Jessica Fuentes was raised amongst hospitality professionals; her dad is owner/founder of Café Avanti: her mom and step-dad, owners of Business Travel Advisors, a Travel Management Company. Since she was in her early teens, Jessica would spend summers helping in either one or both of her parents’ business/es. Even from a very young age she showed an innate gift in dealing with clients and considered it of utmost importance that every person she came in contact with leave feeling that they were being attended to in a personalized manner.
After graduating from St. Brendan’s Catholic High School, Jessica attended Northeastern University in Boston-a city that she had grown to love from her many visits there. Jessica’s objective was to secure a degree in criminal justice and continue on to law school. She did graduate with a BA, Criminal Justice, yet, the hospitality bug had bitten her badly while working part-time for the Back Bay Restaurant Group and law school was now in the back burner.
Jessica had worked at several of Back Bay Restaurant Group’s restaurants. After graduation, Jessica was offered a full-time position at the very well known Abe & Louie’s. Jessica was the youngest Manager in the restaurant’s history and was immediately dedicated to making each one of the regular, long-standing clients feel that their visit was equally as valued as their first had been. Jessica was eager to learn every aspect of the operation and soon was entrusted with everything from inventory control/fraud prevention to payroll. She grew passionate about all aspects of the restaurant operation, yet, the “front of the house” and overseeing that every guest’s expectation was being exceeded was her driving force.
In December, 2010, after dedicating two and a half years to her beloved Abe & Louie’s, it was time to bring her passion home.Jessica’s first day at Café Avanti was New Year’s Eve 2010. From the moment she returned home, she felt as if she had never been away. Café Avanti was her home, away from home; such is how many of the valued, regular guests have come to call Café Avanti, as well.
Jessica is Café Avanti’s General Manager and works side by side with her dad, complementing each other with incomparable synergies.
Amongst other community involvements, much of Jessica’s available time is appropriated to her involvement in the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce. She currently serves in the:
• Emerging Leadership Council
• Pillar Board of Trustees
• Nomination Committee for Executive Board and Board of Governors
Last, but definitely not least, Jessica is enthusiastically expecting her first baby (a girl) in the spring.
