John Colón
hospitality career started back in 1984 as concierge for upper west side
condominium.
Very knowledgeable
of the city and the going on of the City, he was a very young
impressionable force to reckon with. He impressed owner & founder of a
major catering house and 1987 joined the banquet team. There he learned
from the very beginning dealing with high end events and hobnobbing with
high society and celebrities. In 1993, he took his chances on Hollywood
and took part in all aspects of the arts, especially in writing where he
wrote a treatment for television, however he and idea of a Latin premise
show was ahead of his time.
While in Beverly
Hills, John landed a job at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel & Resorts.
This is where his love for fine dining and exceptionally high quality of
service really kicked in and knew he was destined to make his mark in this
captivating industry. Spent three years in Los Angeles Four Seasons
where he took bull by the horns with winning service awards and approached
on being part of the opening team for the new Kona Four Seasons.
Fate will have it
and john transferred to the New York Four Seasons in 1996 to be closer to
his daughter and family. At the NYFS john jumped around to hone his
skills while working in Room Service, the lounges and the acclaimed 5757
Restaurant.
Under his mentor
Mark Somen, John said farewell to the Four Seasons for a challenge in
opening Ian Schragers Hudson Hotel. He was part of the opening
management team and assisted in the training and set up of the Hudson
Cafeteria restaurant. Continuing to hone his skills he went back 7 forth
from the Royalton and Hudson Hotel to assist in operations where needed.
During
the Dot Com craze of the late nineties he created and launched
www.latiknow.com, then premise was
a NYC based information portal/magazine to increase awareness of the
Latino-American experience.
Left the
hospitality industry to concentrate on the Dot Com and marketing in which
he studied at BMCC.
While overseeing
its operations he has participated and spoken at charity events, made
contacts throughout and appeared in Documentary in August 2002 for PBS
special on "The Puerto Rican Spirit and the American Dream". In 2000
Wall Street crash and Dot Com’s took an ill turn for the worst.
John never left
the love for the food & beverage world and came back with a vengeance. He
turned his focused on consulting and created a list of clients and worked
with top Latin Chefs as Alex Garcia, Jorge Adriazola and Ricardo Cardona
to name a few.
Since making the move on
his own in 2001, both John and his clients have benefited from the
creativity and organization structure john has brought to each project.
He commits to each project with a sense of ownership and continues much
success with a few of the existing clients. 
With the recession
hitting the market the past two years, John formed and incorporated a
small import distribution business with La Bodega Gourmet. With his
contacts through out the industry he has connected and formed partnerships
with the major wholesale houses and importers from Spain, The Caribbean
and South America. He provides high end specialty items that are hard to
find in which makes his consulting a value added service to his existing
client base.
John’s client base
but not limited to have been: Jetblue, Calle Ocho, Garden Café, Gaucho
Steak Co., Nabisco, Retail DNA (Joe’s Nest Burger), Performance Food
Group, Patagonic Beef etc. The focus is now on Latin Cuisine and he is
working on building the Latiknow Food Group as a major player in
Hospitality, Management & Consulting.
John
Colón is a member of The Gerson Lehrman Group Food &
Beverage Council. A global network of
suppliers, manufacturers, operations managers, engineers
and industry experts who provide collaborative
consulting to leaders in the investment community. The
GLG Food & Beverage Council includes representatives
from all Consumer Packaged Good Manufacturers,
Merchandisers and Distributors, and all Food & Drug
Retailers.
John Colón profile
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The Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology
Association (LISTA) is committed to supporting Latinos
who focus in Science, Mathematics, Information Sciences
and Technology sectors.
LISTA promotes the
utilization of these sectors for the empowerment of the
Latino community. We are an organization that is
committed to bringing various elements of Technology
under one central hub to facilitate our partners,
members and the community with the leverage and
education they need to succeed in a highly advanced
technological driven society.
is committed to supporting Latinos
who focus in Science, Mathematics, Information Sciences
and Technology sectors.
LISTA promotes the
utilization of these sectors for the empowerment of the
Latino community. We are an organization that is
committed to bringing various elements of Technology
under one central hub to facilitate our partners,
members and the community with the leverage and
education they need to succeed in a highly advanced
technological driven society.
The
Hispanic Professionals Networking Group provides
opportunities for Hispanic professionals to grow
their networks and develop their careers.
HPNG hosts networking events and offers professional
and personal development workshops that address
Latino-specific issues.
HPNG workshops include career and leadership
development, financial planning and investing, real
estate matters, legal matters, networking and other
topics. As an event production company, HPNG also
creates custom business events for clients with
their own branding.
John Colón
John
Colón is a member of The Gerson Lehrman Group Food &
Beverage Council. A global network of
suppliers, manufacturers, operations managers, engineers
and industry experts who provide collaborative
consulting to leaders in the investment community. The
GLG Food & Beverage Council includes representatives
from all Consumer Packaged Good Manufacturers,
Merchandisers and Distributors, and all Food & Drug
Retailers.