Brian Richards | Director of Food + Beverage
Brian Richards joins the team at Virgin Hotels San Francisco as the Director of Food + Beverage. He will be responsible for not only building the new program from the ground up but also helping his team to drive creative ideas and become leaders in the hotel dining industry.
Chef Adrian Garcia at the heart of everything, Brian’s underlying hospitality motto is simple: take care of the guest. He learned this at a young age, watching his mother and grandmother at home and his cousins who owned Italian restaurants. The importance of combining delicious food and making everyone feel at home with warm and welcoming service and attention always stood out to Brian.
Brian went on to study hospitality in college and put his skills to the test with his first job at The Broadmoor, the longest running Five Star / 5 Diamond Resort in the U.S. This experience ignited his passion and he went on to work on the opening team for The Summit restaurant and worked with Jacques Pepin and his son-in-law Rollie Wesen. He also lent his talents to groups such as Kimpton, Destination Hotels, and the Morgans Hotel Group.
Most recently, Brian was tapped to revamp the entire food and beverage program of MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa in Sonoma, where he worked with a team of over 50 to instill the highest service standards as well as building a successful pop-up restaurant during construction.
Brian looks forward to building a passionate food and beverage team at Virgin Hotels San Francisco and empowering them to delight guests on each and every visit to the property’s many outlets from the full-service Commons Club to the more casual Funny Library coffee shop and everything in between.
When Brian isn’t working, you can find him traveling and exploring new food cultures for fresh sources of inspiration.
As Executive Chef at Commons Club San Francisco, Chef Adrian Garcia will use his experience from world-class restaurants to showcase a globally-inspired menu concept within the restaurant of this modern social club at the Virgin Hotels San Francisco.
Influenced at a young age by his family’s culinary traditions, Chef Adrian honed his skills at several Southern Californian mainstays including an award-winning restaurant, Addison in San Diego. Since moving to San Francisco in 2012, he has quickly made his mark on the culinary scene rising through the ranks at many of the city’s most renowned restaurants. Prior to joining the team to open Commons Club, Chef Adrian worked at Benu and then led the kitchen at Quince Restaurant as Chef De Cuisine – both restaurants earned three Michelin stars and four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle, respectively. Most recently, Chef Adrian was involved as a consultant with San Francisco newcomer, Stonemill Matcha.
His use of hyper-local California ingredients combined with a wide array of culinary techniques will culminate in a modern yet whimsical style of cooking, which will make Commons Club a prime destination for both local Bay Area food lovers and culinary-minded travelers alike, providing a new take on the modern social club.
Commons Club, the flagship food, beverage, and social club concept of Virgin Hotels will be situated at the main entrance of the Virgin Hotels San Francisco, which will open later this year.
