FOUNDING PARTNER and president

Tim Stannard

Tim often describes Bacchus as the “accidental restaurant group”.  Although originally intended to be just a single restaurant, one creative opportunity after another led to the group that Bacchus is today—one that now includes a pair of Michelin-starred establishments and also earned him a semifinalist nomination for “Outstanding Restaurateur” from the James Beard Foundation. From an early age, Tim was enamored by the energy and activity of restaurants having spent time watching his mother work as an executive with a restaurant group in San Francisco. He followed that passion and attended culinary school, initially pursuing a career as a chef before pivoting to a career developing and managing some of the most well-regarded dining rooms in the Bay Area.

In 2000, at the age of 31, Tim started Bacchus Management Group and built the first of what was to become a number of successful and award-winning ventures.  Bacchus’ first restaurant, The Village Pub, opened its doors a year later and was quickly awarded 3 ½ Stars by the San Francisco Chronicle, and also landed the restaurant on the cover of Food & Wine magazine later that same year.  Two decades later and Bacchus has become one of the most sought-after restaurant groups in Northern California with an impressive offering of fine dining and casual restaurants including its two flagship restaurants—The Village Pub and Spruce, both coveted  for their contemporary American cuisine and perennially recognized with Michelin stars; the casual and beloved Neapolitan pizzeria, Pizza Antica with multiple locations throughout the Bay Area; Selby’s, a beautifully designed restaurant  that celebrates classic American continental cuisine; an artisan bakery and café, The Village Bakery, focused on seasonal ingredients and comfort foods. As part of the Bacchus offering, the group also operates Bacchus Events, a catering and events management company; SMIP Ranch, a 5-acre organic farm located in the Santa Cruz Mountains; and a small-batch coffee roasting company, RoastCo Coffee.

Core to Bacchus’ success is Tim’s focus on company values and culture, and a dedication to fostering collaboration, empathy and growth for all team members.  By believing in, and investing in, each team members’ potential for greatness, Bacchus has become one of the preeminent restaurant groups in the U.S.  In addition to its Michelin stars, Bacchus has also been lauded by a number of national publications, with awards such as “Best New Restaurant in America” (Esquire Magazine), “Best New Wine List in America” (Wine & Spirits), “Grand Award of Excellence” (Wine Spectator), “Best New Chef in America” (Food & Wine), “Best New Restaurant” (7 x 7 Magazine), “Best New Restaurant in America, Semi-Finalist” (James Beard Foundation), “Outstanding Restauranteur-Semi Finalist” (James Beard Foundation).

partner and President of Fine Dining

Andrew Green

Over the course of Andrew Green’s more than 25 years in wine and food service, he has garnered some of the industry’s most prestigious awards. In 2001, after completing the Court of Master Sommeliers Advance Certificate Exam, he assumed the same post at The Village Pub when it opened. Less than a year later, under Andrew’s astute management, it earned a Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine. Debuting in 2007 in San Francisco, Spruce was an instant success, recognized as Best New Wine List by Food & Wine magazine and Best New Restaurant by Esquire magazine. Both restaurants have the distinction of receiving Wine Spectator’s highest honor, a Grand Award, in 2013 and 2015, respectively, as well as one Michelin star.

Today, in his role as president of fine dining, Andrew is focused on providing guests at The Village Pub, Spruce, The Village Bakery and Selby’s with an impeccable experience. Mentoring and educating staff are priorities for Andrew, too: More than 500 Bacchus employees have earned a certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers and 10 have become accredited sommeliers.

Partner and Executive Chef

Mark Sullivan

With a decorated career that spans more than three decades, Mark currently oversees the cuisine for Bacchus’ seven restaurants, including Michelin-starred Spruce and The Village Pub. Mark began his career cooking in Southern France and Northern Spain, most notably at the Michelin-starred Chez Brunel and the celebrated Chez Madie. The experience was transformative, instilling in him a dedication to ingredients and a diligent work ethic.

