Gary SullivaN Owner

When I was 9 years old, my dad brought me to work with him. He was a lighting director for WGBH in Boston. I was sure that I was going to be discovered that day and asked to be a member of the cast of ZOOM—I was going to be a ZOOMer! I could barely contain my disappointment when I was led in to Studio A and told to sit quietly in the director’s chair while my father lit the stage kitchen for a large woman with a high-pitched voice wearing a cocoa-colored apron. She was showing how to make a Beef Wellington. I was riveted. One moment she was affectionately patting a perfect raw beef tenderloin on a butcher block and the next it magically appeared from the oven, wrapped in a golden crust. The lights cut, and this strange and wonderful lady strode over to me, put her hand out and said, “Hello, young man. How do you do? I’m Julia Child.”

In the summer of 1981, I packed up my Mustang and headed to San Diego to study architecture. Coming from a family of seven kids, I knew that I was going to have to make whatever money I needed to support myself while I was in school. So I worked in restaurants, starting as a dishwasher, moving to busboy and then, the jackpot—I became a waiter. Within a couple of years it became clear that architecture was taking a backseat to my interest in hospitality.

I officially began my career at Finally Michael’s in Framingham in 1985 and nine years later I had worked my way through all four of Michael Gillen’s properties in just about every capacity. In 1994 Tony Ambrose hired me as General Manager at Ambrosia and I entered the world of celebrity chefs, media, press, and flashy dining. Boston was emerging as a real food town.

Michela Larson and I serendipitously met at a luncheon for Ruth Reichl, and within a short time I had joined her and her team at Rialto as General Manager, knowing that they were looking to grow. In 2000, I became a partner of The Sapphire Restaurant Group in charge of operations and we went on to create, open and operate blu at The SportsClub/LA and Noir bar at the Charles Hotel.

My years of studying architecture have come in handy in all of our properties, but the die was cast for me the day I met Julia Child on the set of The French Chef. It just took me a while to figure it out. I think Julia would have liked Rocca Kitchen & Bar. It’s not French, but it’s fun and breaks some rules, just like she did.