Rob Burns

director of operations

Rob is a true hospitality heavy hitter, with experience in almost every facet of the restaurant industry. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University with degrees in Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management, Rob started with Omni Resorts, managing three food & beverages outlets and a team of 65 people at a Four Star Four Diamond resort. Over the years Rob has opened and run numerous restaurant concepts in New York City, including The National Bar & Dining Rooms for Geoffrey Zakarian, and the highly publicized Morimoto, operating in various roles from Beverage Director to General Manager.

Rob’s first Director of Operations role was for Dylan Prime where he oversaw a multi-million dollar restaurant renovation and drove revenue increase of more than 200%. He also created an operations footprint, SOPs and training manuals to re-launch the Dylan prime band for multi unit expansion. He then went on to lead a team of 3 sommeliers at Public, managing their expansive wine program and developing an educational program that increased wine sales by 25%. Most recently, Rob was the Director of Operations for Rubirosa Ristorante where he managed overall operations, forecasting, budgeting, P&L, food, beverage and labor costs. He led a staff of 70 and management team of 8, and helped steer the organization through their significant expansion plans.

A certified Sommelier and passionate homebrewer himself, Rob also gives back through his charitable efforts, including running the NYC Marathon two times for the Livestrong Foundation fundraising for cancer research and education.

Favorite Food:  Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas - Colorado loves some Green Chilies!
Favorite Drink:  This is a tough one! Burgundy is my favorite region to drink from, Scotch is my favorite liquor, and Negronis are my go to cocktails.
Hidden Talent: I was a 3x speed crochet champion, but had to retire when a freak needle accident tore a ligament in my hand. True story.