Leadership Team
Our Common Man team, now more than 650 members strong, is our most valued asset.
We’re proud to have with us a talented, loyal staff dedicated to providing our guests “wow” service and creating delicious and memorable cuisine that keeps guests coming back for more.
In an industry prone to high staff turnover, we’re pleased to say that more than 50% of our staff has been with us for 10 years or more. We even have staff on board who’ve been with us since we opened our first location in Ashland in 1971!
We’ve been named “Best Company to Work For in the Food Industry” by The Griffin Report of Food Marketing, and ranked among the Top 100 Private Companies in New Hampshire by Business NH Magazine!
Click here to see current opportunities to join our Common Man family.
Vincent Vella
Chief Executive Officer
The Common Man Family of Restaurants
vince@thecman.com
Vincent Vella is the chief executive officer for The Common Man family of restaurants in New Hampshire, leading the company in setting its strategy, direction and vision. He oversees the senior leadership team and works with the team to model and develop the company’s culture, values and behavior. He is also charged with driving business growth and allocating capital to the company’s priorities.
Vella came to The Common Man in 2014 and brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry in both the United States and overseas. Vella began his career as a general manager with the Riese Organization in New York in 1983, and served in that same role for Bennigan’s Grill and Bar, Bertucci’s Brick Oven Pizza and Ground Round Restaurant over the course of 15 years.
In 1998, Vella became the food and beverage director for Dave & Buster’s in New York, until 2001 when he joined the Flat Out Crazy Restaurant Group out of Chicago as operating partner, overseeing the opening and entire operation of a $3 million+ restaurant in West Nyack, NY. Vella moved into various roles with Flat Out Crazy Restaurant Group over 12 years, including regional partner and vice president of operations, where he oversaw $80 million in annual sales and was responsible for all new unit expansions for Stir Crazy and Flat Top Grill concepts.
Vella became the chief operating officer for AFAB Group in Saudi Arabia in 2013, and was involved in the planning and development of corporate infrastructure to support current and future operations, as well as oversight of all operational functions of four franchise businesses totaling more than 200 units.
Vella is a graduate of De La Salle College in Cospicua, Malta and resides in Laconia with his wife. He is also the proud father of four children.
Sean Brown
Chief Operating Officer
The Common Man Family of Restaurants
sean@thecman.com
Sean Brown is the Chief Operating Officer for The Common Man restaurants in New Hampshire, overseeing the daily operations of the hospitality family’s 16 restaurants. He is also charged with implementing strategic initiatives, driving business growth, and leading the operations and management teams.
Brown most recently served as the District Operations Manager for The Common Man, overseeing all front of the house operations for The Common Man’s specialty brands, including all Meredith locations, and Foster’s Boiler Room and The Italian Farmhouse in Plymouth. Prior to that, he was general manager for Lago, Lakehouse and Camp Restaurants in Meredith.
For more than 20 years, Brown has worked for The Common Man in various positions, starting as a server at what was previously Boathouse Grille in Meredith, now Lago. The Common Man named him General Manager of the Year in 2007 and 2009, and he’s been nominated as General Manager of the year several times in his career.
He enjoys everything the Lakes Region has to offer and resides in Moultonborough with his family.
Sally Moulton
Chief Financial Officer
The Common Man Family of Restaurants
sally@thecman.com
Sally Moulton is the Chief Financial Officer for The Common Man family.
Sally manages general liability and worker’s compensation insurance coverage, health insurance coverage, and keeps the company current with human resources and labor policies. She also oversees payroll, accounting, and the home office staff.
She started with The Common Man in 1996 as a Payroll and Accounts Payable clerk and became the Office Manager in 1998. Sally’s start in hospitality came at a young age, mowing lawns as a teenager for an inn on Newfound Lake, then moving into cooking and housekeeping. After taking some college courses, she decided that a professional office role best suited her strengths.
Following our Common Man family’s Do Good mantra, Sally volunteers on our annual golf tournament committee, and spends time working to aid veterans in healing their hearts and bodies through interaction with horses.
