When Philadelphia-area native Alex Howard moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2013 to attend college he picked up a part-time gig in event catering. “It was just to make some extra money, but I instantly fell in love with the industry,” he says. “This led to various other part-time restaurant jobs, and eventually bartending at Pinewood Social in 2017, where I first learned about high-caliber cocktail bartending. I was absolutely hooked.” By the time he graduated college, Howard was in a leadership role at the bar and had fully shifted his career focus to cocktail bartending. In late 2018, the renowned New York City craft cocktail haven Attaboy opened a Nashville outpost and hired Howard as a bartender. “Being young, fairly inexperienced, and surrounded by industry titans, I tried to absorb everything like a sponge,” Howard says. “I bothered the owners and staff with questions about cocktails and bar operations for over five years until I felt I had the tools to run my own space.”

Howard’s persistence paid off: In 2023, he opened Martha My Dear with his best friend Paul Pearse. “We created Martha My Dear to provide high-level cocktails in a more relaxed environment that pays homage to our old college parties,” Howard says.

Martha My Dear’s beverage program, which Howard manages, “revolves around approachability, both in presentation and price,” he says, noting that the cocktails are fairly simple nods to familiar classics with nuanced twists—and are just $12 each, or $10 during daily happy hour. “We focus on the non-negotiables of a great cocktail—quality ingredients, proper technique—and intentionally strip away anything that doesn’t truly enhance the drink, which makes our drinks feel straightforward and unpretentious,” he explains. His Suzy Parker, for instance, blends Fords gin, Suze gentian liqueur, lime juice, simple syrup, basil leaves, and a rinse of St. George absinthe verte, while his Tipsy Jitters comprises Ketel One vodka, Caffe Lolita coffee liqueur, Averna amaro, Licor 43, and cold brew concentrate, topped with an Angostura bitters-infused cream. “My bartending style is disciplined but light-hearted; I care deeply about the technical side of drink-making but I don’t think that seriousness should translate into a serious vibe,” Howard says. “There’s a ton of precision behind what we do, but our guests should experience it as effortless and fun.”