Global hospitality and entertainment company Delaware North today announced the appointment of Dana Pellicano, an industry executive with more than 20 years of experience, as president of Patina Restaurant Group.
As a wholly owned division of Delaware North, Patina Restaurant Group operates premium street-side restaurants and catering services in locations such as New York City, Los Angeles, Boston. It also operates signature restaurants at Walt Disney World in Florida, both at EPCOT and Disney Springs, and at Downtown Disney in California.
In her role, Pellicano will report to Group President Bob Wilson and lead Patina Restaurant Group’s global business, including strategy and implementation, exploration of new opportunities, and development of talent throughout the organization. Among other responsibilities, she will focus on major revenue and profit streams, client and consumer requirements, and product and concept innovations.
“We are thrilled to have someone with Dana’s expertise and leadership ability to lead Patina Restaurant Group,” says Wilson, group president of Patina Restaurant Group, Delaware North Travel and United Kingdom operations. “With our restaurant and event catering business positioned for continued growth at world-class destinations, this is an exciting time for Patina Restaurant Group, and we’re looking forward to Dana leading us to new heights.”
Pellicano joins Delaware North with more than 15 years with Marriott International – most recently serving as vice president of global food and beverage operations. While in that role, she oversaw foodservice operations across the organization’s more than 12,000 total outlets – a mix that includes fine-dining, casual, quick service, concierge lounges, and meeting and event catering spaces.
Pellicano first joined Marriott International in 2006 as a restaurant manager at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park. Within a year, she was promoted to director of restaurants at the Ritz- Carlton Washington, D.C., where she oversaw the opening of the hotel’s signature restaurant by Chef Eric Ripert and the renovation of the iconic lobby bar. She was promoted again, to assistant director of food and beverage, before leaving to join Marriott’s global corporate food and beverage team. There, she created and implemented global food and beverage programs across several brands.
In 2011, Pellicano left Marriott briefly for a role with Loews Hotels as senior regional director of operations and corporate director of beverage, tasked with responsibility for 13 hotels on the East Coast. Within eight months, she was recruited back to Marriott to assume the role of director of restaurant and bar development for the Americas. In the subsequent three years, she implemented on-strategy restaurant concepts for more than 100 renovations in five brands across 15 countries.
In 2015, Pellicano was promoted to senior director of restaurant and bar design and beverage development for the Americas. She developed and opened more than 20 restaurants and bars in the role before being promoted in 2017 to vice president of food and beverage experience for the Americas.
Pellicano launched her career with the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group in New York City after earning a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Fordham University.
