The three partners of Passion Food Hospitality, LLC – Chef Jeff Tunks, David Wizenberg and Gus DiMillo – are most accurately described as restaurant entrepreneurs.  “Pursuing the truest passions in food and wine” is the guiding philosophy of the partnership, which has over the past seven years pioneered a new breed of an American eatery where imaginative food and wine are accompanied by gracious hospitality, comfortable surroundings, and outstanding value.  The company was established in 1998 with their first restaurant, DC Coast; their second venture, TenPenh restaurant, followed two years later, and Ceiba, the third, opened in September 2003.  Two years later, in September 2005, Acadiana was launched, the fourth jewel in the group’s crown. 

From the outset, the restaurants have been garnering outstanding reviews from publications such as Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Esquire, Travel & Leisure, Wine Spectator, Washingtonian, and The Washington Post.   Their success is clearly due to the unique strengths that each of the three partners brings to their group of restaurants: 

David Wizenberg’s exceedingly acute business acumen and intuitive skills make him a master negotiator.  He also oversees the extensive cuisine-specific wine programs of all three restaurants.  A native of Baltimore, Wizenberg came to Washington to join Capital Restaurant Concepts, where he met Passion Food Hospitality, LLC, partner Gus DiMillo. 

Gus DiMillo brings to the team a keen sense of style, service and attention to detail.  With his razor-sharp savvy, DiMillo assumes responsibility for service and marketing of the restaurants.  His extensive management experience has been primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C., and in 2003, The Capital Restaurant and Hospitality Awards committee named Gus DiMillo the Hospitality Ambassador of the Year.  

Jeff Tunks, a longtime Washingtonian and native of Texas, is the third partner in Passion Food Hospitality, LLC, as well as Executive Chef at DC Coast, TenPenh, Ceiba, and Acadiana.  [See Tunks’ full bio in an additional release.] In 2003, The Capital Restaurant and Hospitality Awards committee named him Chef of the Year.  

DiMillo, Wizenberg, and Tunks are active leaders in the community by supporting civic and charitable organizations. All three have given their time and service to Taste of the Nation’s Benefit for Share Our Strength, Food and Friends’ Charity, the Humane Society, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Zoo’s Zoofari, to name a few.  Passion Food Hospitality was honored for its role in making downtown DC vibrant, inviting, and beautiful with a 2004 Momentum Award from the Downtown Business Improvement District; and in January 2005, they were named Restaurateurs of the Year by Washingtonian Magazine. Together, the partners of Passion Food Hospitality, LLC are making their mark in the nation’s capital, and raising the bar for others.