Kelley Jones is the founding partner of
Hospitality Alliance and principal of Kelley Jones Hospitality with offices in New York City, Dallas and Las Vegas. Kelley is the host of Vegas Restaurant Rehab featured on the Food Network. His ventures include the Mayfair Hotel in Los Angeles and the Intercontinental Hotel in Bellevue Washington. The Dapper Doughnut, Thunderbird Lounge and Proof Tavern in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kelley and his Hospitality Alliance partners are creating, curating and operating Food Halls in Dallas, Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, and Jersey City. Jones instructs the culture and leadership training for all managers and team members for the Madison Square Garden Company at their venues including LA Forum, Chicago Theater, Beacon Theater, MSG and Radio City Music Hall. He trains teams at Newark Airport for OTG Management and Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX for Westfield. Jones launched Gaku Ramen, loosely translated in Japanese to “educated noodle”, in Burlington Vermont and Boulder Colorado with a planned expansion into college towns across North America.
Previously, Jones opened Hops & Harvest with James Beard award winning partner Bradley Ogden, an American farm to table comfort food concept. He also partnered with Top Chef Angelo Sosa on Poppy Den, an Asian gastro-pub and retained Sosa as his culinary consultant at The Malibu Inn on Malibu Beach, California. He partnered with Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian at Tudor House and HIGHBAR on Miami’s South Beach and opened Todd English Pub as managing partner in Las Vegas. He created Suite & Tender at the Se Hotel in San Diego and Eden on Miami’s South Beach, both with Michelin 2 Star Chef Christopher Lee.
Jones has been on the opening executive teams of some of the country’s leading hotel brands including The Monaco Washington DC, Hudson New York, Clift San Francisco, Argonaut San Francisco, and Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Las Vegas. Jones has managed the operating teams of eight of the top 100 highest grossing restaurants in the country and has led the opening teams of five of the top 100 highest grossing restaurants in the United States. Jones held senior executive level positions with three of the top 75 multi-concept restaurant operators in the country (#’s 3,7 and 15) as ranked by Restaurant & Institutions Magazine.
Because of his expertise in the hospitality industry, Jones is often tapped to share his views and insight at conferences around the country including National Restaurant Association Show, Nightclub & Bar Show, Hospitality Design Boutique Expo, ALSD Conference, RD&E Conference, G2E Summit, the Independent Lodging Congress and Hospitality Innovation Planet in Madrid, Spain. Jones has spoken at prestigious institutions including Temple University School of Hospitality and Tourism, Culinary Institute of America, Florida International University and UNLV. He has been interviewed and quoted in industry magazines such as Nations Restaurant News, Restaurant & Institutions, Market Watch, Cheers, Restaurant Business, Food and Beverage Underground, Food Arts, Hospitality Design, Tasting Panel and Wine Enthusiast.
Formerly, Jones was the Corporate Director of Food and Beverage for Pussers, LTD Tortola, British Virgin Islands (1991-1998); General Manager/Executive Chef, Pussers Landing, St. John U.S. Virgin Island (1990-1991); and Executive Chef, Brett’s Restaurants, Greenwich, Conn. (1989-1990).
Jones is a founding member of the Epicurean Charitable Foundation in Las Vegas and continues to serve on the board and previously on the executive committee as Vice President and Chairman. He also served on the board of the Nevada Blind Children’s Foundation as secretary.