtown Birmingham restaurant Helen, known for their highest-quality meats and fresh, seasonal produce — upscale dining in a casual setting. But, don’t overlook the two women shaking and stirring things up at the bar upstairs! Helen bar managers Hannah Smarr and Kristine Brown are serving up creative cocktails and luxurious libations to help you level up your next night out.
Both longstanding members of the hospitality industry, Hannah and Kristine have been earning their stripes since they were teenagers. Hannah (a native of Buffalo, New York) and Kristine (from Phoenix City, Alabama) both came to Birmingham for the food and drink scene and have worked at several notable local restaurants and bars. Kristine honed her skills at Automatic Seafood and Oysters, the Marble Ring, and Pilcrow Cocktail Cellar, while Hannah fine-tuned hers at establishments like The Atomic, Queen’s Park, and OvenBird. These days, those experiences are helping them craft a top-notch bar program of their own. We’re excited to introduce our newest FACES of Birmingham — Hannah Smarr and Kristine Brown, Helen’s dynamic bar managers!
You’ve both worked at other local restaurants and bars. What lessons did you bring with you to Helen?
Hannah: Those places influenced a well-rounded understanding of beer, wine, and liquor, and I feel like I picked up communication skills. I learned how to effectively manage [a team] and take care of guests. Working in many different places has influenced how I interact with people.
Kristine: Birmingham refined my ability to bartend. There’s an art to shaking and the ingredients used, and there’s a way to treat those ingredients to make a fantastic cocktail. It has set me up for the management position I have now. I’ve learned how to show guests a good time, but I’ve also learned not to compete with the [neighboring] restaurants and bars — to treat them more like partners.
What do you enjoy most about working in the food and drink industry?
Kristine: One of my favorite things is the ability to learn about people and how they maneuver and communicate with others. I think it’s a fun way to learn how people operate.
Hannah: It’s always a lot of fun to make connections with other people, but I really enjoy the creative part of it. We collectively finalize all of the cocktails, but I am generally the person that’s piecing it all together. I get to mix and match a lot of things. I make the juices and syrups, and it’s a lot of fun because I’m a hands-on person.
What has this job taught you about people?
Hannah: It’s really important to be nice to everybody. You don’t know what anyone else has going on in their lives.
Kristine: Everyone is going to make mistakes, and a lot of times, those who make mistakes are a harder critic of themselves than anyone else. It means a lot to offer them grace, kindness, and understanding.
What cocktail should everyone try when they come to the bar at Helen?
Kristine: It’s always a different experience every time you come in because our food changes, and so do the cocktails. Silver Bullet is our staple cocktail here at Helen. It’s a gin martini that we make with blue cheese-infused vermouth.
I’ve heard the Bella Donna is popular. Tell us more about that.
Hannah: That cocktail is a riff on a champagne cocktail, but we took it a few steps further. When we decided to do that drink, we wanted to think of a way to give it more body, so we have a high-quality Japanese vodka, Haku, and make our own limoncello. It also has Cava, and the pièce de résistance is we take our sugar cubes, douse them in bitters, and brulée them. That provides more sweetness and makes the bubbles pop.
What makes Helen a great place to work?
Hannah: Without our team, we wouldn’t be sitting here. Everyone here works really hard, and it’s a good environment.
Kristine: We wouldn’t have the time to be able to do the things that we do to help make this bar program awesome if we didn’t have their support. We get input from everyone, so it allows for a wider range of variation when it comes to cocktails because you have so many different backgrounds imparting knowledge on what can make something better.
Hannah: The support of Emily and Rob [McDaniel – Helen owners] in everything we choose to do has been huge in our program.
Kristine: There’s just a big sense of positivity and treating you as if you already know how to make the right decisions. That allows us to be ourselves, and it’s nice to give our authentic selves to our guests.
What are some of your favorite self-care practices?
Kristine: I enjoy meditation and very long walks with my dog.
Hannah: I also walk my dog a lot and do a lot of thinking on my long walks. I also get a lot of enjoyment working on different art projects. And I don’t always go to the gym, but when I do, I feel better.
What do you love most about Birmingham besides the restaurant and bar scene?
Kristine: My favorite thing about Birmingham is it’s a big town feel from the outside, but once you get into it, it’s a family. You have this small-town feel where everyone knows everyone. People are there for you because you know someone they might know. It’s like a small town in this big area.
Hannah: I’ve been here for 10 years, and it’s just been so cool to watch Birmingham grow into this melting pot of a city.
What’s the best advice you have to offer?
Kristine: Remember that people’s minds and thought processes work differently than yours. The biggest growth is the ability to understand that and approach people with empathy — working to gain an understanding of why they made the decisions they made rather than jumping to a conclusion and getting angry or upset.
Hannah: Taking good care of yourself is important. It doesn’t matter if you’re a bartender, bagging groceries, or a heart surgeon. You’ve got to take care of yourself because if you don’t, you can’t perform. That’s mental health, and that’s physical health. And maybe that means you take a self-care day, or you need to go to the gym, or you need to eat a pizza by yourself. Whatever that is, it’s fine, but taking care of yourself is a priority.
Name three things you can’t live without.
Hannah: Cheese, eyeliner, and my headphones.
Kristine: My dog, Brussels sprouts, and my Apple Watch.
Thank you, Hannah and Kristine! All photography by Elise Ferrer.
**********
Visit our FACES archives to meet more inspiring women from Birmingham and beyond.
Javacia Harris Bowser
Javacia Harris Bowser is a Birmingham-based freelance writer and the founder of See Jane Write, an online community and coaching service for women who write. With over 20 years of journalism experience, Javacia has received awards from the National Federation of Press Women, Alabama Media Professionals, Alabama Press Association, and the Alabama State Council on the Arts. When she’s not writing, she’s usually practicing Pilates, getting her 10K steps a day, or watching crime shows. Follow Javacia on Instagram @seejavaciawrite.