Having been with our Common Man family for almost three decades, she also serves as our “unofficial” family historian, archiving important milestones in our more than 50 years in business.
Sally enjoys spending her free time on her small New Hampshire farm of horses, donkeys, and dogs with her partner, Jim.
Cindy Bates
Chief People Officer
The Common Man Family of Restaurants
cindy@thecman.com
Cindy Bates, PHR, CHT, is the Chief People Officer for The Common Man and has spent more than 30 years in various roles with the independent hospitality family in New Hampshire.
Bates manages the strategy and process of recruitment and retention of employees, designs policies that support The Common Man’s culture, works as an advocate and mentor for employees, and optimizes training and professional development to support the mission and goals of staff and the organization.
Bates was promoted to Chief People Officer in 2020. Previously, she served as The Common Man’s first director of training. Promoted to that role in 2006, she led training initiatives for more than 1,000 employees, developed a management mentor program, and conducted training seminars across the company. She has long advised on human resources policies and procedures and recruitment of new talent.
Bates began her career with The Common Man family as a server at Tilt’n Diner in Tilton in 1992, was promoted into the management program, and was then named general manager of the diner in 1998.
Bates earned the Professional Human Resource (PHR) designation from the Society of Human Resources in 2014, and has devoted her time over the past 11 years as a member of the national Council of Hotel & Restaurant Trainers (CHART). Her hospitality peers from across the country elected her to the organization’s board of directors three times. Bates’ responsibilities with CHART included heading Regional Training Forums, serving as secretary of the board, leading initiatives to increase membership, and planning national conferences.
As part of The Common Man’s mantra to DO GOOD, Bates has always been involved in giving back to the community. In her time at the Tilt’n Diner, she led many fundraising efforts for local organizations including hosting benefit dinners and providing food and support for Cash N Cans and the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. She has participated in the Made in NH Expo at The Common Man’s table, selling crab cakes to benefit CASA of NH, and contributes to numerous other Common Man charitable events each year.
Bates represents The Common Man family as a member of the educational board of directors of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association (NHLRA), and serves as an advisory board member for the NH Technical College culinary program as well as the Huot Technical Center in Laconia. She also serves on the Plymouth High School educational advisory committee, and conducts job interview and resume writing training sessions for clients of The Bridge House in Plymouth.
In 2021, Cindy received the Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Award from the NHLRA.
She is a graduate of Colby Sawyer College and resides in Belmont with her husband. She is the proud mother of three daughters and grandmother to five granddaughters.
Erica Auciello Murphy
Director of Communications and Community Relations
The Common Man Family of Restaurants
erica@thecman.com
Erica Auciello Murphy is the Director of Communications and Community Relations for the Common Man Family of Restaurants.
Erica joined the Common Man family in 2006 and leads all marketing, public relations, social media, branding, advertising, and media relations efforts for The Common Man. She also manages all charitable programs and contributions made by the family of 15 restaurants, two Common Man Inns, a Spa, Company Store and Flying Monkey Movie House and Performance Center.
In 2011, Erica was named a Woman of Influence in the Food Industry by The Griffin Report and in 2010 was selected as one of The New Hampshire Union Leader’s Forty Under 40. Erica received the Media & Public Relations Award from the New Hampshire Travel Council in 2008 for her work with the Common Man and contributions to the travel industry in New Hampshire.
Prior to joining The Common Man, Erica worked for eight years as director of media relations and account director at High Point Communications Group, Inc. in Bow, NH, developing and implementing public and media relations strategies for more than a dozen of the firm’s major accounts in health care, retail, hospitality, finance and other sectors.
Before joining High Point, Erica worked for WMUR-TV as a news producer and freelance reporter. She has also worked as a staff writer for Neighborhood Publications and as a reporter for WZID-FM.
Erica graduated cum laude from the University of New Hampshire in Durham in 1995 with a BA in Communications. She is also a graduate of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Leadership Manchester 2000 program, and served for 10 years as a member of the Leadership Manchester steering committee, organizing Media and Communications Day.
