Barry Jessurun – CEO/CFO
Barry has been working in the service and hospitality business since 1978 with experience in many areas of the business. His current focus is on customer service, staff development and education, food quality, emerging trends and back-office accounting. Barry has also been involved in restaurant and kitchen design, along with work on overall organization and structure. Barry has played an active role as the project manager and designer of all our restaurants. He is the author of the book called The Drunkard’s Path that was published in 2021.
Brian Jessurun – CQO
Brian has been working in the service and hospitality business since 1976 with experience in many areas of the business with a focus on food quality, customer satisfaction and schmoozing. Brian is an accomplished cook and an avid and curious traveler in search of new food pairings.
Kayla Densmore – GVH Operations Manager
Kayla began working at The Vanilla Bean in the early 2000’s. Since then, she held multiple roles at all locations including Bar Manager at 85 Main, GM of the Vanilla Bean and Opening Team Lead for Dog Lane Café and Fenton River Grill. After working in a different career field, she returned to work with Green Valley Hospitality in 2021 as the Operations Manager for all locations. She currently works part-time, and her work focuses on organization, structure, IT, and other aspects of business operations.
James Martin – Managing Partner and Executive Chef at 85 Main
James is an accomplished self-taught chef who has had a lifelong career full of highlights, including the opening of The Back Eddy, a 250-seat restaurant with two-time James Beard Award recipient Boston Chef Chris Schlesinger. He was also awarded CT’s Restauranteur of the Year in 2014 and had led 85 Main to receiving numerous state awards, many of which can be seen on their “Hall of Fame”. James focuses his cooking techniques on unique pairings of food using local and quality ingredients along with kitchen staff development.
Steve Smith – Managing Partner at Dog Lane Café and Fenton River Grill
Steve worked for the JTK Restaurant Group in Mystic, including the Steak Loft, Go Fish and Dock & Dine for close to 20 years before joining us to operate Dog Lane Café in 2012. He is now the managing partner at both Dog Lane Café and Fenton River Grill. Steve has experience in all aspects of restaurant operations, and with that brings a tremendous skill and focus on serving quality food and providing stellar hospitality, all in a fun atmosphere.
Nathan LaBossiere – General Manager at The Vanilla Bean Café & Regional Manager
Nathan began with us as an intern in 2018 and has since developed skills and knowledge in all aspects of the business. Nathan currently oversees operations, including staff training and development, customer service, food quality management and operative budgeting. Nathan is also training under Barry in the role of GVH Regional Manager.
Erin Grist – Assistant Bookkeeper, Onboarding, Human Resources, etc.
Erin began with us in 2023, working with and ultimately replacing Donna Ayres LaPointe who began working with us in 1998 and retired in 2024. Erin takes care of all things related to bookkeeping, including payroll, bill paying, reporting, etc. She also handles a fair amount of our Human Resources operations, a role she shares with Nathan.