CELIA PELLEGRINI
Partner / director of operations Suerte, Este, and Bar Toti in Austin, TX
Age: 33 First industry job: intern at the Westin St Francis in San Francisco Favorite drink: Naked and Famous
JOSHUA MILLER
Founder- Owen Woods Brands Owen ' s Mixers & Daizy ' s Social Soda
Age: 36 First Industry Job: I worked for Honest Tea in 2008 Favorite Drink: Hard to answer: favorite mocktail( Owen ' s Classic Lemonade with Owen ' s Ginger Beer), favorite classic cocktail( Boulevardier), and favorite vacation drink( Pina Colada)
Joshua Miller has launched and successfully grown both an alcohol mixer brand and a THC-infused beverage line. How has he accomplished so much at a young age? Entrepreneurialism has been in his blood from the very beginning. Asked about a business mentor, Miller pointed back to second grade:
“ Tim Draper was the first mentor I had. I was in second grade when Tim came to our school and put on a BizWorld program( entrepreneurship non-profit) for our class. I know it sounds crazy to point out an experience from second grade, but that was when I first knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Tim has always been there as a mentor / fatherly figure. The other key mentor is my Uncle Doug. Doug is retired but was a very successful businessman. He has helped me the most with maturing within the business world and learning how to make confident yet calculated decisions.”
As partner / director of operations for award-winning Austin, TX restaurants Suerte, Este and Bar Toti, Celia Pellegrini oversees the group ' s wine programs and manages operations and staff development. A native Austinite, Pellegrini attended the University of San Francisco, where she studied hospitality management and accounting.
After graduation, she built her career at Michelin-starred restaurants, including Lazy Bear and natural wineries like Donkey & Goat in the Bay Area. Celia joined the Suerte restaurant family in summer 2018, just months after they opened, and has grown with the company ever since.
“ She transformed our wine programs by curating minimal intervention wines that complement the complex flavors of Mexican cuisine,” says Suerte owner / founder Samuel Hellman-Mass.“ A great example of this is how she pairs natural wines with the bold, layered dishes at both Suerte and Este, an approach that earned her the Texas Sommelier Award in the 2025 Michelin Guide.”
He cites the wine and beverage programs Pellegrini has curated alongside the key bar staff in all of the restaurants.“ She has also highlighted many amazing female wine producers in the U. S., Europe and other regions, spotlighting diversity in the wine industry.”
In addition to her innovative wine curation,“ Celia leads our teams with integrity, compassion and respect,” says Hellman-Mass.“ She ' s a true hospitality expert who genuinely prioritizes the needs of both guests and staff while helping shape Austin ' s culinary scene.”
Pellegrini brings the highest standard of integrity in all of her endeavors, working with the whole team to create a culture that upholds the company’ s mission and values.“ The quality of her work and who she is set a great example for me and everyone in our organization to follow.”
And then there’ s her great sense of humor, he adds.“ She is a fun person that people love to be around.”
Miller remained focused on business and sales as he entered high school.
“ I convinced my dad to let me work at Brookstone in the Stanford Mall at 16 years old,” he recalls.“ I sold the most massage chairs even though I had no clue what I was doing. Then I had the fortune of working at Tesla Motors as an intern during my sophomore year of college. Two very different jobs, but made me realize I wanted to be in sales and start my own company.”
“ Keeping my emotions in check was a major struggle throughout the early part of my career,” he adds.“ I always felt like I was letting the highs get too high, and the lows too low. It took me a while, but I became a big believer in stoicism and the approach of maintaining my emotions strictly based on what is in my personal control.”
In terms of goals these days,“ my personal goal has been to build a brand with the foundation of top quality taste / packaging and built with an incredible surrounding team,” Miller explains.“ I take so much pride in the fact that our team is composed of a bunch of highly motivated / incredible people. I love working with them every day and it feels like I can ' t lose with them by my side.”
“ My personal goal is for everyone in the industry to notice how awesome all of our people are,” he adds.“ I try to work on this daily by being in contact with the team throughout the day and tackling challenges as a unit versus as an individual. I am a big believer in power in numbers.”
2026 BEVERAGE INFORMATION GROUP 40 UNDER 40 25