After 18 years navigating every corner of the food and beverage industry—from dishwashing to management, culinary school to cooperative enterprises—Cara Santino recognized a gap in nightlife that spoke to her own experiences as a wine-loving, vinyl-collecting creative. In 2023, she launched Little Lion Collective, a mobile wine bar and record shop that brings together two of her greatest passions while challenging the exclusivity that often defines wine culture.

Named after her grandfather's Italian surname, Little Lion Collective serves as both a third space for community gathering and a reimagining of who hospitality is truly for. Centered on women, Black, brown, and queer people, Cara's cooperative business model offers natural and biodynamic wines at accessible prices while creating low-pressure environments where people can enjoy good music, great wine, and authentic connection. With plans for a brick-and-mortar vinyl bar in New Haven, CT, by 2026, she's building the kind of inclusive, creative space she always wished existed.

Learn more about Little Lion Collective in our interview with Cara below!

Tell us about your career journey:

I've been in the food and beverage industry since I was 17, working in every position—serving, cooking on the line, dishwashing, managing—in places ranging from restaurants to a hotel, a women's shelter, and an elementary school. I've always known I wanted to work with food, from helping my mom out at a young age, and I consumed any and all food media as a child.

I started at community college and Boston Market in 2007, gathering knowledge. In 2010, I went to Johnson & Wales for culinary arts, sommelier, and foodservice management. I loved school for the first time in my life and knew I was meant to work with food and beverages, focusing on flavors and pairings. I worked in several restaurants—often 2-3 jobs at a time—while I was in Providence, until I moved to Boston in 2013. I cooked at a Marriott, got my first management position at a busy Boston restaurant, and worked in foodservice at Boston's first women's shelter (one of my favorite jobs I've had).

Then in 2015, I was introduced to cooperatives when I interviewed for a cooperative pizza social enterprise in Roxbury, Boston. I was hired to develop their menu and, in the process, learned a lot about cooperative food businesses. I kept that in my mind while I worked there, and then their sister restaurant, the Haley House Bakery & Cafe, for 2 years. I then managed a kitchen and taught cooking classes for kids at an elementary school in Boston. My first job with a good schedule and pension, I could've stayed there forever. Instead, I went to graduate school at Syracuse University for Food Studies. Right when I was starting to feel less overwhelmed, the pandemic hit. I scaled way back for a few months, and took a year to design the Restorative Food Justice Project, a 16-week food access initiative for people coming home from prison. We're now in our 5th year of operation! While working on that program, I got a position at CitySeed in 2021, a food system nonprofit, working with early stage food entrepreneurs. That role gave me confidence to finish envisioning Little Lion Collective at the end of 2022, a vision that I was piecing together from my career lessons since 2010.

After 18 years in Food and Beverage Management, what inspired you to take the leap and start Little Lion Collective in 2023? Also, what's the story behind the name?

I always felt like I wanted to have my own business but that was something I didn't think was possible due to finances. After going to culinary school and immersing myself in the restaurant world, living in Boston and Providence, I didn't feel like there were many nightlife options from being 25-32 (and still now) that I was interested in. I did have fun at industry nights, but that felt exclusive at times and there was a heavy emphasis on drinking a lot. What I wanted is known as a third space, a place to go that wasn't work or home where there wasn't a lot of pressure to spend money. I loved going to restaurants, record stores, and libraries alone, either to be by myself or to strike up a conversation with someone. I wanted a low-key place to do something I'm interested in, where I felt relaxed, and there was minimal pressure to socialize if I wasn't in the mood for that. That's one aspect of it.

Also, I really love working with flavors, pairings, and using my hands, it's where I feel most grounded. But the wine industry can be so exclusive. I often felt out of place in it, and I knew I wasn't the only one who felt that way. I wanted to create a space where people who love wine, or are just curious about it, could actually feel comfortable showing up as themselves.

Wine isn't always approachable, and it's often marketed to Black, Brown, and queer people in ways that feel flat or stereotypical. The restaurant industry does the same thing, which is exactly why I wanted Little Lion to be a cooperative. It's a business model that reflects our communities, values our voices, and reimagines who hospitality is for.

