Kevin Brown of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises - Biography

Being at the helm of Lettuce Entertain You and its 100-plus properties might seem overwhelming. But Kevin Brown has three decades in hospitality. He can handle it. A native of Pittsburgh, Brown got his first restaurant job in college, working at Phillip’s Crab House in Ocean City, Maryland. He not only fell in love with the restaurant business, he found a career.

Enrolling in the hospitality program at Michigan State University, Brown was the first candidate Richard Melman interviewed on campus in 1977. Graduating later that year, Brown was offered a job at R.J. Grunts, the original Lettuce restaurant. In his early years at Lettuce, Brown held management positions at The Pump Room and Un Grand Café, where in 1981 he was awarded his first partnership opportunity. He later developed some of Lettuce’s most popular restaurants, including Shaw’s Crab House, Mity Nice Bar & Grill, and Big Bowl, which were followed by several additional stores in Chicago, Minnesota, and Virginia.

Brown’s successes were rewarded with increased responsibilities. He was made President in 2001; in 2003, he was officially named President and CEO of Lettuce Entertain You. Community-oriented at work and beyond, Brown is a Board Member at his alma mater, The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University, and he is on the Executive Committee of the University of Chicago Medical Center.