BigWigs & New Gigs: Food & Beverage

Pier 48 GM Announced
FK Restaurant Group has appointed Justin Mayes general manager of Pier 48 Fish House & Oyster Bar at The Yard in Fishers. He most recently served in the same role for ten years at Scotty's Brewhouse. Mayes is an Indianapolis native with over 17 years of experience in the hospitality and retail industry.

GM Named For Pier 48 Fish House
FK Restaurant Group has hired Stephan Kelly as general manager & managing partner of the soon-to-open Pier 48 Fish House & Oyster Bar in downtown Indianapolis. He has more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry including opening Chammps in 1999, Kilroy’s and Levy restaurants in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Ocean Prime Indianapolis Names General Manager
Ocean Prime Indianapolis has promoted William “Willie” Neiberger to general manager. He most recently served as assistant general manager under Jeremy Devine, who was recently appointed general manager of Ocean Prime Denver’s Larimer Square location. Neiberger, a native of Denver, joined the Cameron Mitchell Restaurants family in 2011 as a server at Larimer Square.

SteadyServ Expands Executive Team
SteadyServ has added to its executive team: Andy Troxel, director of client success; Ryan Valle, director of sales operations and enablement and Kelly Henderson (pictured), marketing director. Also, Jason Austin (pictured) has been promoted to vice president of product engineering and strategy.

Hotel Tango Lands $2M in Funding, Adds Execs
Indianapolis-based Hotel Tango Artisan Distillery has closed on a $2 million round of funding. The distillery says it has also added to its executive leadership team with a new chief marketing officer and chief financial officer. As part of that effort, the distillery has hired Alex Neff as CMO. Neff most recently served as public relations manager for Indiana University Health.

Quality Dining Appoints VP
Mishawaka-based Quality Dining Inc. has appointed Daniel J. "DJ" Fitzpatrick vice president of planning. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame. Fitzpatrick “walked on” to the Fighting Irish football team, later earned a scholarship and played professional football for parts of three seasons. From 2008 through 2010, he worked as a credit analyst at the Northern Trust Bank in Chicago.

Scotty's Brewhouse Founder Takes New Role
Scott Wise will fill a familiar role in his new job: to open more Scotty's Brewhouse locations throughout the Midwest. The Yorktown native has joined Hobart-based Luke Family of Brands, which has a management agreement with Scotty's, as vice president of restaurant operations. Wise will now help to open a minimum of 10 Scotty's Brewhouses in college towns in Midwest cities.

Purdue Wine Tech Startup Hires CEO
VinSense Technology, a startup using Purdue University-patented technology to help with wine production, has hired Lise Asimont as chief executive officer. She is a Sonoma County viticulturist. Asimont is past president of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. She also serves as a committee chair for the United Wine and Grape Symposium. Asimont says she hopes to help perennial farmers with increasing sustainability and efficiency as well.

Upland Brewing Searching For Next President
The president of the state's third-largest brewery is stepping down. Upland Brewing Co. says Doug Dayhoff, who has been with the Bloomington-based business for more than 10 years, will give up day-to-day responsibilities, but "continue to support key initiatives" through year's end. Dayhoff is a part owner of Upland and came to the company when it was a brew pub.

St. Elmo Hires General Manager
St. Elmo Steak House has hired Richard Edwards as general manager. He has worked nearly three decades in the hospitality industry. Edwards most recently worked for the Hakkasan Group as executive director of restaurants, overseeing outlets in California, Texas and Nevada.