The Restaurant Solutions Team:
Dick Powell, Julia Kraft, Brad Metzger and Sarah Christopher

OUR SERVICES

Brad Metzger Restaurant Solutions (BMRS), a Southern California based Hospitality Recruitment and Placement firm, has established relationships with and represents a broad range of clients, including the most acclaimed independent fine dining restaurants in the U.S., casual restaurant companies, luxury hotels and country clubs. BMRS has successfully placed the finest Candidates in a wide range of Front and Back of the House Managerial positions, including R&D, Corporate, Executive, Sous and Pastry Chefs, Food and Beverage Directors, General Managers, Directors of Catering, Event Coordinators, Sommeliers, Maitre D’s and Restaurant Managers. Brad has been fortunate to help launch the careers of aspiring chefs who have gone on to receive accolades including the coveted Food and Wine Magazine Best New Chef award, and StarChefs.com's "Rising Star Chef" distinction.

BMRS also offers consulting services in the areas of complete restaurant staffing, hiring, and training as well as POS selection, programming and set up.

Brad and the BMRS team have earned the reputation as authorities in Hospitality Recruiting and Human Resources, having been quoted by the LA Times, Nation’s Restaurant News and Zagat.  Brad has appeared in publications such as Los Angeles Magazine and Beverly Hills 213. Brad has moderated his seminar “Finders Keepers – Finding and Retaining Great Restaurant Professionals,” at the annual Sante Magazine Restaurant Symposium in Vermont and Brad and Sarah regularly speak on the same topic at UCLA courses in Restaurant Management. See PRESS section.  Brad also appears on Merrill Shindler’s acclaimed restaurant radio talk show to discuss restaurants and trends in Southern California fine dining and attends the James Beard Awards in New York, the Food and Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, and the International Chef's Congress in New York.

BMRS SEARCH PROCESS

BMRS partners with both our Client Companies and our Candidates to assure mutual success. We work closely with our Client Companies to determine the exact qualifications, skills and personality traits needed in a Candidate. We then take the time to learn about a company’s culture, vision and goals. Once we understand the requirements of the position and the profile of the candidate, we commence the search. We search our proprietary database and advertise internationally but most often obtain Candidates through our extensive contacts and referrals gained from our combined 80+ years of experience in all aspects of restaurant operations and management in Southern California. Candidates are screened and interviewed extensively, often meeting with them more than once and in different settings, to ensure their goals, experience and skills are appropriate for the opportunity and culture offered by the Client. Written reference reports are prepared. We interview many Candidates for a search but will present only the most qualified for review. BMRS stays actively involved through the client interview process, coordinating meetings, obtaining additional information, and even negotiating compensation packages if requested. After a successful placement, we stay in contact with all Client Companies and placed Candidates in order to follow the new hire’s progress. Our objective is to launch long-term, successful relationships between the Candidates we place and our Client Companies. back to top

OUR ETHICS

Confidentiality, and the most ethical, professional standards in the recruiting industry are observed at all times by all BMRS Associates. BMRS will never recruit Candidates from current Client Companies and will never recruit a placed Candidate from any Client. back to top

BIO OF BRAD METZGER
brad@restaurant-solutions.com

A love and passion for food and cooking was instilled in Brad as a young boy. After early trips to Europe with his family exposing him to some of the finest restaurants in the world, his fate was sealed as an eternal culinarian and career restaurant professional. Catering busboy and food prep positions were his first early jobs and then at the age of seventeen and growing up in L.A., he jumped at the chance to work with Wolfgang Puck at the original Spago as a bread baker and prep cook. Trips in the Spago van to LAX to pick up freshly flown in fish from all over the world and down to Chino Farms near San Diego for rare varieties of vegetables, exposed Brad to the finest food ingredients available.

Then it was off to College at U.C. Santa Barbara where Brad also continued his professional experience with positions at El Encanto Hotel and as a Catering Manager at U.C.S.B. Upon graduating with a BA in Sociology, Brad returned to Los Angeles where he has held positions in all aspects of restaurant operations and management at many of the city’s most successful fine dining restaurants, including Granita, I Cugini, Vincenti, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Chadwick and The Grill on the Alley. The friendships and professional relationships developed over 20 years in the Southern California restaurant community have provided Brad with his vast network of contacts which has contributed to many successful placements for BMRS Clients and Candidates.

Brad had always assisted friends and colleagues in the industry find new positions. Seeing a niche in the market, Joan Luther, Los Angeles’ premier restaurant publicist, suggested to Brad that he start a Hospitality Recruitment and Placement firm. Soon thereafter, with the support of Joan, Brad founded BMRS and has never looked back. Several prominent restaurateurs and consultants to the industry have provided support and encouragement to Brad and his business continues to prosper, primarily through referrals from satisfied Clients and Candidates.

