Brian Reeder

What I Walked Into

Nick approached me with the idea over coffee in Park City. He'd been thinking about it for years — a scratch-made fast-casual concept for locals who needed affordable, everyday dining that didn't compromise on quality. The resort town had plenty of expensive options but nothing that fit. Roe'e joined as our third co-founder, bringing Mediterranean culinary expertise. We secured funding from local Park City families in March 2016, found a space in April, and opened August 17, 2016. We ran out of food three days in a row.

What I Built

I built the operational backbone — operations, finance, HR, development, maintenance, legal, administration, insurance, licensing, permitting, site selection, team development, and culture. From day one, the focus was building systems that could scale without depending on any single person — technology, decision-making frameworks, and processes that would work whether I was in the building or not.

We grew from concept to 9 locations over nine years — Park City, Midvale, Sandy, 9th & 9th in Salt Lake City, a commissary kitchen with catering and takeout, Salt Lake City International Airport, Station Park, and American Fork. On pace for $18M in annual revenue at exit. 12–20% EBITDA every year — through aggressive expansion and COVID. Every step required threading a needle — the right site at the right time, the right hire for the right store, the right investment before the revenue justified it.

The commissary kitchen was a turning point. Consistency was the hardest problem to solve at scale — the same dish needed to taste the same at every location, every day. We made a $1M investment in the commissary build-out, including $250K in industrial food processing equipment that eliminated 160+ hours per week of manual prep labor across locations. Built a hub-and-spoke distribution model with a refrigerated truck and centralized production. It gave us the quality control to grow confidently.

The airport location was a milestone. We were selected from 81 applicants — including national chains — for the prime spot at Salt Lake City International Airport. That selection validated what we'd built.

When COVID hit, we had a location mid-construction. Rather than pausing, we opened for curbside and delivery only — burner phones for a makeshift delivery service, daily calls to suppliers and health departments, and a singular focus on keeping staff employed and bills paid. We built safety protocols from scratch so the team felt safe and comfortable. We ran out of food again — validating the decision to push forward.

I managed the investor relationship throughout — restructuring the original agreement mid-COVID to create a board, improve founder terms, and build a healthier governance structure for the next phase of growth.

The team was the thing I'm most proud of. We promoted from within relentlessly — over 100 internal promotions across nine years, and the last four stores were all led by GMs promoted from inside the company. Our best locations maintained 80% retention in an industry where half that is considered good. Corporate stayed at six people — lean by design, enabled by systems and technology that replaced headcount. Two seasonal menu changes a year kept the product evolving while the systems kept it consistent. I built the tech stack that ran the company — from POS configuration to reporting dashboards to the operational tools that put the right information in front of the right person at the right time.

What I Left Behind

A nine-location, $18M fast-casual brand with 200+ employees, consistent double-digit EBITDA margins, a central commissary, an airport location, and a team built to sustain it. The company continues to operate and grow successfully — new locations have opened since my departure, which is exactly what the systems, processes, and infrastructure were designed to do: run without me. The decision to move on came at the start of 2025. I spent Q1 in transition — handing off, closing loops, making sure the operation was set — and successfully exited the company.

What I Walked Into

An investment group that had acquired an existing brewery brand but hadn't found the right path forward yet. Leadership was in transition, the brand needed a complete reimagining, and a 4,000 sq ft taproom sat empty waiting for a plan. Mike Perine was already there as the brewer — a brilliant guy and the strongest asset the project had.

What I Built

I came in and gave the project the structure it needed to actually move. The challenge was harder than a fresh start — rebranding an existing name means resetting expectations in a market that already has an opinion. Reformulated the core beer lineup with Mike, established a contract brewing partnership with Uinta Brewing to handle production at scale, and solved the storage and logistics problems that had been bleeding money.

Designed and built out the taproom from concept through opening. Rebuilt the brand identity and story from the ground up. Built the distribution channel and grew it to 30+ accounts. Hired the president and the team around Mike to give the company real leadership. Managed the relationship with a large investor group throughout — keeping alignment while moving fast enough to actually get things done.

What I Left Behind

A rebranded, fully operational brewery with five core beers, a contract brewing partnership, 30+ distribution accounts, a built-out taproom, and a leadership team in place. An operation that had been searching for direction, delivered in under two years.

What I Walked Into

An opportunity to work alongside two of the most talented people in the industry. Pavle Milic — one of the finest maîtres d' I've ever known — and Charleen Badman, a chef who uses vegetables in ways I'd never seen, paying homage to cultures around the world through her ingredients, technique, and palate.

What I Built

I supported operations, staffing, training, and service. Helped develop the wine and spirits program around regional products. Fostered relationships with local farmers, purveyors, and winemakers — menus and retail rooted in community. Participated in creative direction from concept through branding and guest experience. Located and secured a new site for expansion, facilitating the growth of the restaurant into a larger space.

But the real value of this chapter was learning what excellence actually looks like when it's not compromised — and carrying that standard forward into everything I've built since.

