My restaurant and hospitality odyssey began as a dishwasher/bus boy in a Virginia Beach, VA diner in the summer of 1978. Over the next eight years I completed my education and worked in restaurants from Raleigh, NC to Seekonk, MA. Dishwasher, bus boy, host, waiter, sandwich maker, salad station, prep cook, dessert plating and preparation, line cook, and floor sweeper - I experienced and enjoyed them all. The camaraderie, hard work and respect that comes with working hard and being productive were intoxicating. After college I entered the world of corporate restaurants. I hated it. There I was wearing a white coat and paper toque doing product yield reports and inventory.

A former co-worker, two others and myself opened a fine dining southwestern themed restaurant in Virginia Beach, VA. The restaurant was a success and is still operating today. As a partnership we were not successful. Too many cooks in the kitchen! We sold the business and I took a job as a catering chef for a local gourmet store and catering company. Catering did not provide the adrenaline rush of a restaurant.  After ten months my wife and I accepted an offer to move to Atlanta. Two months later I was living in Atlanta working as the Sous Chef at Murphy’s in the Virginia-Highland area. Six months later I was the restaurant chef. Over the next four years, we expanded, relocated to a more prominent location and completely transformed the menu and concept.

Crescent Moon was founded and opened on January 1, 1995 in downtown Decatur, GA. We opened initially as a breakfast and lunch diner. After five years we expanded into a larger location which we built from the ground up. Dinner was added and we reopened to standing room only crowds. We kept it up for eight more years and then received an offer to sell which was well timed and reflective of our commitment to excellence. Over those thirteen years, I was involved in every aspect and every decision of the operation, everyday. I opened a second Crescent Moon in May of 2004. Then, I saw the wisdom of employee manuals, proper training, creating promotions, organized book keeping etc. My staff and I created those items along with many other tools that enabled me to operate two locations without a clone.

When I started Crescent Moon, my goal was to be the best at every position. I worked long and hard and earned the respect of my staff and can boast one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry. That time in the trenches working with my staff and customers created the atmosphere necessary for success.  The documentation and formulation of the spreadsheets, manuals and metrics are all a product of involvement not a textbook. There is no substitute for experience. I enhanced my experience with a formal education, not visa versa. I started at the bottom. I would honor the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience with you and your company.