Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Rosenthal.
Dan, 68, is President of The Rosenthal Group, Inc. (“TRG”).
He graduated from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration in 1971, and has nearly 50 years of hotel and restaurant experience. His background encompasses all aspects of the restaurant industry including nine years as a Food and Beverage Director for Hilton Hotels, Omni International Hotels and Hyatt Hotels, culminating in 1979 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare where he supervised that hotel’s $13.5 million food service operation.
He left Hyatt to become Midwest Regional Manager for Victoria Station, Inc. For nearly four years he had direct operating responsibility for nine highly successful restaurants in Chicago, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis and New Orleans.
In 1983, he left Victoria Station to become Vice President of Operations for Arnie Morton’s expanding group of Chicago restaurants. While there, he supervised six restaurants, including the landmark Arnie’s.
In 1986, he started his first restaurant company, Chicago Dining Authority, Inc. As President, he created and opened two of Chicago’s most successful restaurants; Harry Caray’s and Prairie. Prairie was one of Chicago’s first restaurants created to embrace local Midwestern foods and was a nationally acclaimed destination for over 16 years. Harry Caray’s, based on the life of iconic Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster Harry Caray, continues to be Chicago’s quintessential Italian steak house.
He no longer manages Harry Caray’s but still retains his ownership interest.
In 1988, he founded The Rosenthal Group (then known as Rosenthal Newton, Inc.) with Cathy Newton and opened a number of restaurants over the next five years, including Trattoria No. 10, a 3 star upscale Italian restaurant located at 10 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois. In 1994, TRG was awarded a substantial management project for the creation and management of new land based food service facilities for The Empress River Casino in Joliet, Illinois. The scope of this project included design of the $35 million expansion, construction management, opening of over 30,000 square feet of land based facilities as well as operational management of 5 new food and beverage outlets.
Since 1993, he developed and expanded the highly successful Sopraffina concept to its current level of 5 restaurants. He also developed Poag Mahone’s, an “old Chicago” Irish ale house. Poag Mahone’s received national acclaim in 2005 when it was listed in GQ Magazine as having “One of the Top 20 Burgers You Must Eat Before You Die”. The article sparked additional recognition in a featured segment on the “OPRAH WINFREY SHOW”.
In addition to operating his successful restaurant company, he has devoted much of his time to studying the impact that Chicago restaurants have on the environment and exploring innovative practices to reduce the amount of waste and negative environmental effects of operating a restaurant. With a mission to bring sustainable products and services to restaurants at affordable prices, in October 2007 he co-founded the Green Chicago Restaurant Coalition (GCRC). The GCRC has since grown to a sizeable force of over 300 members. In September 2008, he received the Illinois Environmental Council “Environmental Leadership Award” for his work with the GCRC.
He has spoken at many conferences, conventions and culinary schools including the annual Family Farmed Expo, the National Restaurant Association Show, State of the Plate 2010 Conference, Robert Morris University and Roosevelt University.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s never a smooth road for an entrepreneur. I always think that one of my restaurants is about to go out of business. Running scared keeps us focused on improving every day. The biggest struggles come when we unexpectedly lose a key employee, or when we have to close a restaurant. Fortunately, those things occur rarely, but when they do, they send a shockwave through the company. Being able to withstand those shocks and grow from them strengthens the fabric of the company.
Please tell us about Trattoria No.10.
Trattoria No. 10 has been proudly serving Chicago diners for nearly 30 years now. Trip Advisor regularly has us listed as the number 1 Italian restaurant in all Chicago. We’re known for our handmade ravioli, particularly our butternut squash ravioli, which has been on the menu since the restaurant opened in 1989. 2 things set us apart from our competition. First is our product.
We have an unyielding commitment to the use of quality ingredients that are locally sourced when possible and we have prepared those products with an amazing level of care and consistency that our guests return for over and over. Second is our staff. This amazing group of nearly 80 professionals in both the front and back of the house understands the difference between service and hospitality and shows true respect for not only our guests but each other.
Over 40% of our staff has been with us over 5 years, and many have been with us 20 years or longer. Of all our accomplishments as a company, we are most proud of the fact that we have created a caring, empathetic work environment for so many wonderful people.
Contact Info:
- Address: 10 North Dearborn,
Chicago, IL 60602 - Website: www.trattoriaten.com
- Phone: 312-984-1718
- Email: info@trattoriaten.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trattoriano10/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trattoriano10/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrattoriaNo10
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/trattoria-no-10-chicago
Image Credit:
Trattoria No.10
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