Service and Bar Specialist Jon Arroyo began his career in the hospitality industry in 1993 at Carver’s Steakhouse in Scottsdale, Arizona as a host. Since then, he has held every imaginable front of the house position, including server, bartender, bar back, manager and most recently, executive bar chef at VSAG’s successful Founding Farmers in Washington, D.C.
Along the way, Jon has been fortunate to work alongside some of the industry’s best and brightest, including a long and mutually rewarding relationship with Houston’s brand in Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona and Los Angeles, California. At Houston’s, Jon worked his way from employee to corporate trainer and acquired a deep knowledge of the inner workings of effective front of the house management techniques.
In 2003, Jon relocated across the country from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to serve as opening bar manager at The Smoked Joint: A Barbecue Experience, where he channeled Danny Meyers, whom he cites as a major source of inspiration, in creating a comprehensive bourbon-focused bar with a rock and roll edge. After leaving The Smoked Joint, Jon spent time at Lucky Strike Lanes and joined VSAG full time in 2006.
As a member of VSAG’s talented team, Jon has worked on a multitude of projects, including overseeing the openings of the Cambria Suites (a new hotel brand from Choice Hotels International), including locations in Boise, Idaho; Savannah, Georgia; Green Bay and Appleton, Wisconsin and Akron, Ohio. Through his work, he has fostered effective connections with some of the food and beverage industry’s most important insiders, from his training in New York City at the prestigious “The Bar” seminar, led by Paul Pacault, Steve Olsen, David Wondrich and Dale DeGroff, to his personal relationships with some of the nation’s leading distillers and purveyors of wine and spirits, including David Suro-Pinera of Siembra Azul, Rick Wasmund of Wasmund’s and Fred Noe, the great-great-great grandson of Jim Beam. A tireless traveler, Jon is always up to the next challenge and prepared to bring his unique brand of understanding and experience to any project that comes his way.
