Pechanga Resort Casino is pleased to announce Ryan Adams as its new Director of Beverage Operations. Adams joined the busy food and beverage team in July and his addition to the team can already be seen in a number of guest experience improvements. Most recently, Adams held management positions in the beverage department at another Southern California casino. He made the move to Pechanga to join the largest resort/casino on the west coast’s largest division, food and beverage. He looks forward to sharing his knowledge, and growing with his team and the resort as a whole.
Adams’ path to climbing the food and beverage management ladder took an unlikely approach from the first pitch. During high school, college and following graduation, he worked for the City of West Covina, first as a Recreation Coordinator and later in roles of increasing responsibility. His 12 years there led him to a position at the West Covina Big League Dreams facility, which features a number of replica baseball fields, stadium stands and concessions, meant to give the everyday youth or adult baseball player the feeling of playing in the big leagues. Adams’ organization, professionalism and work ethic caught the eye of the facility’s concessions management. It was there at Big League Dreams managing beer, nachos and hot dog sales that set him on the trajectory of his ascent in food and beverage management.
Leaving Big League Dreams behind, Adams continued to round the bases toward better jobs in restaurant management. He swung at a job in Pasadena at Roy’s – Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine and considered it a home run when he was hired. Other opportunities arose for him in Los Angeles including the position of General Manager at a well-known Los Angeles steakhouse, but upon the birth of his first child, he wanted to work closer to home. That’s when he says he stumbled upon casino food and beverage management within Southern California. He applied to the resort, was offered the job and within months, found himself promoted to the Senior Beverage Manager position. Ready for more professional and personal growth, however, he reached out to Pechanga when he noticed an opening for the Director of Beverage position.
“Here at Pechanga, I found this amazing mix of team members who are hard working to a fault,” says Adams. “We all have so much to learn from each other. I’m so excited to work with them to take our department to the next level of hospitality and guest service.”
The thing about beverage is that we touch every area of the resort. We’re at the golf course, the spa, the pool, in the rooms or when you order room service or choose something from the mini bar, the casino floor, all the restaurants, the theaters and there are probably a few places I’m missing. We have to make sure every touch point is delivering the best service and product.”
Adams and his team recently implemented an upgrade to the BOSS system, the popular on-demand slot machine beverage ordering system making them one of the first in the country to offer this latest version.
Adams considers himself blessed to have had great mentorship from his early managers. Adams is married and has two young children. They all enjoy going to Disneyland and watching sports during free time.
For more information on any of the restaurants or extensive guest amenities at Pechanga Resort Casino, visit Pechanga.com.
