Lucy Cogswell-Stewart
Former Director of Operations at Gjelina Group
“I’ve spent my career keeping my options fluid and I’ve expanded my resume with new experiences every few years. In my current role, I draw on these mixed experiences overseeing operations at a variety of different hospitality concepts.„
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
After working stints as a host/bartender/server at more suburban restaurants, positions that I always held during high school, college and graduate school, I then interviewed my way into the opening of Rivera, which completely changed the trajectory of my career. Working in a fine dining environment with an internationally known chef introduced me to food, wine and beverage elevated by storytelling, at a higher level than I had ever experienced. This was also the beginning of an extremely vibrant period of downtown Los Angeles. I became a passionate follower of the many chefs and their operations: the restaurants of Josef Centeno, Mo Chica, the Gorbels and Redbird were places I studied as a guest (and in some cases, worked my way into). Simply, it was a blessed period of time for the revitalization of Downtown. My husband and I purchased a loft there in 2011 and continue to adore the history and the ever changing landscape.
Timing the leap from FOH hourly team member to Management is one of the more difficult leaps one can take in this industry. But if you are to establish a career, it’s one that we all have to eventually make. I took a lower paying job as an AGM at one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Josef Centeno's Baco Mercat, when the opportunity arose, because at that point I felt I had accomplished all that I could as a server.
When hiring, I most often look for someone who has the attitude that we are all on the same team. By team, I mean searching for collective solutions to improve the business rather than someone who punishes or focuses their energy on criticism rather than correcting individual mistakes. Mistakes are a natural part of the work we do in such a fast-paced environment on a daily basis. At the end of the day, in this business, flexibility and optimism are always key.
What I find most inspiring about my role is the wide range of conversations that I find myself in on a typical day. These conversations can range from discussing new software implementations to streamline Third Party delivery service, to why we do not carry Coke or Coke products in our properties, to looking into where our black pepper comes from, how many times it changes hands before it gets to us, and if there is a better solution, to how a co-worker is feeling coming back from COVID. I firmly believe every problem has a solution, sound boarding these with my team and seeing the common humanity in a vast and diverse team is so incredibly rewarding.
A few short years after taking the leap into management, I had the opportunity to manage, facilitate, and open a high end hotel with multiple outlets and concepts for Roy Choi and Paul Pruitt in Koreatown (The Line Hotel). To stand back to see a crowded Saturday night with two packed restaurants, a full swinging nightclub in the lobby, and a line out the door for the Speakeasy, was an amazing accomplishment for a massive team. Hiring, training and retaining staff for such a variety of experiences such as a café, nightclub, Korean hot pot restaurant, vegetable-forward restaurant in a greenhouse with a wine list with an Austrian slant ahead of its time, meant my work environment had become surreal, the stuff of dream guest experiences, which couldn’t have been pulled off without a team of hundreds of individuals with different skills. My current day-to-day reminds me a great deal of that experience, albeit with less hip hop and soju.
To help maintain a healthy work/life balance at the Gjelina Group, we make it clear that our teams should not check their emails on their time off; we will call or text them if something pressing comes up. I also try to get at least a cup of coffee and 10 minutes of connection with my toddler (we build a lot of train tracks) before I check my phone in the morning. I’m working up the courage to remove email notifications from my phone so that I can better follow my own advice.
Disclaimer: Individuals featured in the Inspirational Career Timelines section have been nominated by peers, colleagues and/or other members of the hospitality industry. It is to the best of our knowledge that each individual has demonstrated leadership and acted as a positive role model for others.
Send Us Your Nominations
If you know of any extraordinary food, beverage and hospitality professionals who inspire others through their hard work and leadership, nominate them now!
Nominate
Search industry jobs here
Get Inspired by Industry Leaders
Explore their unique career timelines and advice about what they’ve learned along the way
- Categories
- CulinaryPastry & BakingWine & BeverageServiceOffice & AdminMedia
- Experience
- Career ChangerInternational ExperienceJames Beard Award
CountryLanguage