Upon returning to San Francisco, Mark held chef positions at a number of highly regarded restaurants, including the Slow Club, 42-Degrees, and PlumpJack Cafe. While this time, he met Tim Stannard, and with a shared vision for a fine-dining establishment offering Mediterranean-inspired California cuisine, the duo launched The Village Pub in Woodside in 2001. The accolades soon followed: Food & Wine magazine heralded Mark as one of America’s Best New Chefs; The Village Pub was honored as a Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation; and the Michelin Guide has awarded it one star for 13 consecutive years. 

Since opening Spruce—which was recognized as one of Esquire magazine’s Best New Restaurants in 2008 and earned a Michelin star a year later—Mark and Tim’s successful partnership has continued with additional restaurant projects in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Park City, Utah. 

Partner and President of Casual Dining

Brannin Beal

A native Texan, Brannin fell in love the with the hospitality industry while working in restaurants throughout high school and college.  After graduating with a degree in finance from the University of Houston, Brannin moved to the Bay Area where he started an impressive career running some of the country’s most iconic restaurants, including Fog City Diner, Betelnut, Tomatina, and PlumpJack.  

Brannin joined Bacchus in 2002 to partner in the launch of Pizza Antica, the second project in the Bacchus Management Group portfolio. The vision for Pizza Antica—to bring as much of fine dining as possible to a neighborhood pizza place—was immediately successful and Brannin continued to open and operate a collection of Pizza Antica restaurants throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles.  Today, in addition to leading the popular Pizza Antica outposts, Brannin has a prominent facilities role in Bacchus, managing myriad aspects in the development of new restaurant projects.  

director of culinary operations, Pizza antica, Magic donuts, Louie’s original, la connessa

Angelo Smith

After studying at the California Culinary Academy, Angelo spent the next 20 years involved in myriad aspects of the dining industry, from cooking to catering to teaching classes.  This deep and immersive experience in restaurants led to leadership roles in a number of critically acclaimed restaurants in the Bay Area and Napa Valley, receiving praise from both local and national media.

That breadth and depth of experience informs Angelo’s approach to cooking: simple, seasonally driven food deeply rooted in relationships with farmers, ranchers, and local purveyors. Today, along with its Neapolitan pies, Pizza Antica’s menu showcases dishes conceived by Angelo featuring locally grown ingredients and classic Italian cooking techniques.

As the Corporate Executive Chef of the Pizza Antica group of restaurants, Angelo oversees Bacchus’ two Pizza Antica locations.

Director of Operations, Spruce and Selby’s

Chris Tang

A true master of the craft of dining room service, Chris began his hospitality career three decades ago.  During that time Chris’s career has included leadership roles with the Ritz-Carlton, as well as multiple roles with the Roy Yamaguchi group.   A passion for wine education eventually led him to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he continued his career at the legendary Masa’s restaurant, as well as the two-michelin star Coi.  In 2013 Chris joined Bacchus as the General Manager of Spruce and helped guide the restaurant to its first ever Wine Spectator “Grand Award”, a distinction the restaurant has held onto ever since. Today, as Director of Operations of Fine Dining for the restaurant group, he oversees Spruce, The Village Pub (which also has a Michelin star and a Grand Award), The Village Bakery & Cafe and Selby’s. 

Director of Operations, Pizza Antica and mason on mariposa (coming soon!)

Drew Perry

Drew Perry started with Bacchus in 2007, at age 18, as a part-time busser at the Pizza Antica in his hometown of Lafayette, CA. Since then, Drew has held a myriad of positions within the company prior to ascending to his current role as director of operations of Pizza Antica. His stints as a server, bartender, supervisor, dining room manager, and general manager make for a unique skill set, perspective and understanding of the Bacchus approach to hospitality. 

In his current role, Drew oversees three locations: Lafayette; Santana Row; and Mill Valley. In addition to leading a team of general managers and managers, Drew was integral in the launch of Pizza Antica’s line of bake-at-home frozen pizzas which debuted in the fall of 2020 in specialty grocery retailers throughout the Bay Area. 

