PATRICK KWIATKOWSKI

OPERATIONS - MARKETING - CIDER MAKER - PARTNER

Born and raised in Michigan, in the heart of apple country, Patrick has lived in Houston for 20 years and is a longtime home-brewer and cider maker. He has experience in three tier distribution, e-commerce, social marketing, traditional sales and marketing, imports, exports, and chemical processes in production. Kwiatkowski has connections to Michigan apple growers and cider specialists and ties to Normandy France – the world’s largest cider producing region.

MATHEW SMITH

CIDER MAKER - APPLE SUPPLIER - PARTNER 

Born and raised in central New York State along the southern shore of Lake Ontario, Mat spent summers working the Smith family apple farm. Mat is a 3rd generation apple grower and cidermaker, and cider is a personal connection to his family and the land that provided for it for so many years. Mat has lived in Houston for 22 years and while cider has up until now been a passion and hobby, it has become apparent that he is uniquely positioned to leverage his connections to the apple industry and specialists in New York State to facilitate a cider production operation in Texas. He recently purchased a new orchard dedicated to cultivating cider apples.  

CLAY WATSON

HEAD BREWER - PARTNER

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, over 10 years ago Clay’s youngest brother introduced him to homebrewing, and his passion for beer began to grow. Since then, Clay has become City Orchard’s Brewmaster and loves developing new beers.  What does beer, research and Macgyver have in common? This guy!

PAUL TENNEY 

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Paul Tenney joined the City Orchard team in May 2020 after working in the craft beer industry for over five years. His love for cider grew after passing through small orchards in Colorado and discovering what cider can genuinely be. After that experience, the quest for better cider in Texas began and soon found the creativity happening at City Orchard. It did not take long before he ended up behind the scenes helping to make what you enjoy in your glass possible. 

KELSEY ALKIRE

CHEF

Native Houstonian, Kelsey Alkire, joined the City Orchard team in 2020. A passion for cooking came at a young age, foregoing any formal training, Kelsey raised through the kitchen ranks on her dedication, hard work, and love for the craft. She has been in the industry for over a decade and most recently Chef at Piggy’s Kitchen in River Oaks. There she gained notoriety as an early adapter of craft beer partnering with breweries to host some of Houston's first beer dinners. Kelsey thrives on the challenge of crafting the perfect bite to accompany any pairing.