Alexander Green is the Managing Director of The Fireman Hospitality Group in National Harbor, a diverse group of restaurants ranging from pizzarias to upscale steakhouses. He has been in the restaurant industry for 25 years, starting as a dishwasher and working his way up to his current position. Alexander oversees two restaurants in National Harbor: Fiorella Italian Kitchen & Pizzeria and Bond 45.
Here’s a Glimpse of What You’ll Hear:
- Alexander Green talks about his path from dishwasher to restaurateur
- How do the atmosphere and culture differ between Bond 45 and Fiorella?
- The lingering impact of the pandemic on the restaurants
- What patrons can expect when visiting Bond 45 and Fiorella
In this episode…
In this episode of the SpotOn Series, Chad Franzen speaks with Alexander Green, Managing Director of The Fireman Hospitality Group in National Harbor. His two restaurants bring their own individual atmospheres: Fiorella Pizzaria is a fun family-style Italian restaurant, in contrast to the upscale dining experience of Bond 45. Alexander has led the two restaurants through the challenges of surviving and adapting to the global pandemic.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Sponsor for this episode
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Episode Transcript
Intro 0:04
Welcome to the top business leaders show. Powered by rise 25 media, we featured top founders, executives and business leaders from all over the world
Chad Franzen 0:20
Chad Franzen here co host for this show where we feature top restaurateurs, investors and business leaders. This is part of our SpotOn Series. SpotOn has the best in class payment platform for retail and they have a flagship solution called SpotOn Restaurant, where they combine marketing software and payments all in one. They serve everyone from larger chains like Dairy Queen and Subway to small mom and pop restaurants. To learn more, go to spoton.com This episode is brought to you by Rise25. We help b2b businesses to get ROI clients referrals and strategic partnerships through done for you podcast. If you have a b2b business and want to build great relationships with clients, referral partners and thought leaders in your space. There’s no better way to do it than through podcasts and content marketing. To learn more, go to Rise25media.com or email us at support@rise25media.com. Alexander Green is the managing director for The Fireman Hospitality Group National Harbor location. He’s been in the restaurant industry and hospitality industry for 25 years, started as a dishwasher and worked his way from the bottom up. Alexander, thanks so much for joining me today. How are you?
Alexander Green 1:22
Great. How are you? Great.
Chad Franzen 1:24
Thank you so much. Hey, so tell me a little bit about The Fireman Hospitality Group and how kind of where you work fits into it.
Alexander Green 1:32
Oh, Fireman Hospitality Group, started by Shelley Fireman in New York City. Started with a bagel shop. Now he owns seven restaurants in Times Square and that whole area of Manhattan. And we are two restaurants here in National Harbor, Maryland. Bar 45 and Fiorella pizzeria that are his locations outside of New York City. I am in charge of running both of those restaurants here in National Harbor. We’ve been open about 11-12 years now both restaurants.
Chad Franzen 2:04
Can you tell me about those two locations starting with maybe the pizzeria and kind of what a customer can expect when they go in there?
Alexander Green 2:11
Yeah. Fiorella pizzeria is a fast casual restaurant. We do pizzas in a brick oven. It’s a 700 degree oven. Lot of Italian pasta, a bunch of flair appetizers, big tourist destination here. So we accommodate families if you come we got you know mocktails cocktails for everyone. Beer pizza. It’s a good ol American pizzeria with a lot of Italian twist to it. So if you’re looking to have a good fun time, you know that’s where you want to head to.
Chad Franzen 2:38
What about that? What about the other place Bond 45?
Alexander Green 2:41
Bond 45, We’re a seafood steakhouse. A little bit more upscale, not quite fine dining, but pretty close to it. white tablecloth, we do everything from lobster thermidor, ribeye steaks, Tomahawk, homemade pasta. Just all the goodies. We do a raw bar in the summer with oysters and seafood towers. Just very high end, nice place for anniversaries, date night celebration. You know, or you just want to have a really really, you know, beautiful dinner. You know, that’s, that’s where you want to go.
Chad Franzen 3:21
I’d love to talk about a little bit about your background in the restaurant industry. You started as a dishwasher and kind of worked your way up. What was your first job?
Alexander Green 3:31
My first job was that what Woody’s Bar-B-Q in Jacksonville, Florida. I was in high school. And I loved that job. I started there as a dishwasher. It was something I could do after school. It was great because it was right down the street from a remedial girls home. So all the girls got dropped off and they had to work and then they got picked up. So I got to wash dishes and flirt with a lot of girls. So it was great being a teenager and having that job.
Chad Franzen 3:55
Sure, I would imagine. So you kind of moved on from there to what?
Alexander Green 4:00
Then my senior year of high school moved to Funny enough, I was working at Pizza Hut as a delivery guy. I delivered pizzas because I had to half day at school I was at that weird program. So I got out school early and deliver pizzas. And that was great my senior year because I delivered to this liquor store and they thought that I was 21. So I became the man on campus because I was able to get liquor and pizzas. So that was a lot of fun. And you know, 25 years later here I am still in a pizza joint. First day, so from there, I ended up leaving Florida and coming to DC and DC school scene was just kind of bubbling at that time. So I worked in a bunch of different bars, bunch of different restaurants and eventually found my way into management with this company. I’ve been with this company about 10 years now.