Born in Chanute, Kansas, Ellen always had an affinity for restaurants and discovered her niche in the front-of-the-house in the New York restaurant scene. Beginning at Del Frisco’s, she was recruited by Jeoffrey Zakarian to Town where she helped the team earn a three star NY Times review. She was part of the opening team at Patricia Yeo’s, Sapa, and finally, ran operations for David Burke & Donatella.

Ellen spent the next 13 years moving her way around Wolfgang Puck’s empire of independent restaurants. She was the training manager at famed Spago, and then GM with a focus on service at Wolfgang’s Cut at the Beverly Wilshire, both MICHELIN starred restaurants. For Curtis, success in business relies on momentum and energy. She has taken her passion for restaurants and directed it throughout her career into identifying and developing strong service professionals, adhering to brand standards and supporting her teams.