Brad Saltzman is all about the guests. He is the co-founder of L.A. Creamery Artisan Ice Cream, a wholesale company which sells their artisan ice creams to over 200 supermarkets in California including Gelson’s, Bristol Farms as well as in the Mid West, East Coast and even the British Virgin Islands. In July of 2015, Saltzman, along with business partner Stephen Bikoff and La Brea Bakery Founder Nancy Silverton Co-Founded a line of ultra premium Gelato and Sorbetto “Nancy’s Fancy” which sells in supermarkets on both coasts. Nancy Silverton also won in 2014 the “Outstanding Chef” award from the James Beard Foundation and co-owns Mozza Restaurant Group with Mario Batali.

If you asked Saltzman his job title, he’d quickly reply “Chief Guestologist”. Guestology is the simple art of serving guests beyond their expectation and Saltzman believes this lays the foundation for a wonderful experience. “Being a guestologist is either something you have or you don’t” says Saltzman, 48. “It’s in my blood.” Based on Saltzman’s family tree, the art of fine service very well might be part of Brad’s DNA. In the 1930s and 40s his uncles Michael and Abe Lyman, the latter a well known bandleader, opened a restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, Mike Lyman’s Grill. The brothers also owned the beloved Simon’s Drive-Ins chain in Los Angeles. Following their path, Brad, while still in high school, landed his first job in the hospitality business, as a host of the wildly popular barbeque restaurant RJ’s Rib Joint in Beverly Hills, owned by Bob Morris, one of the most successful restaurateurs in the United States. After two years, Saltzman was promoted to “manager cadet” at Morris’ flagships, Gladstone’s 4 Fish in Malibu and the Malibu Sea Lion. “I was so excited,” recalled Saltzman recently. “Only 18 years old and I was going to be manager of the famous Gladstone’s, one of the highest grossing restaurants in all of California.” Young Brad excelled at his job by setting one primary goal; Make the guest happy. Saltzman is quick to credit Bob Morris with his success and even with his current job title. “Bob Morris was way ahead of his time and a brilliant man in the restaurant business. He had a term he used called Guestology which meant taking care of the guest. Saltzman eventually moved on, and began working in hotels, including the exclusive Hotel Jerome in Aspen as the Director of Food and Beverage, and the Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, Kentucky where he was the Director of Restaurants and oversaw 4 restaurants. His primary focus there was at the hotel’s revered Oak Room and his facetious attention to detail – overseeing the dining room - was rewarded with a rare Five Diamond rating from the Triple AAA guide book, the only such honored restaurant in Kentucky. From there, Brad moved south to be Director of Operations at the Hilton Daytona Beach Resort in Florida. Then he was back to California, as the General Manager of the Red Lion Hotel in Modesto. Back in Los Angeles, he opened a series of valet parking companies, and also acquired Malibu based Valet Girls Parking which was founded in Malibu in 1983. At one point he and his wife ran the valet parking operations at 36 Los Angeles area restaurants.

Currently, Brad runs valet parking operations at prestigious west coast restaurants, including Pizzeria and Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles, La Brea Bakery and Pizzeria Mozza in Newport Beach. Saltzman passes on his talent as a guestoglogist to all of his valet attendants.

So how does a Guestologist make a difference? He demands - in his disarmingly charming fashion - his team uses ingredients that might cost more, but surely taste better, he will make sure the service and guest e perience is flawless. From the restrooms to the dining, his eye for detail for cleanliness will be passed on to the management team and instilled into each team member. From a napkin on the floor in the dining room to hand towel on the floor in the restroom, the details are extremely important to Brad and the total guests’ experience. The volume of the music, finger prints on the front door to the napkin dispensers being wiped down and full, there’s no detail too small for Saltzman. After all, Brad Saltzman just wants to make sure his guests, wherever they may be, are thrilled.