Hospitality Vet Jennifer Quist Named Head of Provenance Hotels Restaurant and Bar Development

This week, the Provenance Hotels hotel group announced local hospitality veteran Jennifer Quist (Multnomah Whiskey Library, Riffle NW) as its new head of restaurant and bar development. In Portland, Provenance hotels include Hotel deLuxe, Hotel Lucia, the Sentinel, and a forthcoming location in the Woodlark building at SW Alder and Park slated for 2016. Its hotels are home to tenants Imperial, Penny Diner, and Jackknife, and Provenance runs the Driftwood Room and Gracie's Restaurant in Hotel deLuxe.

Speaking with Eater by phone, Quist said that she's currently searching for restaurant and bar partners for the Woodlark building project. The new 150-room hotel will have a three-meal-a-day restaurant, a separate cocktail bar, and a tea and coffee bar in the lobby.

"We are looking at what will be best for the Portland landscape," she said, and when asked about trends, she said, "Simplicity is where it's at. Simplicity isn't really easy to do. And it's just really nice when you have a great meal."

Quist was a line cook at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Mercer Kitchen in New York, and she operated a catering company in the San Francisco Bay Area. In Portland, she opened and owned Riffle NW; managed Produce Row; and served as the general manager of Multnomah Whiskey Library (she saw it open and stayed on for two years).

Quist didn't announce big changes for Gracie's or Driftwood Room aside from "exciting programs for the holiday season."

"I'm someone who, if you could live in a hotel, I would live in a hotel," said Quist. "It's just been really fun."

Quist also oversees restaurant and bar development at Provenance Hotels in New Orleans, Nashville, and Seattle.