Orlando – Growing up, Jason Lambert had his fair share of nicknames—Lamb Chops, Lambskin, J-Lamb, Lambo, Lambertini. The list goes on and Lambert knew when he opened his restaurant two-and-a-half years ago—The Hammered Lamb in Ivanhoe village—it had to have ‘Lamb’ in the name.
“I was out with some friends and we were discussing several names for the bar when my friend Jordan said, ‘What about The Hammered Lamb?’ and it stuck,” Lambert says. “Right after that I had another friend, Patrick Fatica, design the logo and the branding began.”
But even before the Hammered Lamb opened. Lambert was well established in Orlando, and not just in the restaurant scene. Lambert was on the board of governors as well as the local steering committee for the Human Rights Campaign for more than six years. He stepped down to focus on The Hammered Lamb but is still heavily involved in many charities.
Lambert also supports Equality Florida, The Center, Come out with Pride, MBA, Planned Parenthood and is currently the president of the Ivanhoe Village Main Street program and on the board of directors for The Barber Fund.
Lambert supports these charities through a combination of financial giving and, of course, uses the Hammered Lamb to help out whenever he can.
“We have offered free space to hold fundraisers for many of the organizations in town,” Lambert says. “When possible, we try to also sponsor events through food and alcohol donations.”
It’s a business he loves, and the restaurant business has been in his blood his entire life, he says.
“Most recently, I was with The Beacon Hill Group,” Lambert says. “For the last 10 years we owned and operated many of the staples of the downtown Orlando and Thornton Park scene, including Mucho, Sonoma, Stardust Lounge, The Beacon, The Lodge and Room 3 Nine.”
In addition to The Hammered Lamb, Lambert has also branched out into catering.
“We have always done small caterings and events since the Lamb opened, but we never really had the systems in place to execute them on a large scale, so my general manager, Nikki, and I decided to go for it,” Lambert said.
After he was asked to handle wedding receptions and rehearsal dinners Lambert reconsidered the restaurant’s name for the catering branch.
“I was a little worried that the mothers of the brides wouldn’t want a place called The Hammered Lamb catering their wedding, so Little Lamb Catering and Events was born,” Lambert explains.
The Hammered Lamb has continued to see growth over the past two years in addition Little Lamb Catering and Events.
“We have been really fortunate in Ivanhoe Village,” he says. “The neighborhood continues to grow and bring more businesses and residents to the area. And with great additions to the city like SunRail and Uber, more people can get around in the city without the need for a car and trying to find parking.”
And those visiting the restaurant are from all walks of life. That’s because Lambert makes sure everyone is welcome, no matter what part of the community they may represent.
“From day one I have always said that I didn’t want to be a ‘gay bar’ or a ‘straight bar,'” he says. “I wanted a place where everyone felt welcome.
We have straight clientele that ask if we are a gay bar and we have gay clientele ask if we are a straight bar. And my answer is always the same. We are neither. We are a neighborhood bar and restaurant where everyone is welcome—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, straight allies and everyone in between.”
