Room 33, Blind Tiger creator Rebecca Styn savors wins, overcomes losses as Erie entrepreneur

Rebecca Styn has learned to roll with the punches.

The Erie entrepreneur co-founded the Room 33 Speakeasy on State Street and created and operates Blind Tiger Spirit-Free Cocktails.

The businesses have taken some punches. And each time Styn has picked herself up and stayed in the fight.

She recently posted two photos with the caption, "Sometimes being (an entrepreneur) feels like the left image," of Ivan Drago's "I must break you" stare in Rocky IV. "But other times it feels like the right image," of Rocky, victorious but battered.

"The point is you're always beat up as an entrepreneur, but sometimes you win. It's just coming through it all and outlasting everyone else," Styn, 47, said. "It's not an easy journey, but you have to believe that you can make it."

Styn and husband Rob Mahrt opened the Prohibition-themed Room 33 Speakeasy at 1033 State St. on New Year's Eve 2017. The entrance, behind a movable bookcase, dim lighting, 1930s decor and a cigar room provide a hiding-from-the-law atmosphere.

Signature cocktails, upscale food and live music attracted a strong following of customers. Then just over two years after its opening, COVID-19 shut down not only the speakeasy but most of its sales.

"That's where Blind Tiger came in. I started that because at first we couldn't legally sell alcohol to go when we were limited to takeout-only sales," Styn said. "Ninety percent of our sales were bar sales, so we had to come up with some other options.

"One of those was using all natural ingredients to make non-alcoholic versions of our cocktails."

Styn took the idea to Room 33 mixologist Elizabeth Heffernan. Heffernan came up with the original recipes for four spirits-free cocktails named for their alcohol-based equivalents: Bee's Knees, lemon-flavored with hints of honey and juniper; Sidecar, a sweet and sour balance of orange, lemon, brandy and bitters flavors; Southside, a mint and lime blend with juniper; and Ward 8, a smoky citrus drink with apple, orange and cherry notes.

"We were crafting them without alcohol and so were trying to find replacements. For gin, we use juniper," Styn said.

A beverage engineer ultimately helped make sure that the recipes were top shelf with a reasonable shelf life. Investors provided the capital for Styn to produce and market the cocktails.

Room 33 reopened after the height of the pandemic and built back its customer base. In 2022, Styn and Mahrt sold the majority interest in the business to Heffernan and speakeasy general manager Shawn McCall.

Styn now focuses on Blind Tiger.

Her non-alcoholic cocktails are available at a number of local establishments, including Luminary and Altered State distilleries and Room 33. They're also sold at Yorktown Giant Eagle and almost 100 Wegmans locations, including both Erie stores.

Distribution also is going national. Blind Tiger drinks are sold by the Arizona-based Sprouts supermarket chain, whose 400 stores specialize in natural and organic foods. The mocktails also are sold by statewide wine, spirits and beer distributors in Michigan and Massachusetts.

Continuing to grow the business will be a process that includes building a management team; introducing more flavors, like Lavender French 75, created last summer; and overcoming new challenges.

As an entrepreneur, Styn has learned to expect challenges and to continue to build on her foundation of graduate degrees in public administration, marketing and leadership and her past experience as vice president of Erie Innovation District and part-time project manager for the Erie County Redevelopment Authority. She also teaches a graduate-level course in innovation and entrepreneurship at Mercyhurst University.

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"Being an entrepreneur is more behavioral than about having all the answers. You need to have grit. You need to have determination. You need to be willing to take risks and know that it's fine to fail. It never feels good but it's part of the process," Styn said. "Just because something doesn't work out the way you want it to in the moment doesn't mean it won't in the end, or that circumstances won't change."

It's about striking out a lot but always coming back to the plate.

"In baseball, if you fail seven out of 10 times to get on base, you are most likely a Hall-of-Fame hitter," Styn said.

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie PA entrepreneur learns to overcome the hits and build on the wins