Becoming one of only 29 female master sommeliers in the Americas was a profoundly isolating time for June Rodil. She was having a hard time passing the master sommelier exam—living in flashcards, blind tastings, and self-doubt. She needed a change. She needed a community of people—of other women, she says—who lived and breathed all things beverage.
“I had to immerse myself in the day-to-day education of wine and beverages, allowing myself to get over this final hurdle,” Rodil recalls. “I ended up opening June’s All Day, which was my first restaurant partnership [with Austin-based MML Hospitality]. But suddenly, our director of operations passed away during this very formative time, and I found myself in a position where I was asked to take over.”
Rodil remembers the feeling: hesitant to fill this seemingly impossible gap in the company. Filling the shoes of a beloved executive, being responsible for 600 employees, with no layer between ownership and herself.
“This team had momentum and was struck with a huge tragedy. I didn’t want to get in the way of their success by being scared to step into a position to help,” Rodil says. “It was daunting, it was lonely, it was fulfilling all at the same time … but it changed me into a leader, and I had this realization I was doing something important and necessary and becoming more enriched as a human being instead of only leaning into my strengths and never stretching myself past what I thought I couldn’t do.”
But Rodil knew something that gave her clarity in that moment. She’d grown up watching her mother do impossible things—show up when exhausted, keep going when she wanted to fall apart. This lesson, born from her own childhood and her mother’s sacrifice, would guide her decision.
Right after Rodil was born, her mother left the Philippines to send money back home. She would see her children maybe once a year, whenever she could get time off. When Rodil’s biological father passed away, she came to live with her mother in Texas at age six, learning to navigate a new life and a new culture. Slowly but surely, the rest of her family followed suit—her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. This migration was the fruition of her mother’s work: securing a better life for everyone.
“My mother would never consider herself a leader, even though she is. She became the leader of our family without ever wanting to be, and her humility is something that I strive for,” Rodil says. “We have the same laugh. It’s obnoxious and wonderful at the same time, and for someone to have gone through all of this in her life and still be able to laugh out loud at herself, it reminds me that sometimes the avocation you need is literally within yourself.”
Throughout her time as a student, Rodil worked in entry-level positions in restaurants, realizing how important it is to hold space for the translation of what cultures can be and mean to people. She calls this “the universal language of breaking bread”—and in many ways, it healed her sense of displacement from her childhood. Making space at a table, both metaphorically and literally, became her purpose.
“People don’t realize how important it is to make space at a table—metaphorically and literally. Restaurants are the intersection of two different spaces where people can meet,” Rodil says. “There are so many differences in why people gather, and I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to bringing a sense of unification to others.”
Today, Rodil is a master sommelier, founder of June’s Rosé, restaurant partner, and CEO of Goodnight Hospitality, a Houston-based restaurant group with four concepts: The Marigold Club, Rosie Cannonball, March, and Montrose Cheese & Wine.
She is also a 2026 James Beard Award semi-finalist, crediting her success and entrepreneurial spirit to her mother’s example. And she says one thing separates a technically strong operator from a truly great hospitality leader: emotions—something often misconstrued as weakness.
“You have to be intuitive and empathetic in hospitality. That’s how you read people and give them the experience they want and deserve. You have to be in tune with your emotions and have control over your reactivity,” Rodil says. “I think that is what we’re really saying when we tell people, ‘Don’t be emotional.’ Great hospitality requires leading with clarity, even when you feel.”
Another facet of her leadership style is her commitment to fairness—a principle that requires balancing team equity with individual needs. In an American culture that champions individuality, this has been a difficult balance to strike.
“Fairness can make people feel less unique, but without standards, you get reactivity, and then the workplace becomes inequitable. And it can be hard as a leader to grapple with this,” Rodil says. “I am on a continuous journey to evolve as a leader. There’s this translation process between my brain and my heart, allowing me to move with authenticity and intent, whether it’s with the people closest to me or a room of a thousand people.”
One of her core strategies is “always be hiring,” creating more pathways for ownership and leadership. To have representation, she says, you have to hire—and be gracious about it. She stresses the importance of allyship not just with women, but with all underrepresented communities. Balanced representation, she believes, becomes a powerful tool that trickles down through the entire organization.
Rodil never expected to be an entrepreneur. She never thought she’d be a voice for someone to listen to, to help with their journey, or to be a mentor. She isn’t afraid to take up space—she says everyone deserves it—but building a strong community of women has carried her through her career at every step.
“Mapping out and creating a beautiful network of women is extremely important. We are grappling with a lot, and we’re on this path trying to be better represented, having more impactful voices and holding as much space as we can,” Rodil says. “I am where I am today on the coattails of my mom, who gave me the space to succeed. And because of that, I don’t ever want to miss out on an opportunity to say yes or bridging the gaps by creating connections with others.”
