Harri Featured Member: Richard Cardona

RICHARD CARDONA JR. General Manager

"I chose a career in hospitality because I created experiences as a server and people were wowed."

Richard began studying and learning the art of the restaurant business since a young boy under the tutelage of his father, Richard Cardona, one of the best known Latin celebrity chefs in the nation. He worked his way up the ladder and became a general manager of a restaurant at the mere age of 21.

Besides being a general manager at Cantina Rooftop, located atop Stage 48, Richard has experience organizing events for world-famous celebrities, like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, the New York Yankees and more. He also leads as the vice president of his own company, Cardona Catering and Restaurant Consulting Group. One of the most successful projects he worked on was a 200 person fundraising event for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, raising over $100K.

To do well in the restaurant world, Richard advises people to market themselves, so that can be differentiated as much as possible. They have to prove to others what makes them special, among the million others working in the industry.

Learn more about Richard's experiences in the hospitality industry on his Harri profile.