About Us
Meet Our Team
Jay Keller
Director of dining services
Jay is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and prior to his tenure at Holton-Arms served as Executive Chef of Gallaudet University, and the Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC. Jay loves traveling, eating, foraging, beekeeping, and spending time with family. He lives in Silver Spring with his wife, two kids, two dogs, two guinea pigs, and a fish.
jkeller@merig.com
301.365.6026
Peter Gonzalez
Executive Chef
Peter fell in love with food at a young age, he even remembers standing on a dining room chair over the kitchen stove to make grilled cheeses for his younger sister and cousins every Saturday for lunch. In his childhood home food was everything. He would gaze wide-eyed at his mother, aunts, and cousins in the kitchen as they transformed humble ingredients into amazing dishes. Ever since then, Peter has been hooked. He followed his passion, attending Johnson & Wales University where he majored in culinary arts. Peter continued to sharpen his skills at the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami and Julian’s Steakhouse early on in his career. He most recently held positions as a Sous chef with Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market and as the Kitchen Manager at The Cheesecake Factory. His passion for all things food coupled with his knowledge, relates strongly to the MG Core Value, “Love Food, People, Serving Others”.
Rich Hetzler
District Manager
Rich is a talented leader and culinarian who spent his early days working in various fine dining restaurants in the DC market, ultimately prompting him to launch his own restaurant Ovvia Osteria in Fairfax, Virginia. After that, he served in culinary leadership roles in education and cultural arts venues, including George Washington University, Georgetown University, National Museum of the American Indian, and Smithsonian Institute. In those roles, he had the opportunity to lead teams of 250-plus across multiple locations. Rich has a genuine passion for food, developing others, and delivering remarkable hospitality to clients.
Living & Working Sustainably
We take a holistic approach to being good stewards of our natural resources. Given that food services as an industry are notorious for waste, we start with a focus on not letting good food end up in the trash. From there, we incorporate other important strategies: buying local foods, composting, recycling, etc. Doing what we can to take better care of our planet is the right thing to do. We also provide programs and information in these areas as well as nutrition awareness.
Our Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We are invested in creating and maintaining a workplace in which all employees have an opportunity to participate in and contribute to the success of the business. This means fostering and protecting an inclusive environment in which all employees feel respected, are treated fairly and their viewpoints, thoughts, and ideas are encouraged and embraced, regardless of position, age, race, religion, beliefs, socio-economic background, gender, who they love, how they identify and of course, other protected statuses. We proudly support vendors, partners, and suppliers who share these values of inclusion.
Our Culture
We recognize that people are our most important ingredient and we provide them with the best resources, from training and support to progressive systems, so they may find satisfaction in what they do and feel appreciated for their hard work. We cultivate an atmosphere where we learn, grow and improve, constantly. This people-first culture fosters a better experience for each guest.