Carl’s background in the restaurant industry spans thirty-years. His appreciation for fine dining was initially fueled by his association with great chefs including Erasmo Kamnitzer, Christopher Gross and Jeffrey Strauss. His passion for fine wine was inspired and encouraged by his colleagues Doug Frost, Mark Tarbell and Steve Olson.

With over eighteen years in fine restaurant management, Carl has helped created some of the most popular and innovative restaurant concepts such as opening the award-winning Pamplemousse Grille in San Diego, as well as Christopher’s, Christopher’s Bistro and the Different Pointe of View in the Phoenix area. He served as General Manager and Sommelier of each of those establishments and was a previous General Manager of the Bamboo Grille.

The art of friendly, yet unobtrusive service is a driving factor of establishing Donovan’s of La Jolla as a leader in upscale dining in San Diego. Donovan’s exploded onto the San Diego scene with its award winning wine list and world class menus. Under Carl’s leadership, Donovan’s earned Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence, the coveted DiRoNA Distinguished Restaurants of North America Award, the Gold Medallion Award as the Best Steakhouse in San Diego and the Best San Diego Steakhouse as surveyed by Zagat.

Carl is the Executive General Manager and a Donovan’s Partner managing both Donovan’s of La Jolla and Donovan’s of Phoenix. He has orchestrated the expansion into the Phoenix high end dining marketplace.