George Washington’s Mount Vernon, a case study

Company

George Washington, commander in chief of American forces in the Revolutionary War and the first president of the United States, called Mount Vernon home for more than 40 years. George and his wife Martha lived at this very location, which is now the most popular historic estate in America.

Guests to Mount Vernon can visit the Mansion, more than a dozen original structures, Washington’s Tomb, and nearly 50 acres of his extensive plantation. The estate also includes a working blacksmith shop and the Pioneer Farm, a 4-acre demonstration farm with a reconstructed slave cabin and 16-sided treading barn.

In addition to the historical elements of the site, Mount Vernon boasts a healthy food and beverage program built to accommodate the needs of it’s daily visitors, special events and seasonal festivals that are held on it’s grounds. The offerings include a food court with multiple quick service outlets providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for guests on the go and a charming full service restaurant, the Mount Vernon Inn, offering historically authentic dining extending from costumed servers to delicious colonial cuisine. The property also maintains catering capabilities that service private events and other food service needs not met by the food court and Inn.

Challenge

Upon the retirement of the long time Food & Beverage Director of the Mount Vernon estate, leadership knew they had to find just the right person to take over the role. This is no ordinary food and beverage program, but one that feeds over 1 million people each year and hosts private events where world leaders are frequently present. This was also identified as an opportunity for the property to raise the bar on it’s offerings and regain it’s footing as a destination dining location for the local community. The need was urgent to find a recruiting firm with deep connections in the food and beverage industry to procure the correct candidate for this extraordinary position.

Solution

Following an exhaustive search to find a recruiting firm capable of producing a properly experienced candidate for this challenging role, George Washington’s Mount Vernon identified and retained TalentServed for the project. With TalentServed’s deep networks in the restaurant industry and track record of filling top leadership roles for other high profile properties across the country, the firm was awarded the mission of finding the next Food and Beverage Director for the estate.

Results

Following an extensive search that involved many members of the TalentServed team, 8 local candidates were produced and considered for the role. One candidate was chosen and the position was filled.

Fast forward to today and the chosen candidate is still in position as the Food & Beverage Director at GWMV and progress is being made. Sales have increased at the Mount Vernon Inn, good reviews are coming in from Yelp and Trip Advisor and costs have declined across the spectrum of food service activities at the property. “We were very satisfied with the variety of candidates presented by TalentServed. This gave us choices that we didn’t have before and we are especially happy with our selection. Our food service program is doing better than ever and we appreciate the help of TalentServed to bring us the person that is getting it done!’ states Megan Dunn, Vice President of Human Resources for the estate.