What I Left Behind

A functioning operation that supported two people doing their best work. Charleen has since won the 2020 James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest. Pavle has since started Los Milics, his own winery and vineyard in southern Arizona.

What I Walked Into

A shared vision with Pavle Milic to build a wine shipping business focused on regional producers. The U.S. regulatory landscape for wine shipping was complex, but the opportunity felt real.

What I Built

Built out a 1,500 sq ft retail wine shop adjacent to FnB Restaurant in the space I had secured for the expansion. Designed the physical space, developed the brand identity, and curated the product selection. The original aspiration was a shipping business, but interstate wine shipping regulations made that model unworkable. We pivoted to retail and operated the shop for two years.

What I Left Behind

Not every venture works out. The shipping model never launched, and the retail operation ran its course. But I built a brand, built a space, and learned firsthand how regulatory environments can kill a business model before it gets off the ground. That lesson shaped how I evaluate opportunities going forward.

What I Walked Into

A luxury resort in need of foundational F&B infrastructure. Service standards, SOPs, and leadership structure hadn't been formalized, and the division was operating without an F&B advocate on the executive team. The team was talented but under-resourced — stretched thin across five departments without the systems or support to deliver at the level the brand demands.

What I Built

I stabilized operations first — created an environment where the team felt supported and could focus on hospitality. Then I built the foundation: SOPs, processes, service standards, and training programs across all F&B outlets — restaurant, bar, in-room dining, pool, and banquets. Built forecasting tools including rolling 4-week year-over-year cover trends and capture ratio modeling that enabled proactive staffing and labor decisions.

Designed revenue-driving activation programs — holiday events, après programming, wine dinners. Improved cross-departmental communication between F&B and supporting divisions. Partnered cross-functionally with HR, Finance, and Marketing to rebuild support for the frontline teams that needed it most.

What I Left Behind

12% improvement in Qualtrics guest satisfaction scores for Food & Beverage. 25% improvement in divisional profitability. A complete operational infrastructure — SOPs, processes, and organizational structure — designed to support additional growth after my departure. A division that went from under-resourced to having a real foundation to build on.

What I Walked Into

A Forbes Five-Star luxury resort in Park City. I was recruited for the Apex restaurant GM role and fell in love with the mountains on the drive from the airport — green peaks after years of Arizona desert.

What I Built

My scope expanded quickly because F&B needed more than what existing leadership was delivering. I moved from Apex GM to Director of Restaurants — overseeing eight outlets, $15M in annual revenue, and 200+ seasonal associates. Reduced staff turnover 25–40%, drove a 15% increase in profitability and 25% increase in revenue, and launched three new restaurant concepts from ideation through opening. Wrote the training manuals and service standards for Forbes Five-Star luxury service.

When the Director of F&B departed, I ran the full division for eight months as Interim Director while the hotel sorted out the next step.

Then I made a deliberate choice that most people in my position wouldn't make. I stepped back from operations and into finance. I understood 60% of the P&L and was faking the rest — and that wasn't good enough. Working alongside William Dvoranchik, I took over financial operations for the entire $100M+ resort — budgeting, forecasting, month-end close, P&L performance across every department and cost center. Rooms, spa, retail, F&B, sales and marketing, engineering — 50+ operational and administrative areas. Managed the HOA financials for residential owners, led a finance team of 10+, reduced F&B COGS 2–3% annually without impacting quality, and delivered clean audits every year. As William took on regional responsibilities, I became the de facto on-property Director of Finance.

By the end, I was being brought into other properties to teach operational finance to their executive committees — formal training delivered across all seven hotels in the Montage portfolio, helping leadership teams understand how operations and finance connect.

What I Left Behind

Someone who has run $15M in F&B operations and a $100M financial operation at a Forbes Five-Star resort. The finance move wasn't a step back — it was the missing piece. I selected Workday as the brand's payroll provider, helped open the first Pendry properties and Palmetto Bluff resort, and left behind a finance operation that ran clean. The operational finance training I developed became a resource for the entire brand.

What I Walked Into

A luxury resort opening. I started as a server and was part of the team that opened the property from day one.

What I Built

I moved from server to assistant GM under Pavle Milic, then to General Manager of Prado — the hotel's signature 150-seat restaurant — when Pavle left to open his own concept. From there I was promoted to Dining Director overseeing the entire F&B division: two restaurants, two pool operations, a coffee shop, and the bar program — 150 associates in total.

I built the operational foundation for each outlet from scratch. Created SOPs across all areas of dining operations. Under my leadership, Prado earned its first Forbes Four-Star and AAA Four-Diamond ratings, and the hotel achieved Five Diamonds during my tenure. I achieved 30% year-over-year revenue growth at Prado and managed the resort's wine and spirits program at 12–16% beverage cost.

When a gap opened in executive leadership, I assumed full oversight of the entire F&B division for six months — running all outlets solo while the hotel figured out the next move.

What I Left Behind

A fully operational luxury F&B division with defined standards, trained teams, and earned ratings. A property that went from opening to award-winning. An operation that proved a server who pays attention can run the whole thing.