William J Post has over 30 years of experience in the foodservice industry in extremely diverse operations, including managing, supervising, and leading the creation, development, and opening of almost two hundred uniquely different concepts. Throughout his career, Bill has also provided consulting and advisory services to a list of who’s who in in the restaurant, hospitality and entertainment industries. A sampling of these clients would contain the following:
Bill’s executive profile draws upon decades of expertise and operational experience in concept creation, executive management and team development ranging from quick service and fast-casual businesses to chain operations, casual dining and highly themed entertainment concepts to world-class fine dining, and extraordinarily high volume catering and concession operations. The following descriptions yield a headline view into Bill’s leadership role in developing a list of who’s who in the restaurant and hospitality services world.
Throughout his span of almost twenty years at the helm of The Levy Restaurants, as President and Chief Operating Officer, Bill led the development of over 70 different restaurants and specialty concessions across the Chicago metropolitan area.
As President of The Levy Restaurants, Bill was at the lead in negotiating, designing and developing the first restaurants ever permitted to be owned, developed and operated by an outside party (The Levy Restaurants) on Disney property at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Fulton’s Crab House today ranks as one of the highest volume restaurants in the world, achieving over $25 million in sales as a dinner-only enterprise from its 700-plus seats.
Among other signature restaurants in the Levy portfolio were Bistro 110 and Spiaggia, both recipients of the prestigious Ivy Award, the “Oscar” or Academy Award of the restaurant industry. Levy is the only company to ever be awarded two Ivy Awards.
At the famed landmarks of Water Tower Place and Sears Tower, Levy operated five and fourteen restaurants respectively.
Levy’s emergence into the specialty concessions segment was led by its hometown dominance at Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park (now Guaranteed Rate Field), The United Center, Arlington Park Racetrack, McCormick Place Convention Center, Lincoln Park Zoo and Ravinia Festival.
Restaurant Associates is the oldest restaurant company in America with a rich legacy and heritage that reaches back almost 80 years.In New York City, as President of Restaurant Associates, Bill operated multiple restaurants in Manhattan landmarks such as Rockefeller Center (three restaurants), the Met Life and Grand Central Station complex (five restaurants), the world famous Brasserie on Park Avenue, and the famous Macy’s Miracle on 34th Street (two restaurant locations), among others.
Bill spearheaded and co-founded the emerging growth concept, Roti Mediterranean Grill. Roti, a leader in the fast-casual Mediterranean segment, today numbers 25 locations in Chicago, Washington DC and New York City.
Bill is the Founder and Principal of Carbon, a two-unit Chicago neighborhood taqueria, based on the simple authenticity and value proposition of true Mexican vendor fare. It isn’t Americanized Mexican food, it isn’t contrived, and it most certainly is not Chipotle! The business is an out-performer, achieving sales in excess of $2,000 per square foot in the two existing locations.
Bill is the Founder and Principal of WJP Restaurant Group LLC. In joint venture partnership with Corporate Office Properties Trust, a New York Stock Exchange publicly traded real estate investment trust, this new company, founded and created in the spring of 2015, currently lists five units in its portfolio – one in Annapolis Junction, Maryland and four others adjacent to the Redstone Arsenal, home to NASA and US Army Central Command in Huntsville, Alabama. The concepts range from:
Today, as both an entrepreneurial restaurant owner/operator and consultant, Bill offers his services in a unique consultative and advisory capacity to enterprising restaurateurs who aspire to take their own businesses to the next level of vision, operational excellence and profitability.
Bill is aligned with and supported by a world-class list of associates who, if necessary, can bring added resources to provide added depth to a consulting engagement in terms of: