The Riverhouse has recently hired three outstanding professionals to ensure the highest-quality services for our guests. Following are their names and titles. Click on their links below for more information.
Sean Zier
General Manager
John Thompson
Executive Chef
Libby Rutty
Sales and Event Coordinator
Robin Euglow
Banquet Manager
Kelley Smith
Corporate Sales & Event Coordinator
Ivy Mellow
Off site Catering Manager
Sean Zier
General Manager
Mr. Sean Zier comes to The Riverhouse with 16 years of experience in restaurant and private event management. This previous year-and-a-half Mr. Zier worked with Max’s Restaurant Group at Max’s Downtown in Hartford, CT. Prior to working at Max’s, he lived in New York City for five years and was an integral part of opening The Modern at the Museum of Modern Art. There he managed private events ranging from 6 to 600 people, including events and meetings for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, as well as Tom Brokaw’s retirement gala. Mr. Zier was also the General Manager of two separate French restaurants in Manhattan before moving to West Hartford. He has lived in numerous cities around the United States and enjoys wonderful memories from Anchorage, Alaska; Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
Sean and his new bride Lara celebrated their wedding at The Riverhouse in September of 2008.. “The incredible food, cordial and attentive staff, and the overall attention to detail made it an easy decision to say yes when asked to work for the company,” said Mr. Zier. Jim Bucko, General Manager of Riverhouse Properties said, “When I followed up with Sean for feedback on his wedding I mentioned to him that I wanted to bring on a General Manager for The Riverhouse so that I could focus a bit more on The Society Room, our new facility in Hartford. Much to my delight Sean asked if he could interview for the position. Sean is the next best thing to being an owner having had the personalized, world-class Riverhouse experience! What better way to truly describe what The Riverhouse has to offer than having been through the entire process as a client!”
“I am proud to work with such a creative and knowledgeable management team in this beautiful environment," said Sean. He is excited for the limitless possibilities for The Riverhouse, The Society Room of Hartford and future Riverhouse Properties projects.
John Thompson
Executive Chef
The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station located in Haddam, Connecticut is proud to announce as the new Executive Chef, John Thompson. Chef, a long-time resident of Haddam, comes to the Riverhouse from the Simsbury Inn where he was the Executive Chef for the past 14 years. He has had the privilege to train under several well-accomplished chefs and has gained experience at various venues including the Sheraton Hotel-Boston, Holiday Inn/Crown Plaza Hotel-Hartford, and the Brazilian Court hotel in Palm Beach and The Montauk Yacht Club. As a chef for the past 25 years, he has been recognized for his work by the American Culinary Federation, Les Amis d’Escoffier Society and the James Beard Foundation to name a few. Because of his reputation, Chef Thompson has been invited to be part of several guest chef events, where the best-of-the-best are gathered, to create culinary presentations for organizations such as The March of Dimes, United States Department of Defense and The American Cancer Society.
Jim Bucko, general manager of The Riverhouse had to say, “I am extremely pleased that Chef Thompson is joining the team. Out of the six final candidates for the position from Miami, Chicago and Connecticut, Chef Thompson was always our first choice.” Bucko also added, “Chef Thompson’s experience with more than 1000 weddings, attention to detail, and a passion for creating from scratch, especially sauces and soups, put him at the top of the list.”
Chef Thompson says, “When I learned about the opportunity at The Riverhouse I saw immediate and long-term potential and wanted to be a part of it. Leaving the Simsbury Inn along with its great management and ownership group was, however, the toughest decision of my career.” Chef’s first tasks will be to finalize menus, personalize his kitchen, and hire the culinary team.
Libby Rutty
Sales and Event Coordinator
The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station is pleased to announce Mrs. Libby Rutty of Westbrook, CT as the new Sales & Event Coordinator. She is a graduate of Boston University and has called the East Coast home her entire life. Mrs. Rutty comes to The Riverhouse with several years of event planning experience. She served as Special Events Coordinator for the past year and also from 1996 to 2002 with Taylor Rental of Clinton, CT. She managed and coordinated rentals for business and social events including several weddings. Prior to Taylor Rental, Mrs. Rutty was the Event Coordinator at Gourmet Galley Catering in Quaker Hill, CT where she planned several hundred events a year. Her resume also includes an impressive 11 years with Seaflour Foods in Centerbrook, CT as the Event Coordinator and Pastry Chef.
She is proud to have catered events for President Fainstein of Connecticut College and at other institutions such as Wesleyan and UCONN. Mrs. Rutty has been involved in several high profile events including catering for the Doobie Brothers and dignitaries at the State Capital. She catered several events at Katherine Hepburn’s estate in Old Saybrook including the wedding of Cynthia McFadden for which she personally created the wedding cake.
Jim Bucko, General Manager of The Riverhouse said, “Libby and I met initially to discuss how Taylor Rental could work with us. My parting comments to her were to let me know if she knew of anyone interested in the Sales & Event Coordinator position. The next day Libby called to say that she had someone for me – her!” Mrs. Rutty went home the night of meeting at and told her husband Mike, “I really would like to be a part of The Riverhouse.”
