Building from Vision to Growth
Cordelia began with a clear vision. Founder Andrew Watts knew the restaurant he wanted to create before he had even found the chef who would ultimately bring its food to life.
As hire number one, I worked alongside Andrew from the earliest stages to turn that vision into a brand and go-to-market foundation others could build from.
Andrew kept saying “Midwest Nice.” I recognized that it captured something essential about how he wanted the experience to feel. It became a defining expression of Cordelia.
Cordelia went on to earn three consecutive James Beard Award nominations, including two finalist honors, and chef Vinnie Cimino was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef.
“Life hack: call Gina.”
Andrew Watts, Proprietor, Cordelia, ROSY
Then the business grew.
Less than five years later, the team was ready to build again. This time, the vision began with Vinnie and I was brought back to help turn a very different restaurant idea into a brand of its own.
ROSY wasn’t named for a person, but for a disposition: how Vinnie wanted people to feel. That idea became a lens for concepts like “Ancestral European”, helping translate his vision into a world the creative team could bring to life.
Opening a second restaurant also introduced a different challenge: the business itself had to evolve. In parallel with developing ROSY, I worked with Andrew and Vinnie to rethink the team’s structure and ways of working so the organization could support two establishments and what was becoming a hospitality group.
Within months of opening, ROSY was named to The New York Times’ 2026 list of 50 favorite restaurants in the United States, the only restaurant in Ohio selected that year.
“Gina has the uncanny gift of being able to say what you want but in a much more elegantly concise and purposeful way. She gave us our voice, kept us grounded and ensured we said what was most important, when it was most appropriate. I wouldn’t consider launching another brand or product without her on the team.”
Andrew Watts, Proprietor, Cordelia, ROSY