Welcome to The Restaurant Coach Podcast. It is the cure for the common restaurant. This is episode number 16 and I am honored to have as my guest, a friend, and fellow industry expert Kelley Jones to the show! Kelley is an icon in the restaurant and bar industry.
Kelley Jones is the founding partner of Hospitality Alliance and principal of Kelley Jones Hospitality with offices in New York City and Las Vegas. His ventures include the Mayfair Hotel in Los Angeles, California; The Dapper Doughnut and Proof Tavern in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kelley has been retained by ITV Studios to create “Hell’s Kitchen the restaurant” which ITV plans to roll out internationally and retained by The Related Group in Miami, Florida as asset manager for their F&B operations at Hyde Beach Kitchen & Cocktails. Jones instructs the culture and leadership training for all managers and team members for the Madison Square Garden Company at their venues including LA Forum, Chicago Theater, Beacon Theater, MSG and Radio City Music Hall. He trains teams at Newark Airport for OTG Management and Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX for Westfield. Jones launched Gaku Ramen, loosely translated in Japanese to “educated noodle”, in Burlington Vermont with a planned expansion into college towns across the North East.
Previously, Jones opened Hops & Harvest with James Beard award winning partner Bradley Ogden, an American farm to table comfort food concept. He also partnered with Top Chef Angelo Sosa on Poppy Den an Asian gastro-pup and retained Sosa as his culinary consultant at The Malibu Inn on Malibu Beach, California. He partnered with Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian at Tudor House and HIGHBAR on Miami’s South Beach and opened Todd English Pub as managing partner in Las Vegas. He created Suite & Tender at the Se Hotel in San Diego and Eden on Miami’s South Beach, both with Michelin 2 Star Chef Christopher Lee.
Jones has been on the opening executive teams of some of the country’s leading hotel brands including The Monaco Washington DC, Hudson New York, Clift San Francisco, Argonaut San Francisco, and Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Las Vegas. Jones has managed the operating teams of eight of the top 100 highest grossing restaurants in the country and has led the opening teams of five of the top 100 highest grossing restaurants in the United States. Jones held senior executive level positions with three of the top 75 multi-concept restaurant operators in the country (#’s 3,7 and 15) as ranked by Restaurant & Institutions Magazine.
Because of his expertise in the hospitality industry, Jones is often tapped to share his views and insight at conferences around the country including National Restaurant Association Show, Nightclub & Bar Show, Hospitality Design Boutique Expo, ALSD Conference, RD&E Conference, G2E Summit, the inaugural Independent Lodging Congress, Temple University School of Hospitality and Tourism, Florida International University and UNLV. He has been interviewed and quoted in industry magazines such as Nations Restaurant News, Restaurant & Institutions, Market Watch, Cheers, Restaurant Business, Food and Beverage Underground, Food Arts, Hospitality Design, Tasting Panel and Wine Enthusiast.
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