Sunday Spotlight: Jason Rubinoff
Whether you’re a regular at our Westbrook tasting room or a passer-through when visiting the area, chances are you’ve had a beer poured for you by Jason Rubinoff. Jason has been a part of our front-of-house team since early 2019, when Mast Landing was confined to just one building. As the company has grown, so has Jason’s role - he has dedicated his expertise by streamlining our webstore, educating our staff on draft technology & upkeep, and running the show as manager of our Westbrook location. Working at Mast Landing over the years has given Jason as good a perspective on our position in the beer industry as any:
“What I find makes us such a strong brand and part of the communities we reside in is our commitment to building relationships, even during all of our growth. When customers walk in, we take pride in not only providing a stellar drinking experience, but also making everyone feel welcome and relaxed. Being in the towns that we are, we see a lot of familiar faces, and the care that our regulars show us is bar none, and we cannot thank them enough for their continued support.”
Jason and the team at Westbrook took on the job of finding new ways to get our beer out into the world during the pandemic, including home delivieries
Jason brings many skills & attributes to the Mast Landing team — among them is his knack for efficiency, often bringing new & creative processes to our management team. There’s no job too small for Jason to give his full attention to and everyone at Mast Landing has benefited from his willingness to rethink how things are done in the search for something better. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, this mindset has been the fuel that drives our on-site offerings; Jason’s perspective & background with the company has been instrumental. In his words, its a team effort that is supported by our amazing local community:
I started here in Westbrook almost 3 years ago behind the original bar. At the time, our brewing operations were still concentrated at our Main Street location, and I pulled cases right off the canning line to stock the cooler. After production moved to our new brewery, we expanded the bar and our seating, and right after that, the pandemic hit. We were forced to pivot into 3 new points of sale over the course of a few months, and through it all we were seeing the same people week in and week out coming to support us. Not only did the strength of our community show, but so did the resiliency and drive of the entire Mast Landing crew. After the worst of the pandemic subsided, we had come out stronger on the other side, and I think that is a testament to how hard everyone works here.
As Jason kicks off his 4th year at Mast Landing, he’ll be transitioning to a new role in distribution & logistics at our Saco Street production facility. With new fermentation tanks in the building, a growing list of states that we distribute to, and a packaging & brewing team that is expanding, there’s a whole lot going on in that arm of the business. Jason is looking forward to the challenge.
I think that moving into distribution and logistics gives me a real opportunity to help production, facilities, and sales alleviate some of the stress they deal with day to day in a tangible way. Giving order to a rapidly growing sector of our business is something that will do just that.
The whole team at Mast Landing is looking forward to Jason’s insight & contributions at the warehouse and production facility. For the tasting room regulars who are used to seeing him, fear not, he’ll be just up the road most days and will remain a consistent presence in Westbrook!