Troy Tomlinson |
Congratulations! |
Derek Roetzer |
| I was born into the grocery business, Mom’s family had 2 grocery stores growing up. They started as a meat market before expanding into full service grocery with one of the first full-service delis in central Illinois. I worked at the store from when I was born until I left for culinary school, doing any and all things! It sparked my interest in the food service! Unfortunately, big box grocery came along and they decided to sell the store. I wish I could have had a chance at it before they sold it!
Culinary school led me to Lettuce Entertain You; Scoozi (Chicago), Tucci Benucch (Chicago & Minneapolis) and Tucci Milan (Chicago) – all high volume Italian restaurants – were my stomping grounds for 12 years. I meet this girl, Jeannine, in Culinary school. She has a degree in hospitality management and managed several McDonald’s units before deciding 2 of us in this business was not going to work, so she started her path towards self-employment. We became best friends, and in 1991 we got married. We were/are/always will be made for each other. After Lettuce I worked for a couple of local independent restaurateurs, followed by a couple of Corporate Dining companies. This was when Madeline (June 2001) and Chase (November 2002) entered our lives. In June of 2003, I joined Biaggi’s with an all-in mentality; “let’s see where it takes us!”. I started training in Eden Prairie and by the end of the summer, I had visited the Omaha location with my family and decided that was going to be my store (slowest store in the company at the time). I spent the next 2 years in Omaha, then was asked if I’d be interested in going to the Maple Grove location. Being one of the highest volume, and the newest store in the company was a little intimidating, but I had higher volume experience and felt I could comfortably adjust, so back to Minnesota we went. During this transition, Jeannine and I were separated for about 2.5 months over the Christmas holiday. It was the hardest time of my life. Skip through the middle and along came Peyton (November 2007). Maple Grove was brief (a little over a year), however, Mark and I won the equivalent of the MP/CP of the year award. I was then asked if I would like to come to Bloomington to run the corporate store. All-in, all the time was my response. So back home to central Illinois we went. I was excited, Jeannine was nervous. We were moving somewhere she had never been, with 3 young children, no support, and a husband working in a high volume restaurant! Fast forward and we built a solid base for our family. All of the kids are well respected in their classroom, activities, and by anyone they meet! Jeannine has built a great support network (our village). Me… I just keep getting older, but better!! |
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I’ve always had a passion for this business, going back to when I was 16 years old as a dishwasher and bus boy. Seeing the interactions and the energy of the staff, I just knew that this line of work was for me.
I worked my way through the ranks of several different restaurants, getting my first management opportunity with a little local place here in Bloomington called Diamond Daves in College Hills Mall as a bartender and manager. Afterward, I moved to Ruby Tuesday and ran the kitchen, then transitioned to FOH where I met my current wife Britney, who was a hostess/server (for the record, we never dated when she worked for me). Next, I moved on as general manager of FlatTop Grill for 5 years. I opened the location here in Bloomington and then ran the Champaign location after that. I was looking to get back to my hometown and when an opportunity came up with Biaggi’s, I jumped on it because I knew, despite not being GM right away, that if I put in the hard work that it would be recognized… and the rest is history. |
