| |
For more than a decade as a practicing design professional, I
have been using my past operational experience to assist my clients
with the planning of new and renovated foodservice facilities.
My past projects, located throughout the world, include all types
of foodservice operations ranging from small snack bars to mega-resorts,
and everything in between.
|
LEE SIMON
|
I literally grew up in the hospitality industry. Since birth, my family has owned one of the nation's leading foodservice equipment design and supply firms. As a child, I spent many afternoons riding along with my father, visiting clients, and always entering through the back kitchen door. I cleaned glassware in the showroom and helped pick orders in the warehouse. But at a very early age, I was drawn to the firm's design department, amazed by the team's ability to create on paper what would soon be constructed in real life.
Beginning at the age of 14, I secured my first “real” job at a local frozen yogurt chain. Following my first summer job, I held numerous back-of-house and front-of-house positions in both restaurants and hotels. This first-hand operational experience, as both an employee and a manager, has been invaluable for my roles as a designer and developer.
After
graduating from Cornell University 's School of Hotel Administration,
I accepted a position with a well respected foodservice and laundry
design consultant in Colorado . Subsequent to my time in Colorado
, I moved back to Florida to join The
General Group/Louis Wohl & Sons, my family's firm. Since
joining The General Group/Louis Wohl & Sons, our company has
experienced tremendous growth while supporting some of the world's
leading hospitality companies. (As an aside, anyone interested
in a career as a foodservice/hospitality designer can feel free
to contact us at info@thegeneralgroup.com).
|
|
Beginning
in 2001, I worked as an instructor at the University of Central
Florida 's hospitality school teaching a course entitled Hospitality
Facilities Planning and Design . As an adjunct lecturer,
I sought to expose students to real world scenarios and challenges
that hospitality developers face on an every day basis. In 2002
I joined a team of seasoned hospitality professionals to help
develop a new restaurant concept. This development process was
chronicled in my book The Restaurant Dream?
It
was in 2002 that I initiated two other ventures as well. First,
I began writing a column entitled Drawing
Conclusions , which focused on design issues specific
to the hospitality industry. The column has since been featured
in dozens of publications throughout the United States , Canada
, the United Kingdom , Hong Kong , India , the Netherlands , Switzerland
, Nigeria , and the United Arab Emirates . The second venture
involved work on a patent for a new and innovative foodservice
preparation system which could potentially change the way that
kitchens are designed and utilized. The patent for this system
is currently pending.
|
|
|
