Sip With Me

President Ioanna and VP Aaron would like to formally invite you to hear the tale of Chicago’s “Hotel of Presidents”!

Known for its many iconic former guests, including Teddy Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter, the historic hotel on Chicago’s Michigan Ave blends its historic mystique with modern day luxury. As part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, the hotel boasts incredible lake views and enough tales of history to fill a book!

We...

Now boarding iFLY flight 0001 from Chicago to wherever the wind takes us!

It’s immersion therapy week for Ioanna and Aaron! To get over their fear of flying, they’ve partnered with iFLY to literally take flight at their iconic indoor skydiving experience!

Joe Velez, the Senior Regional Director for iFLY, introduces us to the company and how indoor skydiving came to be! We discuss the experience of indoor flight and breakdown...

You’ve seen it in the movies- an artist wannabe goes into a studio, throws some clay on the wheel, and SPLAT, it’s all over the walls and ceiling, ruining your $120 Abercrombie jeans and leaving you with nothing to be on your mantle.

Lucky for Aaron & Ioanna, they found Penguin Foot Pottery and knew they were in good hands (literally).

We chat with Chris and Paige Busse about their Logan Square pottery studio and how they tra...

*THIS IS A LIVE INTERVIEW! Pardon the chocolatey construction noises in the background*

Ioanna & Aaron Twizzler Twist and are Jolly as a Rancher at Chicago’s Hershey Super Sweet Adventure!

Caitlin Maloney, Vice President of Creative at Original X Productions (OGX), introduces us to the company behind some of the nation’s greatest immersive IP experiences, including Harry Potter, Friends, and now Hershey!

We chat about th...

Meet the Queen of Cute, Creator of Strawberry Shortcake and Key Designer behind Care Bears and The Get Along Gang!

Muriel Juneberry Fahiron is know for all the illustrations that made your childhood magical and your adulthood nostalgic. After a decades long career with various greeting card companies and agencies, Muriel now calls Tulsa home and graces our feed with her #kitchendance videos!

We chat with her about her early ...

Raise your glass! This week we’re pouring one out for our friends at Revolution Brewing, Illinois' Largest Independent Craft Brewery!

In this episode, we brew up some craft beverage history and learn the founding story from Marty Scott, Barrel Program Manager at Revolution Brewing.

He dives into how a small Chicago brewery crafted its own path to success in a world of big beer. Plus, we learn what inspired the iconic name an...

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a Ballyhoo! At 11 locations and growing, it’s likely you’ve dined at a Ballyhoo Hospitality restaurant before. Their roster includes names like Denucci’s, Gemini, Petit Pomeroy, Coda di Volpe and more!

Known for their feel-good vibes and opulent customer service, the group brings “going out for a night in the city” to the suburbs and offer a vibey way to have “lunch with friends”.

We meet Kayla...

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Learn where the name “Gibsons” comes from and why there’s no apostrophe!

• Discover why their signature steaks are so popular

• Hear tales of Chicago history and stories of cultural icons who Gibsons can call “regulars”

Opened in 1989, Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse is Chicago’s Classic American steakhouse. Nestled comfortably between State & Rush, the restaurant is a decades-long favorite of celebri...

This week, we revisit one of our favorite episodes from 2024, Chicago Boat Company! We recently took a ride on one of their mega-viral “Hot Tub Boats” and just had to share the company story with you again in case you missed it last year. Listen now to hear about how they got a hot tub to float, and check instagram to see us play rapid fire live in the hot tub!  

Original Episode

This week, we meet Ron Silvia, President & Fou...

The name is Bond, James Bond, and I’ll have a Vesper Martini with a side of science to celebrate my movie series, which is the longest-running ever!

Chicago’s famous Griffin Museum of Science and Industry welcomes “007 Science: Inventing the World of James Bond”. The exhibit, open through March 2025, explores the science and technology featured in the James Bond movies!

We sit down with Museum Chief Marketing and Revenue Off...

Frohe Weihnachten, Chicago!

We put the German lesson we got at the Christkindlmarket to use and head down the street to another one of our favorite holiday spots, The Berghoff! Their claim to fame is that they are nearly the oldest restaurant in Chicago, have OG liquor license number one from the city, and serve both award-winning food and beer with their Adams Street Brewery!

Assistant Manager Andrea Serrano, Brewers Jim Rig...

Yule be sorry if you miss this one!From dazzling ornaments to show-stopping trees, the LARGEST Christmas store in Illinois is pure North Pole magic. Their trees go viral on the daily and even appear in the terminals of O’hare!

We chat with Christmas Expert and Owner of Treetime Christmas Creations, Laurie Kane, about how she created the largest Christmas store in the state! She breaks down this year’s holiday trends, plus tells ...

Put us in a bottle and wrap it with a bow! This week, we’re diving nose-first into the art of perfume making with perfume master, Marija Lazarevic, of Aroma Workshop! It’s our 2024 unique holiday gift and winter activity idea for Chicagoans!

Aroma Workshop is a perfumery, making custom scent blends that rival all the nostalgic perfumes and colognes you love. They’ve been around for decades and that smells amazing to us!

We w...

We put the FAN in Fannie May, because we’re lifelong lovers of these iconic chocolates! From Pixies to Mint Meltaways, Ioanna and Aaron have indulged in Fannie May chocolates every holiday since they were kids. Aaron’s twin brother even worked in a Fannie May shop!

Fannie May has been around since the 1920’s when it all began as a neighborhood chocolate shop in Chicago. Since then, they’ve grown from a few recipes to over 100 t...

What’s better than one jack-o’-lantern? How about 1,000!

Exclusively at Chicago Botanic Garden, Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns features professionally carved pumpkins hand carved with a whole host of designs, from album covers, to Chicago icons, and even some TBT cartoons like Courage The Cowardly Dog!

Jodi Zombolo joins us for her 2nd appearance on Sip with Me to discuss this year’s Jack-o’-Lanterns! Find out about how the...

Podcasters get lost in the world’s largest corn maze read the headlines! Don’t get cornfused- this is indeed the World’s Largest Corn Maze! Meet Richardson Adventure Farm!

Located north of the city in picturesque northern Illinois, this is not your typical family farm! Richardson is home to the largest corn maze anywhere.

We meet George Richardson who runs the farm with his family. He tells us about the fun farm history (dat...

Hey Pumpkins! At October Cafe, everyone deserves to feel the love of fall ALL YEAR LONG!

We meet Audrey Borden & Michelle Gonzalez, owners of the year-round fall themed cafe. A LGBTQ+IA, Latina operated cafe, they’re serving something special that usually only exists for a couple days each year as the Pumpkins glow and the apples crisp.

We chat about how the idea came about and what it’s like operating a themed cafe year roun...

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Tony Durpetti, longtime Owner of Gene & Georgetti. Tony passed away shortly after our conversation with his daughter, Michelle Durpetti. It is folks like him who make Chicago special and whose stories are the guiding light of what we do. We thank Michelle for sharing some of his story with us in this episode.

Chicago’s Famous & Original Tuscan Steakhouse since 1941, there are a lot of s...

Here’s a puzzle for you: what do Settlers of Catan, Cowboy Caviar, and the Enchanted Forest have in common? Well, nothing in the outside world, but everything at Chicago’s premier Board Game Bar & Restaurant!

At Snakes & Lattes, the gamers game, the foodies eat, and the worries of the world melt away in the background of its immersive environment. With over 800 games in their wood paneled game vault (it’s actually an old bank v...