Thomas DeFlippo

I am passionate about my career in the restaurant / hotel food & beverage industry. I am currently the General Manager at the Tuscarora Inn, a private dining & banquet facility opened by my family in 2008. The building was a clubhouse for the Tuscarora Club, a private & exclusive businessmen's club for 96 years (1911 - 2007) My family has been in the restaurant industry since 1946 when my grandparents opened DeFlippo's Restaurant in Lockport, NY. The restaurant is still successful and currently owned by my brother. I loved working in the restaurant so much I decided studying hospitality management was a great choice for me. I attended the program at Rochester Institute of Technology and was fortunate to land some wonderful co-op positions while studying there. A college friend who graduated a year ahead of me told me about a position open at her place of employment. I flew out to Chicago just before graduating from RIT to to interview for a Banquet Manager position at the Union League Club of Chicago. I worked there for four years and was promoted to Banquet Operations Manager after a year and a half. I owe a lot of what I know to my work experience at the Union League. It was a very interesting place to work and learn. I also made great friends working there. I went on to work for the Conrad Hotel in Chicago as a F&B; Outlets Manager. By far the best thing that happened while living in Chicago was meeting my fiance Jean. We've been together since 2003 and have decided to make it "official" this year. Our wedding date is set for June 4th. I really feel fortunate to have met a woman I am this excited about spending the rest of my life with!