Brian Radlinski General Manager

Growing up in California, and loving to write, I just assumed that I would end up in the movie business. After graduating from UCLA, I landed a job at United Talent Agency and even though I was promoted to head of talent’s desk, I soon realized that I had chosen the wrong career. As I thought back over the jobs I had really loved—cooking with Ken Frank at La Toque, waiting tables at The Ivy, being a barista at Starbucks, even my high school stint as a soda jerk at a 50’s style diner—I realized that the common thread was food and hospitality. The Culinary Institute of America beckoned. I honed my cooking skills there and then in an externship under Suzanne Goin at Campanile in Los Angeles. My next stop was Boston where I worked at Rafanelli Events as an events manager. I loved doing the wonderful extravagant parties, but there was still something missing. I wanted to be back in a restaurant. Todd English hired me at Olives, and I spent four years there, beginning as assistant manager and ultimately taking over the job of general manager.

I joined The Sapphire Restaurant Group at Rocca Kitchen & Bar in the fall of 2007 as General Manager. I love the challenge of managing Rocca, but every now and then I bake a batch of cookies for the staff just to make sure I still can.