Meet Donald Rubino | Owner & Cider Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Donald Rubino and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Donald, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

What’s important to us is who we are and what we want to become. Criticism is easy to give from the sidelines and this is important to keep in mind when taking advice or receiving feedback. We are conscious of who we receive feedback from and who we ask. We like to use the statement “we will take that into consideration” when we receive spontaneous feedback.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are excited to introduce our community to unique flavors that bring out the cider lover in everyone. We create small batches of cider which allow us to play with unique flavors like tomato basil & cucumber beet dill. We release a new cider each week and a new cider slushie each month. We strive to have at least 20 ciders on tap. Long hours, patience, persistence, hope, support, and trust have all been critical aspects of opening the cider house. We had plans to open April 2020 but had to pivot our plans including doing the buildout ourselves, taking on financial risk, asking for help, and coming up with creative solutions to keep us afloat. We had quite a few challenges including running out of to-go cans after 2 weeks (when it takes 4 weeks to get more & there was a can shortage), having only flight (5oz) glasses available when we opened our taproom, & navigating the changing regulations regarding COVID. We worked together, developed creative alternatives, and would not accept failure.
The biggest lesson is that creative problem solving or solution seeking is key.
We would love for the world to know:

1. BAWKER BAWKER is the language of chickens but has very little to do with cider (we don’t serve chicken).
2. We invite patrons to cross over to the dry side of cider.
3. We love playing with cider flavors & feel the possibilities are endless.
4. We are on tap at over 12 locations in Tucson and 1 location in Phoenix.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife, Jaimie, who helped me to create the one and only cider house in Tucson. My friends, Jeff, Jack, Gina, & Ken. My parents, Sue & Jim, who have encouraged and helped in the most interesting way and continue to be available on call. The 4th Avenue Merchants Association for being so supportive.

Website: www.bawkerbawker.com

Instagram: bawkerbawkercider

Twitter: bawkerbawkercider

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bawkerbawkercider

Yelp: BawkerBawkerCider

Image Credits
Photo Credit Arizpe Ellinwood & Jaimie Perkunas