Mrs. Rutty started with The Riverhouse on Wednesday, February 21 and is actively working with the brides and grooms of more than 60 weddings booked to date. She is also meeting with potential new clients for corporate and social events, Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs, wedding and baby showers, and special events.
Robin Euglow
Banquet Manager
We are pleased to announce Ms. Robin Euglow of Bristol, CT as our new Banquet Manager. Ms. Euglow comes to The Riverhouse from Avon Farms Hotel in Avon, CT where she served as Banquet Manager for 11 years. Ms. Euglow has been involved in other organizations including America’s Cup in Middletown where she was the Director of Banquet Sales, and The Quality Inn of Bristol, CT as Catering Sales Coordinator. Ms. Euglow brings two decades of operational banquet experience to The Riverhouse. Here she will be responsible for daily operations, as well as, overseeing events from start to finish.
Ms. Euglow is proud to have worked with the Special Olympics, where she and her staff coordinated and carried out all of the food and beverage functions for the group during the winter games. She was also instrumental in several of ESPN’s promotional and kick-off dinners and personally oversaw the wedding for newscaster Greg Gumbell.
“I am very excited to join The Riverhouse’s management team. In viewing the plans, The Riverhouse is not only going to be a beautiful facility, but the attention to detail with regard to the operation is obvious,” stated Ms. Euglow. “I have begun to hire the service staff and am currently coordinating the linens, place settings, etc. in preparation for opening day.”
Jim Bucko General Manager said, “When I called references for Robin everyone I talked to could not say enough about her. A recurring description of Robin was, “one of the easiest people to work with”, second to none with attention to detail” and “nothing ruffles her feathers”. “It is crucial to not only have a superior hourly staff but when you have a superior leader, excellence becomes infectious, I am excited to have Robin on The Riverhouse team.”
Kelley Smith
Corporate Sales & Event Coordinator
The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station is pleased to announce Mrs. Kelley Smith from Chester, CT as its corporate sales & event coordinator. Mrs. Smith comes to The Riverhouse with 20 years of event sales and planning experience. The previous 3 years Mrs. Smith was contracted by Pfizer to provide meeting support for offsite meetings and catering events. Prior to Pfizer Mrs. Smith worked with Water’s Edge resort and spa for 16 years mainly in a sales and event coordinating capacity.
Jim Bucko, General Manager of The Riverhouse said, “Kelley introduced herself early on in The Riverhouse project. With our management team already in place I filed her resume for future contact. Weeks after The Riverhouse opened its doors on June 22, 2007 I realized we needed a corporate sales and event coordinator to simply work with the corporate markets. Mrs. Smith’s background was very impressive, not only with the corporate markets but her experience with weddings and social events from her time at Water’s Edge. It was a natural fit and easy transition for her to make.”
“During the past three years, Kelley has assisted Pfizer meeting planners by traveling and providing support at off site meeting locations. Her knowledge of the hotel and hospitality industry along with her personable style ensured the Pfizer planners and meeting participants were always satisfied with each event’s outcome” said a member of the Meeting Development team at Pfizer.
Mrs. Smith started with The Riverhouse on Tuesday, September 4 and is actively working with local companies in an around Connecticut.
Ivy Mellow
Off site Catering Manager
Ivy started her culinary career at a very young age in fine dining restaurants in the Westerly Rhode Island area. “As much as I loved the restaurant scene something was missing,” says Ivy. She then moved to Gourmet Galley Catering where she spent the past 10 years as the Head Chef and knew she had found her passion. “As the Chef I was able to use all those great tools I learned and was then able to add my own twist and flavors to them.” In those years Ms. Mellow, along with her culinary team created dinners for single events topping 500 guests and weekends where thousands were served. Ms. Mellow has catered to clients such as President Michael Roth of Wesleyan College and former Wesleyan President Mr. Doug Bennet. Ms. Mellow was so highly regarded by the Bennet’s that she personally catered their son’s wedding rehearsal dinner, Mr. Bennet’s formal retirement party and a small private retirement dinner amongst many others. Other clients of Ms. Mellow include New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, automobile tycoon Herb Chambers, and Jim Parker, CEO of Southwest Airlines. Ms. Mellow had been running events from the kitchen but will now bring her experience and creativity to coordinate the clients entire event.
Jim Bucko, General Manager of The Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station says, “She is the perfect fit for our catering company. By combining her culinary knowledge as well as her attention to detail and service standards, Riverhouse Catering will be focusing on first-class catering events not only at established locations such as Wadsworth Mansion, Rocky Neck & Eagle Landing State Parks but at private residences, yachts and yacht clubs as well. Ms. Mellow and Riverhouse Event Coordinator Libby Rutty managed the first ever Mother’s Day brunch at The Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, CT where they served over 350 people to rave reviews. For information about Riverhouse Catering call the Riverhouse, 860-345-4100 or visit our website www.theriverhouse.com.
