A Passion For Helping the Hospitality Industry Succeed.

We are a management & consulting company for start up & existing restaurants, hotels, and other food and beverage services.
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HAPPENING NOW

Dash Hospitality Partners with MLevel

Renew, Refresh, Refocus, Re-Open!

DASH Hospitality has collaborated with MLevel to develop a self-service platform that allows small businesses in the Hospitality sector to educate and train their employees on re-entry into the workforce. FOR FREE. FOR 10 WEEKS.

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The Team

DAVID ABES

david@dash-hospitality.com

David has lived in Atlanta since he was 5 years old. After attending Arizona State University, he moved back to Atlanta in 1991.  Starting his restaurant career at the age of 16, he went on to work for Morrison’s Corporation in their casual dining division with L & N Seafood & Silver Spoon.  David was the General Manager of the Atlanta Fish Market during the Olympics.  David moved on to become the Director of Operations for Here To Serve Restaurants for 14 years, growing the company from 3 to 14 restaurants.

Following Here To Serve, David became the Regional Director of Operations for LDV Hospitality.  Before starting DASH Hospitality Group, David held the role of COO for the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group overseeing 9 restaurants in Georgia and 4 in South Florida for three years.  In his free time, he helps his wife Julie with her edible cookie dough concept, called Batter Cookie Dough Counter. David is on the board for the Atlanta Community Food Bank and JDRF.  David’s son Mitchell was diagnosed with Type one diabetes when he was 2 and works for Eagle Rock Distributors as their Customer Success Coordinator. David's daughter Amanda works at Emory St. Joseph's hospital with her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy

Phil Handley

VP of Culinary and Beverage
phil@dash-hospitality.com

As a hospitality professional with over 37 years of experience, there isn’t much Phil hasn’t done in restaurants. He started in hospitality working for a caterer at age 13 in Jacksonville, FL. His first job was at a Naval Air Station for a Change of Command.

Phil graduated from New England Culinary Institute. In addition to being a certified sommelier, Phil’s career has progressed in to becoming a beverage, bar, and operations expert throughout Greater Atlanta. Phil has successfully opened restaurants ranging from neighborhood taquerias and luxurious FrenchBrasseries to scratch cooking concession stands in major Athletic stadiums.

Phil maintains his passion for the industry by mentoring and coaching all levels of hospitality employee. His infectious love of food and beverage comes through as soon as he speaks to employee or guest alike.   For fun, Phil likes to host guerilla wine dinners, play poker, enjoy live music, garden and hike. Phil volunteers with TrulyLiving Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture.

Chef Nick Leahy

CULINARY DIRECTOR
chefnickleahy@gmail.com

Spending much of his childhood in France’s Provence region, Chef Nick likes to say that his earliest memories were of flavors. Add his time spent in Bermuda and London, and you begin to understand the timeless techniques, and multi-cultural nuances that  Nick celebrates in his kitchen today.

In 2018, Chef Leahy opened the Provencal-style restaurant, AIX, and adjoining wine bar, Tin Tin, in Atlanta’s hot West Midtown neighborhood. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged Chef Leahy to think about the needs of the neighborhood, which led him  to reimagine AIX and Tin Tin, and create Nick’s Westside.  At Nick’s Westside, Chef Leahy has created a more approachable, broad-appealed menu that highlights Georgia’s small producers and features fresh, sustainably sourced ingredients. Prior to Nick’s Westside, Chicken Out, AIX, and Tin Tin, Chef Leahy was the chef-owner of Buckhead’s popular tapas-style restaurant, Saltyard. His illustrious career also spans some of Atlanta’s most iconic restaurant groups, including Concentrics Restaurants and Fifth Group Restaurants.

Chef Leahy is a passionate supporter of Georgia Grown, No Kid Hungry, The James Beard Foundation, and The Giving Kitchen. Most notably, he holds the honor of being the first chef ever to be elected to Meals on Wheels Atlanta’s Board of Trustees.In his free time, Chef Leahy enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, Danielle, along with his two daughters and their dog, Lilly Bean.

Cyndi Sterne

Operations Director
cyndi@dash-hospitality.com

Cyndi Sterne made Atlanta her home in 1992. With degrees in Costume Design and Retail Management from Indiana University, she was the Director of Youth and Family programs at the Marcus Jewish Community Center. While there, she created interactive displays for their children’s museum, and developed plans for a future culinary program. In 2010, she left to follow her dream to connect people through food opened Hal’s Kitchen Cooking School.

