Food and Beverage Director
Timarron Country Club

“I grew up in the hospitality industry in New Jersey; my grandfather was a wine importer in New York City. I always worked in pizzerias and restaurants, and in 1990 I moved to San Francisco to work at the Fairmont Hotel. I later moved to Dallas to join the Rosewood corporate training team.

“Everybody has a hospitality experience almost every day. You choose which Starbucks or which restaurant to patronize, and you’ll return to the establishments that treat you well. Everybody more or less sells the same product, so you have to find a way to set yourself apart from the competition. Often, it’s the level of service you receive that influences your final decision as a consumer.

“People who work in the hospitality business are a unique breed. I think you have to have a servant’s heart, be focused and have the leadership skills to lead a team of like-minded individuals who realize that the guest comes first. That’s not easy to find.

“My overall experience at North Lake was superior, mainly because of Arthur James. I went to college part time over several years because I was always working full time as well. I had gone to community colleges in New York, California and Texas because I was always taking at least one class, trying to get closer to finishing my bachelor’s degree.

“Arthur is such a knowledgeable instructor that the education at North Lake was far better than what I’d been exposed to in the past. And that was directly due to the quality of teaching and Arthur’s experience in the field.

“One of the most important things I learned while at North Lake is that you’ve got to identify your goals and have the support system available to facilitate those goals. The caliber of the Hospitality Management program motivated me to pursue that kind of quality in my own work. I took two classes from Arthur James more than 10 years ago, and I’m still in contact with him, still in touch. He really made an impression on me as a professional.

“Working at Caribbean resorts was one of the biggest learning experiences of my life. I was in the islands during hurricane season when we were reconstructing after significant damage to the property. In the Carribean you have a labor pool that’s full of tourists who came down to the Caribbean, fell in love with the place and left their lives and jobs to work on the island. You also have a pool of locals who may live on other islands, so you have to take that into consideration; when the weather is rough and the ferries don’t run, they can’t get to work, and you still have a full hotel to staff. It was a challenging experience.

“Once you identify your passion in this industry, the possibilities are wide open. I’m very passionate about service, I truly am. It’s just a matter of finding your niche in the industry, and all the pieces of the puzzle will fall into place.”

Greg Radomski took three transferrable courses in Hospitality Management at North Lake College in the 1990s, while he was concurrently earning his bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from UNT. For the past four years, he has served as food and beverage director of Las Colinas Country Club and now Southlake’s Timarron Country Club, (subsidiaries of Club Corp, owned by KSL Partners). He manages a full-time staff of about 25 people.

The club’s facilities include five food and beverage outlets, from casual to fine fining. The club is the site for numerous events such as weddings, business meetings and banquets. His previous professional experience includes managing Sullivan’s Steak House in North Dallas, serving as a corporate trainer for Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, and opening the Rosewood Caribbean properties of Caneel Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Little Dix Bay in the British Virgin Islands. He also opened the exclusive Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, Texas.