Forty Under 40: Mary Mickel

Mary Mickel worked in restaurants in her hometown of Little Rock from age 15. “I loved the culture and work and found restaurants and hospitality fascinating.”

Transferring that love into a public relations capacity, Mickel graduated in 2008 from the University of Arkansas with a journalism degree focused on advertising and public relations.

After working for a Napa Valley, Calif., hotel, she became executive assistant to Andrew Freeman, who ran a hospitality consulting firm in San Francisco, then went to Bread & Butter Public Relations in Austin, Texas. In 2012, Mickel and her partner founded Resplendent Hospitality in Austin to take clients they felt passionate about and offer employees an inclusive, comfortable workplace.

Mickel has put together comprehensive, unique campaigns for more than 75 clients to grow their businesses and cater to their brand and audience in industries including hospitality, food, beverage, consumer packaged goods, cannabis, travel, tourism and lifestyle. Their clients have appeared in Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, The New York Times, Vice, Saveur, Garden & Gun, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Resplendent revenue now exceeds $1 million annually.

In 2019, Mickel opened a second office in Fayetteville to develop new business and expand from the hospitality industry. With about 30% hospitality clients, others include the Fayetteville Roots Festival and the cannabis, real estate and nonprofit sectors. To help uplift women, Resplendent works pro bono for Peace at Home Women’s Shelter. “Our mission is to use our voice and harness it for the power of good,” she said.

Mickel volunteers as communications chairwoman for Northwest Arkansas’ NAACP branch, managing their digital footprint. During the pandemic, she helped the Fayetteville Restaurant Alliance with its messaging.