After moving the business to North Buckhead in 2017, she rebranded to Yes, Chef! Culinary Events to reflect the multitude of activities: pop ups, wine dinners, guest chefs, classes, and corporate team building. Yes, Chef! Culinary Events was lauded for its Pay it Forward program where corporate clients cooked for the food insecure. Through her business,
she has cooked alongside chefs from across the globe. She prides herself on her stellar reviews from an A list of corporate clients and her secret sourdough rye bread recipe. Cyndi is thrilled to bring her experience as an entrepreneur, instructional chef, and customer engagement expert to the DASH team.

Eric Alsandor

PROJECT MANAGEr
eric@dash-hospitality.com

A 23-year industry professional, Eric has worked in every area of the hospitality field from nightclubs, venues, brew pubs, fine dining to neighborhood bars and eateries. 13 of those years were spent in overarching executive management roles. Hailing from New Orleans, Eric specializes in high-volume, high-pressure restaurants and sophisticated urban environments. He has worked as a food and beverage director for such places as the Fabulous Fox Theatre and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.

In addition to his culinary background Eric, also has a degree in Graphic Design & Information Design from Ringling School of Art and Design and often lends those talents to the hospitality field as it pertains to menu design, marketing and internal visual presentation. In tandem with a career in hospitality, Eric commands a rich and diverse background in private security consulting.

JEFF GOLDT

PROJECT MANAGEr
jeff@dash-hospitality.com

Jeff was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and moved to Atlanta during his high school years. By 16 years old, he was working at a local steak house and the neighborhood hot dog stand. He took time off from the restaurant industry to head off to Tuscaloosa where he earned a B.A. in Political Science Government from the University of Alabama.

After graduation, at just 22 years old, he signed a franchise agreement with The Krystal Company. Over the next 30 years he became a multi-unit owner operator. As a Krystal franchisee, he won several awards, including franchisee of the year. He also served many years on the Franchise Advisory Council. Over the years, he added Carvel and Mama Fu’s Asian House to his portfolio.

Jeff lives in Atlanta with his wife, Andrea, and three children. He enjoys his time playing Golf, Tennis, Traveling and watching Alabama football and basketball. He also can be found spending quality time volunteering with Creating Connecting Communities, Jump Spark and Swim Across America.

DEBBIE & STEVE HORN

GOFIGURE, INC

From Atlanta by way of Austin, Texas and back to Atlanta, Debbie and Steve Horn started GoFigure, Inc
over 30 years ago. Debbie and Steve are a “TEAM”. They specialize in the needs for hospitality and
other businesses with regards to all financial systems including bookkeeping, accounting, and back office
systems.

While working with many major restaurant groups, they have established themselves as gurus
when it comes to making sure all the financial systems are set up properly, they communicate constantly
to the team about wins and what red flags there are from the top to bottom of the P & L.

Via Failla Marketing Agency

We create and execute strategically with a ruthless focus on performance. Our deep knowledge of interactive channels helps us dial in relevance for results. There is a person behind every view, tap, click, and transaction. We think that attention can only be earned with a strategy that ties relevance to behavior. That’s why we put people first. We already understand today’s media and creative landscape in your industry. Once we understand your business, we will execute a strategy to unlock its potential.

@via_faillapr
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Our Clients

David and Team Dash began leading operations for us a year ago and the results have been tremendous. They bring focus, attention to detail, culture and professionalism to a new level. With such vast experience in the best of class Atlanta restaurant industry they possess relationships with vendors, guests, and most importantly, talent that nobody else can. My only regret is not partnering with Dash sooner.

David Clapp - Dantanna’s

David is the go-to guy for improving your processes, finding the right vendors and keeping everyone on point! Creative, experienced and has a vast network of resources.  He has helped us grow as a business and is always an absolute pleasure to work with.

Leigh Ann Livaditis - Zesto

The professionalism your team displayed definitely made us look like we knew what we were doing. We just wanted to let you guys know how much we really appreciate the job and effort the Dash Hospitality Team brought to the event!  We definitely look forward to a long lasting relationship!

Brian and Amy Dixon - Insight Virtual Ballistics

Services

BUSINESS PLANS

Take the first step of your journey as we assist you with feasibility studies, design, and operational plans.

STARTUP CONSULTING & FRANCHISING

From opening your door the first time to national expansion, we have the experience and expertise to help you every step of the way.

RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT

Train with the best in the business.  Our consultants will help build and train your team from the bottom to the top.  

MARKETING / PR

We offer in house logo and marketing as well as working with industry leader, Via Failla. 

SYSTEMS

We can help you choose the right technology, website & integrations, and create effective, streamlined systems for ordering, inventory, productivity, and other aspects of your business.

REAL ESTATE

Location, location, location! From site visits to neighborhood analysis, we can help you pick the perfect spot.

Get in Touch Today!

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