Soft Times Lounge was dreamed up by Liz Baranowicz to create a nightlife experience without the presence of alcohol (or notably, without the presence of drunk people). She has been sober for over three years now, but missed her time working in bars in Wisconsin – the camaraderie of having regular customers, the joy of curating a celebration for strangers, and the unpredictability of any given shift. So in 2025, she started scheming to bring that back into her life and to fill a gap in Richmond.

In 2023, Liz stopped drinking and moved to Richmond from her hometown in Florida – two huge changes in one year. She likes to say that she loves a good project and always has a few going. She recently ended her years in a corporate tech job, and she’s done a little bit of everything for work – UX design, book research, art restoration, wholesale account management, retail, and of course, bartending. She is also a visual artist, working in stained glass, fiber art, silver/fine metals, and a hundred other miscellaneous art forms. She is a loyal Southsider and lives in Swansboro West with sibling dachshund-spaniel mix rescue dogs, Rip and Roxie. You can also catch her on the track with River City Roller Derby as Lizness Casual, #271.