Today we’d like to introduce you to Grant Nelson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Grant. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Started my career in Hospitality at 17 years old as a dishwasher & line cook for Earls Restaurants in Vancouver, Canada.
Worked in Restaurants as a waiter in Toronto until graduating from the University of Toronto with a degree in Political Science. Got my first job as floor manager while working for the Distillery Restaurants Group in the Historic Distillery District located in Downtown Toronto.
Joined Four Seasons Hotel Toronto as Assistant Bar Manager in 2011. In 2012, the new Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto was ready to open its doors as the company’s new flagship hotel. I was brought over from the now closed location to lead dbar – the new bar/lounge concept headed by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud from New York City. One year after opening, dbar was one of the top earning bars in Four Seasons Worldwide.
In 2014, I was promoted to Assistant General Manager of Café Boulud & dbar, overseeing guest experience and operations for both the restaurant and lounge.
In August of this year, I re-located to Beverly Hills in my current role as General Manager of THE Blvd, over seeing THE Blvd’s renovation and re-launch in September.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been filled with many challenges. Opening the new flagship Four Seasons hotel in Toronto was an incredible experience. It was my first time opening a large bar & lounge outlet with a very high profile brand and celebrity Chef. Toronto is the home for Four Seasons and it was also the first partnership with Chef Daniel Boulud, one of NYC’s top french Chef’s. The pressure during this opening was unlike anything I had experienced before.
After 2 years of operating, Café Boulud was closed and re-launched with a full-scale renovation by Restaurant designer Martin Brudnizki. Our new Café Boulud opened with critically acclaimed success and remains one of the top dining spots in Canada.
Any relocation within Four Seasons is both difficult and exciting, moving to a new city with new peers requires patience and flexibility. The Beverly Wilshire is a historic property, situated right on Rodeo Dr. This, combined with one of the most popular patios in Beverly Hills and operating hours of 6:30 am to 2 am, make it one the busiest restaurant’s in the company.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with THE Blvd – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Four Seasons is known all over the world for providing the highest level of service to our guests. We use as our credo “THE GOLDEN RULE – treat others as we would have them treat us”.
My role with Four Seasons is to oversee the guest experience while dining in the Restaurant & Bar. In the era of the ever growing “foodie”, this is becoming more and more relevant, not only for the hotel guest but for an increasing amount of local guests looking to dine at the hottest spots, with cutting edge quality and top talent chefs, mixologists and service professionals.
My role as General Manager also includes ensuring our business remains profitable for our owners. Traditionally, hotel restaurants have operated at a loss, relying on revenues from room rates to compensate for high costs in the dinning room. Four Seasons has made a very clear change from this tradition in ensuring its Restaurant & Bar managers are operating with a keen eye on making smart business decisions, just as any independent restaurant would do to survive and grow.
What sets THE Blvd apart from what others are doing is location, service, and value. There is no other operation in town which can offer you the prime location our restaurant & terrace provides. Many of our staff have been on our team over 20 years and know our guests very well. This is truly a historic restaurant, in an iconic hotel. I feel very fortunate to be apart of its history.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Plans for the future are to eventually move into a Director of Food & Beverage role with Four Seasons. While I would love to open my own restaurant one day, I am enjoying working with the extensive resources available and collaborating with the very talented people working at Four Seasons. This is an incredible company with plenty of opportunities to grow all over the world.
Contact Info:
- Address: Grant Nelson
General Manager – THE Blvd Restaurant & Lounge
Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel
9500 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA - Website: www.theblvdrestaurant.com
- Phone: 310-275-5200 x6811
- Email: [email protected]
