Food Service Industry Expert Witnesses

This expert is a recognized authority and consultant in the hotel industry. He operates his hotel, hospitality and consulting practice specializing in operational audits and the effectiveness of hotel franchising agreements and litigation support assignments. Prior to forming his hotel consulting firm, this expert was the Product Line Manager for Hotel/Motel Operations at the International Telephone & Telegraph Co. overseeing the Sheraton Corporation of America. His previous experience includes working as the General Manager of the Summit Hotel (762 Rooms), General Manager of the Drake Hotel (680 Rooms) and Resident Manager of the Americana Hotel (1842 Rooms), all in New York City. He serves on the Board of Advisors and lectures at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. He is a member of the prestigious International Society of Hospitality Consultants and is certified as a Master Hotel Supplier by the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Lodging Association. He served for eleven years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City Club of New York. He is one of the most widely published authors in the hospitality field. His insightful articles on various hotel subjects have been published in the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Lodging Hospitality, Hotel & Motel Management, AAHOA Lodging Business, and posted on the Hotel Interactive and Hotel Online websites.

This expert has been working with supermarket inventory for over 15 years. He worked as an Inventory Controller for Save-A-Lot for a number of years, where he was responsible for daily monitoring and maintenance of inventory adjustments, shipping, and receiving, and he was also a member of the Safety Committee. Currently, this expert is a Shift Manager at a major food warehouse, overseeing day to day warehouse operations including supervision, shipping, receiving, and transportation. He supervises over 50 employees daily and trains and evaluates them, and he is responsible for all processes, equipment, and safety of the warehouse. This expert is trained in both OSHA Safety and Wiese Industrial Safety and is certified to train on Caterpillar, Linde, Raymond, and Crown fork trucks.

This expert has over 30 years of experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry. His experience includes positions at convention hotels in Los Angeles and Washington D.C., as well as management with fortune 500 restaurant companies in major cities throughout the country. He specializes in restaurant and hotel openings and consulting, as well as restaurant operations including safety and management. He currently serves as Associate Professor of Hospitality Management at a mid-Atlantic/northeast regional college.

This expert has over 50 years of experience in the fisheries industry. Most of his career was spent at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in various positions including Fisheries Economist and Project Manager. He participates in regional and international fisheries conferences and contributes specialized fisheries articles for publication in regional and international magazines on various fisheries' topics of concern to the Arab and African regions as well as for the world at large. He currently serves as a Freelance Consultant.

Robert Marcarelli is a well-known and respected chef, manager and restaurant consultant known throughout the Connecticut area. He has over fifteen years of hands-on business experience in restaurants, retail, catering, and the hospitality industry and over 20 years in business management. Robert’s experiences of working in the front and back of the house are what give him the competitive edge in our consulting field. Those skills, and specifically, his passion for taking an individual’s vision and developing it into a business plan, design, and brand name, set Robert apart in the industry. That was the driving force behind his past endeavors, including starting Pi LLC. Restaurant Consulting in 2005. Robert has been personally involved in various complex and of-the-moment hospitality concepts. His experience ranges from quick serve to fine dining, such as: a High Volume Brick Oven Pizza Restaurant, Gourmet Markets, Night Clubs, Banquet Facilities, an award winning Italian Bistro and Wine Bar, Connecticut’s First Green Certified Restaurant, a national known Soda Manufacturing Company, a NY TIMES rated “Excellent” Seafood Restaurant and more. He brings with him a deep knowledge of current food trends, award winning hospitality and of course, the network of Connecticut’s business leaders, leading Restaurant Groups, and the Industry’s best: Chefs, Managers and Professional Staff he has built lasting relationships with during his years of practice.

This expert earned his Ph.D in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University. His research interests focus on the areas technology and foodservice; he has successfully published works in Hospitality Review Journal and Journal of Foodservice Business Research. His teaching experience include food and beverage management and hospitality management.

This restaurant industry expert has 30+ years of experience in hospitality. He earned a B.S. in Restaurant Management from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration and an M.B.A. in Hospitality from Lynn University. His experience ranges from corporate training to independent entrepreneurship. Presently he operates a thriving consulting buesiness and currently serves as the Lead Restaurant Instructor in Restaurant and Bar Management for Florida International University. Feigenheimer was recently awarded the NAC Eminent Scholar Chair at FIU. In addition, this expert is recognized as an expert restaurant witness with experience in cases ranging from Dram Shop, contract issues, landlord tenant issues to slip, trip and falls.

This expert is the owner of a premier Restaurant and Foodservice consultancy that provides Management Advisory Services. He has expansive industry knowledge and tight focus on restaurant fundamentals obtaining positive performance results for client’s, independents, regional and national chains and start-up concepts. Additionally, he is a Host and Co-Host for several popular food shows.

This expert restaurant consultant has a wealth of experience as a professional chef and restaurant manager with varied experience in both New York City and the Caribbean. For several years, she owned and operated a successful restaurant and bar on St John in the US Virgin Islands and later operated a number of high volume restaurants in New York, including Le Pain Quotidien. She currently works as a freelance consultant and SCORE Mentor

This expert has 37 years of experience in the field of Hospitality and Restaurants. He earned his BS at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his MA in Social Psychology at San Diego State University. He is a member of the New York State Restaurant Association and has written articles for several restaurant and hospitality publications. He currently holds academic appointments as a Faculty Instructor of Culinary Management at a Culinary School in New York, and as an Adjunct Professor of Hospitality Management at a University in New York. He also serves as Partner at a Food Startup, as well as the President of a Hospitality Consulting Group in New York.

This expert has over 35 years of owning and operating independent restaurants, now "coaching" restaurateurs in purchasing, planning, opening, and operations of the business. This includes restaurant turnarounds - that is, troubled restaurants needing a coach in troubled times in ALL aspects of the restaurant business. He has advised landlords, lenders, investors, and operator/owners of independent restaurants including: Vernick Food & Drink, Philadelphia; The Pop Shop, Collingswood & Medford, NJ; The Green Line Cafes in Philadelphia; Sang Kee in Philadelphia & Cherry Hill, NJ; 320 Market Cafe in Swarthmore, PA; The Silver Spoon in Wayne, PA; and many more

This qualified expert has over 40 years of experience in foodservice management. He received his BS in economics from Oregon State University. He is a certified speaking professional and is considered to be one of the top foodservice speakers in North America. He is a member of the Foodservice Consultants Society International and the Chaine de Rotisseurs, an international gastronomical society. He was the formerly the owner of a thriving restaurant, The Shore Bird, for 23 years and held the title of president of the California Restaurant Association. Additionally, he was the chairman of the CRA Education Foundation. He was also an adjunct professor of hospitality at the University of California San Francisco and an adjunct professor for the hotel and restaurant school at California State Polytechnic University. This expert is quite involved in his field, having authored several foodservice articles and guides as well as being a regular columnist for a few foodservice publications. Currently, he serves as the founder of a foodservice hospitality and retail consulting firm based in California.