Lastly, I also really love music of all kinds and collect vinyl records, with a lot of thanks to my grandfather. Leonetti, his last name, translates to "Little Lion" in Italian. It's my way to keep his name going (he had all girls). He exposed me to musicals, big band, and motown. As a kid I fell in love with 80's and 90's R&B and pop. Especially by women artists. That's mostly what we play at Little Lion events. I've always loved nostalgia through music.

Photo Credit: Las Memorias Photography

The concept of a mobile wine bar combined with a record shop is a match made in heaven. What was the inspiration behind bringing these two elements together?

That's often what I did with a friend throughout my late 20's and they thought I was an old lady but that's when I had some of the best times. The conversations on couches with really good wine and snacks, and a record in the background. And "I remember this song!! How do I know all of the words???" And then laughter. We need more of those moments.

You mentioned making wine more approachable - what specific barriers do you see that prevent people from enjoying wine, and how does Little Lion Collective address them?

In culinary school, I discovered I had a natural ability to retain wine knowledge, like I've always had with food. Memorizing food and wine facts was fun for me, and I loved building food and wine menus. My brain just clicked with cocktail making, too, categorizing ingredients and focusing on flavors came naturally. Honestly, food and beverages were the first subjects I ever felt truly confident and engaged in.

But once I started working in wine and front-of-house, I saw and felt so many socioeconomic disparities. Who wine is marketed to, who feels comfortable ordering it, who knows the language, and who gets treated with respect if they don't. It was clear that wine spaces often cater to wealth, and that gatekeeping shows up in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

At Little Lion Collective, I try to break that down. We offer natural and biodynamic wines for a few dollars below their suggested price, and I write wine menus using simple, clear language. If someone doesn't know what they want, I just ask about flavors they enjoy or offer them a taste. It's about making people feel seen, not tested.

Community spaces are central to your business model. What kind of community are you hoping to build, and what values guide that vision?

Little Lion Collective is for women, Black, Brown, and Queer people. It's for folks who love good food, wine, and chatting for hours one day, and then want to listen to a record alone the next. It's for creatives and introverts, and for the ways all those identities intersect.

I'm building a community that reflects a collective vision for the kinds of businesses we want to see: spaces that invest in the values, needs, and joy of people whose interests are often overlooked. People who've been told to be quiet, or that they're weird or different. Little Lion is about centering them, celebrating them, and creating something that feels like home.

Looking ahead to your 2026 brick-and-mortar plans for a Vinyl Bar in New Haven, how do you envision this space expanding on what you've created with the mobile concept?

The brick-and-mortar space will be an expansion of everything Little Lion has tested and proven through the mobile concept, but with more consistency, depth, and care. It'll still center vinyl, wine, and curated events, but with the added intimacy and reliability of a permanent home. With a physical location, we can build out more of the full vision: a dedicated listening room, a rotating food and beverage menu rooted in local, seasonal ingredients, and a real place for people to gather, connect, and unwind. Aesthetically, there have been so many places that have influenced what I want it to look like, but overall it'll be a cross between the Duck and Bunny in Providence (RIP) and Grandfather's in Tokyo.

From your perspective, why are grant opportunities like this important for underrepresented beer/bev industry professionals, specifically for women, nonbinary individuals, and LGBTQ+?

The food industry has long exploited women, BIPOC, and queer people. For so long these groups have been the laborers of the food chain, rarely the owners. They have innovative ideas but due to systemic injustice can have a harder time accessing capital than the majority of business owners, white men, who churn out the same ideas.

Any favorite wines and other beverages you are enjoying right now? Would you like to share any of your favorite breweries, wineries, or bars?

I do love an Aglianico. My mom's side of the family is from the Campania region of Italy and Aglianico is one of the two flagship grape varietals. My other tried and true favorite wines are a Bordeaux Merlot/Cabernet blend and Gewürztraminer. I also enjoy single malt scotch like Laphroaig and Ardbeg.

If you'd like, feel free to shout out another woman-owned business you support or feel deserves a spotlight:

La Isla Spanish Restaurant in Hamden, CT

Connect with Cara and Little Lion Collective: 

Instagram: @littlelioncollective
Facebook: Facebook.com/littlelioncollective
Email: info@littlelioncollective.com
Website: littlelioncollective.com