Daniel May, B.B.A.’14

Master Mixologist

Owner/Operator, Dabney & Co. - Cocktail Bar and Lounge

Pricing Manager, Epredia

Daniel May is a talented entrepreneur who excels at combining a wide range of ingredients to produce exceptional results. His skills are diverse, spanning finance, creative design and management.

As a Greenleaf Trust Scholar and a member of the first cohort of Starting Gate, a student business accelerator, May honed his skills at the Haworth College of Business. He fell in love with Kalamazoo and decided to give back to the community by working as a finance professional, and he is currently the pricing manager at a global medical device company.

He has also leveraged his passions and strengths to create and run his unique business, Dabney & Co. - Cocktail Bar and Lounge, located in the heart of Kalamazoo's central business district. This business is a celebration of Black culture, showcasing music, art and food in an elevated space. Guests can expect to hear the sounds of Motown, disco, blues, jazz, and 90s hip hop and R&B while enjoying soul food served as tapas.

His knowledge of the market and well-designed strategies paid off, as evidenced by the soft opening event of Dabney & Co., selling out 400 reservations within 2.5 hours and establishing its position as a top-rated bar experience in Kalamazoo.

In recognition of his outstanding skills and contributions to the community, May was selected as a finalist for the inaugural Chamber's Choice Award in 2022 by the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce as “Entrepreneur of the Year.”

Favorite Travel Destination: 

“New Orleans, which has such a rich music scene and is the inspiration for me as I work on establishing live music at Dabney & Co.”