WHO WE ARE

Raised on a farm and cattle ranch in the San Joaquin Valley of California, Executive Chef Sean Gafner was born into a great appreciation for high quality food. Serving tables in Sacramento as a young adult, Sean quickly realized that he loved the creative, high-energy restaurant industry. Upon graduating from Golden State Culinary Institute in 2000 with honors his mission was to work in a wide variety of cuisines to broaden his palette and expertise and he did so at The Country Club of Mobile AL, PF Chang’s China Bistro, City Treasure French-Italian Cuisine, Celestine’s Caribbean Restaurant and Bella Bru European Café. As Executive Chef of Sacramento landmark restaurants Celestine’s and Bella Bru, Sean made several appearances on TV show’s such as Good Day Sacramento, Chef’s Challenge, and Breakfast at Your Place. In 2006 the love of the North State led Sean to accept both the position of Executive Chef at Tierra Oaks Country Club and Instructor of Culinary Arts at Shasta College in Redding, CA. As a passionate restaurant designer and consultant he opened the Stirring Café in 2011, Wrapped Inc. in 2012 before taking over as the Executive Chef & Partner of Redding’s finest restaurant View 202. Sean and his wife Rebecca have also owned a high-end catering business since 2000, while managing to have four beautiful children Skylar, Caleb, Ryder and Hailey.

After their first visit, the Gafners quickly fell in love with the city of Longmont and couldn’t be more excited to put some roots down in the beautiful state of Colorado!

Alishia is a Boulder County native and wouldn’t want to call anywhere else home. While earning a Humanities degree at CU Boulder, she quit her job in medical billing and moved to Longmont. In August 2000, Alishia started waiting tables and tending bar at the neighborhood pizza place, trying to meet new people and learn something new. It didn’t take her long to realize that the restaurant industry was exactly where she belonged.

Over 20 years later, Alishia has extensive experience in bars and restaurants, with most of that time spent working in small, independent, and Colorado-grown concepts.

Passionate about people and art, she believes that a great meal might just be the best expression of bringing those two things together. She’s proud to be a part of this community that so strongly supports independent business and all things local.

When she’s not working at the restaurants, Alishia can be found hiking or camping with her two kids, Liam and Fiona, daydreaming about her next trip to Belize, or at Happy Hour with a gin cocktail in hand.

Growing up in Maryland, Matt, at a young age realized his love for the outdoors and adventure. While attending college in western Maryland he had an opportunity to learn the craft of bartending at a local tavern that incorporated great beer and live music. Upon graduating with a degree in adventure sports and management he quickly decided that Colorado was where he should be. Chasing big rapids and steep mountains he ended up in Crested Butte, Colorado. It was here he that continued pursuing his passions, the outdoors, craft cocktails, and hospitality. While living in small town Crested Butte he started realizing the importance of local goods. Whether it be local beer, crops, or cattle, he knew sustainability was a huge priority.

Matt started with Gafner Hospitality Group in 2015 shortly after we opened our first concept, The Roost. After many years of bartending and managing at all of our concepts he joined our team of directors.

Today he oversees our bar programs across all our concepts but also is very passionate about creating sustainable growth for Gafner Hospitality Group through innovation, and leadership development.

When he is not at our concepts you can find him enjoying all Colorado has to offer with his wife Heather, and their two children Jaxon, and Avery.

After graduating Le Cordon Bleu, Leslie landed at Emeril’s Fish House at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV. He also held positions at the high profile Lake Las Vegas Como’s under Chef Stephen Romeo and Joseph Keller and at the Sugarbrook Bakery & Café and Havasu Skybox in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Driven by a passion for organic, local, GMO-free food and for a desire to bring his family to a close-knit community, Leslie moved to Longmont and worked in Boulder as the Sous Chef at The Greenbriar Inn for 3 years before becoming the Executive Chef at Zeal on Pearl Street for the last four years. While in Longmont, he and his fiancé Ali also added two beautiful daughters, Evelyn and Delilah, to their family, joining siblings Alyssa and Conor. Leslie is excited to bring his experience back to the Longmont Community and help level up the culinary experience people can have here.

Jordan has been working in restaurants since 2004 and is the definition of quality customer service in the food and beverage industry. He met his wife in a restaurant more than ten years ago and they now have a son (Xavier) and a daughter (Zaia). When he isn’t managing at the Roost, Jordan loves frisbee golf, sports and spending time with his family (including his pup Lola). The entire Suniga family loves the Roost, especially the rooftop in summer, and is so excited for Jordan’s adventure at the Roost.