Donny de Castro

Donny brings 14 years of restaurant experience from establishments all over the country to the Tavern at the Park project. As a teenager, he was already learning how a bar and restaurant runs at T.G.I. Friday’s. As he continued his career, opportunities presented themselves to him in the Florida Keys, Colorado and the Carolinas. He took on each challenge, experiencing many different formats of service, management styles and presentation for fine-dining restaurants. One of Donny’s greatest strengths is working with guests. A former colleague once called Donny the man every guest seeks out when they come in. It’s not by chance. Donny has flawlessly combined his management and people skills. His personal service philosophy is based on commitment to detail and reproducing each detail as specifically as the guest may request. He has learned to blend great attentiveness with entertainment, creating a truly enjoyable dining experience.

In addition to his restaurant career, Donny also found success as a behavior modification therapist. He graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, with a degree in Neuroscience & Behavior and followed a dream, working with special-needs patients and Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins. He and the program achieved some lofty goals, including publishing a research paper on his findings and speaking at symposiums in other countries. In 1999, Donny also accepted a position as a research fellow for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Medical School. There, he published his second research paper and toured the country speaking on it. His creativity and personality also caught the eye of television producers. You may recognize Donny from TV. He has appeared on WB’s “Dawson Creek”, several national television commercials and independent films.

Donny is thrilled to come full circle and dedicate himself to the restaurant industry full-time. For years, he has been planning to open Tavern at the Park with his brother Pete, deciding on the right time and place. And after marrying in 2004, Donny moved his new wife Alison to Chicago to begin “Tavern at the Park”.