Director of Accounting 

Jesse Holm

Upon earning an economics degree from UC Berkeley, Jesse began his career as an options trader in Chicago. After a couple of Midwest winters however, the California native returned to the Bay Area, working as the director of finance for several San Francisco based hospitality and non-profit organizations. Joining Bacchus in 2011, Jesse now oversees all aspects of the restaurant group’s accounting.  Tapping into his finance skill set, combined with his strong grasp of the hospitality industry, Jesse constantly endeavors to make the businesses as efficient as possible, particularly by presenting complex financial matters in a way that the less quantitative-minded can easily understand.

Director of wine and spirits

Jaime Pinedo

A gradute from the University of California at Berkeley, with a degree in Political Science, Jaime brings a unique perspective to his role with Bacchus. His history-centric view of the wine world provides a meaningful and memorable context for guests and restaurant team members to understand the beverages enjoyed during the dining experience.

After gaining experience helping to run a number of highly touted, wine-focused restaurants in Northern California, Jaime joined Bacchus in 2014.  In 2019 he was promoted to the position of Wine & Beverage Director for the group, overseeing the beverage lists for all the Bacchus Management Group properties, including two lists that hold the prestigious Wine Spectator Grand Award as well as the vast wine cellar at Selby’s which holds over 14,000 bottles. 

Director of Marketing and Public Relations

Karey Walker

Karey joined Bacchus Management Group over 18 years ago while still in college. Soon after graduating, she took the reins of the group’s marketing and public relations efforts. Today, her role encompasses all forms of communication, from media outreach, to branding, social media, partnerships and collaborations.

Karey’s strong relationships with top-tier food and lifestyle publications have resulted in prominent placement for Bacchus’ restaurants in outlets including Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Robb Report and Departures. Bacchus is also a perennial feature attendee at high-profile events in the food and wine industry, including Pebble Beach Food & Wine and No Kid Hungry’s Taste of the Nation. Karey supports internal and external communications and during her tenure, Food & Wine recognized executive chef Mark Sullivan as one of the country’s Best New Chefs; Spruce was lauded as Esquire’s Best New Restaurant, 7x7’s Best Newcomer and Food & Wine’s Best New Wine List; and the James Beard Foundation named The Village Pub a semifinalist for Best New Restaurant and Tim Stannard a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur.

Director of Operations, The village pub and the village bakery

Lauren Kemp

Lauren’s journey with Bacchus began in 2009 as a manager of a of a Bacchus Management consulting project in Park City, UT. A few years later, she relocated to San Francisco to work for Michelin-starred Spruce as a junior sommelier and was then promoted to a sommelier position at Bacchus’ Michelin-starred restaurant The Village Pub, in Woodside, CA. In 2013, Lauren returned to Spruce as its lead sommelier and, under her leadership, the restaurant earned its first Wine Spectator Grand Award.

Eight years after joining Bacchus, with extensive insight into both its food and wine programs, Lauren shifted into a management role. Following management positions with The Village Pub and The Village Bakery, Lauren became the opening general manager of Selby’s in Atherton, CA—which debuted in 2019 and garnered a Michelin star in 2021.

Currently, as one of Bacchus’ director of operations of fine dining, Lauren oversees The Village Pub, The Village Bakery, and Selby’s.

Lauren holds a certification for successfully passing the Advanced Sommelier Examination from the Court of Master Sommeliers

Director of Culinary Operations

Steven Pelas

A graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Blue culinary school, Steven had a career working at some of the most famous restaurants in the U.S, including Per Se in New York and Philadelphia’s Le Bec Fin before joining Bacchus.  A Bay Area native, Steven started his Bacchus career as a sous chef at Spruce.  His hard work, talent and dedication were evident early on, and he was quickly promoted to the position of Chef du Cuisine for The Village Pub.  Later, Steven returned to Spruce as the Chef de Cuisine for that restaurant as well, before ultimately rising to the position of Director of Culinary Operations.  In this position, Steven oversees all of Bacchus’ fine-dining restaurants, ensuring a synergy between Spruce, The Village Pub, The Village Bakery & Cafe and Selby’s. At each location, Steven strives to deliver a warm and refined dining experience, with guests leaving happier than when they walked in.