I attended the University of Illinois majoring in Restaurant Management and graduated with a BA 1992. I moved to Colorado to ski and decide on a career path. I wanted to be a chef so I returned to Chicago and attended Kendall College and received an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts. During my stay in Colorado and my time at Kendall I worked at various restaurants primarily as a waiter.
I started my career as Gordon Sinclair’s famous loop fine dining restaurant. I moved to Spruce, opened by a young chef, Keith Luce, a former executive chef at the White House. There I experienced and loved the madness of opening a new restaurant. I also worked at Marche under Michael Kornick, a famous restaurateur in Chicago. I worked the grill, pantry, sauté and pastry as these restaurants.
In 1996, I moved to Phoenix and worked at Wrights, an upscale restaurant at the Arizona Biltmore. I moved west to Santa Monica and worked as a butcher at Shutters on the Beach before securing a job at The Border Grill as Sous Chef. I worked for Susan Fenninger and Mary Sue Milliken for two years both at the Border Grill and helped open a new restaurant in downtown LA serving a more upscale menu. I was offered a lead chef position at their new restaurant in Las Vegas but decided to move to New York.
I was hired as Executive Chef at Citrus Bar and Grill. I spent a year reorganizing the kitchen, bringing pastries in house and changing the menu.
In 2000, I returned to Chicago and established a catering business starting as Executive Corporate Chef to executives at IPA Industries in Buffalo Grove then expanded to healthy food home delivery. In 2002, I located a site in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago and opened Joey’s Brickhouse.. The venture involved raising equity, hiring an architect and designing a build-out, hiring trades, and securing equipment. The restaurant opened summer 2003 and was successful for eight years until it was sold.
During these years at The Brickhouse I was so blessed to do a Food Channel show with my Brother called “Chef’s VS City Chicago” and we hosted a radio show on Air America 820 called “Family values with an Oy vey.”
In 2011, I acquired ownership in Max’s Deli of Highland Park where we currently operate a high volume New York style Delicatessen. The current annual sales are just under four million dollars. Our menu is large and complex. Food costs are high and food preparation is labor intensive. The restaurant supports two operating partners and, in addition, shows an annual profit of over six percent after five years of major remodeling, new lease negotiation, and staff streamlining. We expect to get between eight and ten percent profit over the next two years. No capital has been needed to accomplish all our objectives over the past five years.
I was raised by very giving and loving parents, so I have always found a way to give back. I am a board member for StandUpForKidsChicago.org and provide food to teen shelters three times a week.