Brad has earned the reputation as an authority in Hospitality Recruiting and Human Resources, having been quoted by the LA Times, Nation’s Restaurant News and Zagat.  Brad has appeared in publications such as Los Angeles Magazine and Beverly Hills 213.  Brad has moderated his seminar “Finders Keepers – Finding and Retaining Great Restaurant Professionals,” at the annual Sante Magazine Restaurant Symposium in Vermont and Brad and Sarah regularly speak on the same topic at UCLA courses in Restaurant Management. See PRESS section.  Brad also appears on Merrill Shindler’s acclaimed restaurant radio talk show to discuss restaurants and trends in Southern California fine dining and attends the James Beard Awards in New York, the Food and Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, and the International Chef's Congress in New York.

Brad’s experience in the industry provides Clients and Candidates with the confidence that they are working with an professional who understands the very delicate balance of both front and back of house operations and the need to find the right people for the right position.

Brad resides in Santa Monica, California with his wife Lynda, a Hospitality Design Professional and his young son Kailen, who if asked, can recite every position in a restaurant, even including Sous Chef and Food Runner!

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BIO OF SARAH CHRISTOPHER
sarah@restaurant-solutions.com

Sarah Christopher was born into a military family and had traveled to most parts of the world before she was a teenager.  Growing up and seeing so many cultures, she developed a passion for different types of food and wine.  She also developed an interest in the world of hospitality—calling one hotel home for nearly 4 months!

Sarah began her career in the service industry at age fourteen with her very first job of scooping ice cream at a local ice cream parlor in Australia.  She continued in the hospitality field and put herself through college by working in a variety of restaurant operational and management positions.  After graduating from Rutgers University, Sarah moved to Los Angeles in 2000 and continued her hospitality career and spent several years at Chin Chin’s flagship Sunset West Hollywood location.  With mutual friends in the industry, Brad ‘recruited’ Sarah to join the BMRS team in June 2005. Sarah has been recognized as an authority in Hospitality Recruiting.  She has been quoted by Nation’s Restaurant News and regularly speaks at UCLA courses in Restaurant Management.

It runs in the family.  Her husband, Ric, is also an LA restaurant scene veteran and is currently Director of Service for such high profile restaurants as Falcon, Pearl Dragon, and Voda Vodka Bar, among others.  They even met at a restaurant!  The service industry has been an intrinsic part of Sarah’s life since she was a young girl.  Considering her passion for cuisine, the hospitality industry and people, Hospitality Recruiting has been a natural and exciting progression for her.     

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BIO OF DICK POWELL
dick@restaurant-solutions.com

Dick Powell’s entire career has been devoted to the hospitality industry.  He has been instrumental in the success of some of the most acclaimed and thriving restaurant companies in the United States.
 
Dick started his restaurant career prior to college and liked it so much he decided to attend Michigan State University where he studied restaurant and hospitality management.  He then worked for over 10 years in Northern California at the Nut Tree Restaurant, working his way up from Assistant Manager to Food Director in charge of 2 restaurants, a bakeshop and over 400 employees.
 
Next it was Lawry’s Restaurants for over 26 years, managing Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, Chicago, Dallas and was General Manager during the opening of the Prime Rib in Las Vegas. Upon retiring from Lawry’s at the end of 2003 he accepted the position of President of California Beach Restaurants, which operates Gladstone’s in Malibu and he is currently on the Board of Directors of that company. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Nevada Restaurant Association, Chairman of the Restaurant/Hotel Committee of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce, taught two classes at Cal Poly Pomona and has been an active member of the Rotary Club for over 18 years.

In 2003 Dick successfully worked with BMRS to fill a key General Manager position for The Original Pantry in Los Angeles.  Brad and Dick hit it off and subsequently in 2006 Dick joined BMRS where he brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and passion to the recruitment and placement process. Dick and his wife Nancy reside in Woodland Hills.  They have two daughters; Michelle and Dawn and are the proud grandparents of two grandsons Mark and Jake, and one granddaughter Chloe.

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BIO OF JULIA KRAFT
julia@restaurant-solutions.com

A recent graduate of the University of Michigan, Julia developed a passion for food at a very young age. Traveling to France, Italy, Costa Rica, Greece, Israel (where she lived for a year) and Australia has given Julia the opportunity to not only taste, but to learn about, the  cuisines associated with different world cultures.  

During college, Julia worked in the restaurant business as an assistant manager at an Italian café in Ann Arbor. As a home cook, Julia loves to experiment with different types of food and  is amazing with baking  and bread making.   Brad ate almost an entire loaf of Chalah one day at the office that Julia had made! 

Upon graduation, Julia moved to Los Angeles for the sunny weather and fresh scenery. At BMRS, Julia has been able to synthesize her love of  hospitality and dining and her studies in psychology and has become a crucial member of the Restaurant Solutions team.

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