Raleigh restaurateur Steve Thanhauser will serve as the Board Chair of the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association (NCRLA) for a one-year term. Thanhauser, co-owner of The Angus Barn Restaurant, was elected by the board of directors and sworn in on February 3. Outgoing Board Chair Vinay Patel, CEO of SREE Hotels, will continue to serve on NCRLA’s Executive Committee as Immediate Past Chair.
“Steve is an outstanding leader and a long-time force in North Carolina’s restaurant industry. He has served on our board since 2014, and we are honored and excited to have him serve as our new Chair,” said NCRLA President & CEO Lynn Minges. “I also want to offer a special thank you to Vinay Patel, who worked tirelessly to advance and grow North Carolina’s hospitality industry during his tenure as NCRLA Board Chair.”
Steve Thanhauser co-owns The Angus Barn Restaurant with his wife, Van Eure. After attending graduate school for hotel and restaurant administration at Virginia Tech University, Steve established MarketSmart Advertising in 1992. The hospitality-focused ad agency significantly increased revenue for many restaurant clients and charitable institutions.
In 2007, Thanhauser and Eure opened the Angus Barn Pavilion, a 750-seat lakeside banquet facility on the restaurant’s 30-acre campus. In 2012, they expanded the banquet operations to Durham, where they are the exclusive caterer for Bay 7, a 500-seat facility at the American Tobacco Campus.
Thanhauser has served on and chaired the NC Travel and Tourism board, Wake County Human Services board. He is on the executive committee for The Foundation of Hope, a 35-year-old charity founded by the Eure family, which has raised millions of dollars for the research and treatment for mental illness.
The North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association also announced the Board of Directors for 2020.
2020 NCRLA Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Steve Thanhauser, Chair, Angus Barn, Ltd.
Nishith “Nish” Patel, Vice Chair, Beacon IMG, Inc.
Amber Moshakos, Treasurer, LM Restaurants
Burney Jennings, Secretary, Biscuitville Fresh Southern
Jim Beley, Travel & Tourism Board Liaison, The Umstead Hotel & Spa
Lance Trenary, NRA Liaison, Golden Corral Corporation
Vinay Patel, Immediate Past Chair, SREE Hotels, LLC
Members
Patrick Aiello, Ecolab
Scott Brewton, Pinehurst Resort
Andy Clark, US Foods
Dan Freeland, Concord Hospitality Enterprises
Phil Friedman, Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina
Tim Goss, Firehouse Subs
Joel Griffin, Griffin Stafford Hospitality, LLC
Doris Huebner, F & D Huebner, LLC
Russ Jones, Davidson & Jones
Scott Maitland, Top of the Hill Restaurant, Brewery & Distillery
Akshat Patel, Ex-Officio, Comfort Inn — Choice Hotels
Shaunak Patel, Parks Hospitality Group
Gonza Salamanca, Gonza Tacos Y Tequila
Tom Sasser, Burke Hospitality
Billy Sewell, Platinum Corral, LLC
Jason Smith, 18 Restaurant Group
Charles Thompson, The Inn on Biltmore Estate