Erica volunteers her time and public relations experience as a marketing advisor to Safe Sports Network in Manchester and as a volunteer for the Booster Club of her child’s school. She is a past member of the Brian C. Stone Memorial Hockey Tournament Committee, and served for years as team captain for The Common Man’s Rafting for Wishes team for Make-A-Wish NH. She is a past member of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association’s events committee, past board member for the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction and served on the New Hampshire Food Bank’s marketing committee. She is a past President and board member of Noahs’ Ark Child Care Center in Manchester, a former board member of The New Hampshire Travel Council, The Cinderella Project of New Hampshire and the Greater Manchester Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Jennifer Tower Whitfield
Director of Sales
The Common Man Family
jent@thecmaninn.com
Jennifer Tower Whitfield is the Director of Sales for The Common Man family, overseeing events teams at The Barn on the Pemi, The Common Man Inn & Spa in Plymouth, The Common Man Inn & Restaurant in Claremont and the company’s other event spaces and off-site catering program.
Jennifer has been a part of The Common Man family since 2000, starting as a waitress at The Common Man in Lincoln while in college.
When The Common Man Inn & Spa opened in 2002, Jennifer became the Sales and Events Manager, and was promoted to Innkeeper and Director of Sales in 2006. She was promoted to her current position in August of 2015.
Jennifer is heavily-involved with the Plymouth-area community, hosting events and offering in-kind donations to many non-profit organizations. She is a board member of the New England Inns & Resorts Association (NEIRA), a member of The Council of Hospitality and Restaurant Trainers (CHART), a national industry group, and a board member for the Lakes Region Tourism Association.
In 2007, Jennifer was nominated as Innkeeper of the Year by the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association (NHLRA), and as employee of the year by The Common Man family. In 2014, Jennifer received the Innkeeper of the Year award from the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association.
Nicole White
Director of Training
The Common Man Family
nicole@thecman.com
Nicole White is the Director of Training for The Common Man family.
Nicole develops and leads staff training initiatives across The Common Man’s 16 restaurants, three Inns, Spa, Flying Monkey Movie House & Performance Center, and the Company Store.
She joined The Common Man family in April 2014. In her time with the company, Nicole has been a bartender and server at Common Man Ashland, where she was promoted to an MOD position. She advanced to General Manager, leading Tilt’n Diner, Town Dox, and Lago. She also took the helm as Event Manager at Lakehouse and has assisted many restaurants as a visiting manager. Most recently, Nicole served as The Common Man’s Executive Training Manager, developing online training modules and staff testing, leading in-person training classes and presentations, and conducting site visits. She also assisted the beverage department in coordinating training materials for all new product roll outs and features.
Nicole received the Rising Star award from the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association in 2019, honored for leading her team at Town Docks to a record-smashing, multi-million dollar summer season while balancing new trainees, weather interruptions, and successfully serving more than 118,000 guests. She was also named General Manager of the Year in 2019.
She embraces The Common Man’s Do Good mantra, and in the past has volunteered her time as a participant in Rafting for Wishes, a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish New Hampshire. She also assisted Town Docks in organizing a weekend-long fundraiser of live music and raffles to support the cause, and she has coordinated company-wide charitable programs with beverage vendors to benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Make-A-Wish New Hampshire, and Windham Blackout Cancer. Nicole also serves on The Common Man Invitational Golf Tournament Committee.
Nicole graduated from the NH Culinary Institute with a degree in Bakery and Pastry Arts and continues to pursue professional development and educational opportunities in hospitality, training, and human resources by attending Council of Hospitality and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) workshops and conferences held regionally and across the U.S. Nicole received her CHT, Certified Hospitality Trainer from the AHLEI, American Hotel and Training Educational Institute.
Ashley Maslowski
Beverage Director
The Common Man Family
ashley@thecman.com
Ashley Maslowski serves as the Beverage Director for The Common Man Family of restaurants. With expertise in overseeing liquor, beer and wine costs, Ashley plays a pivotal role in menu development and fostering strong relationships with partners to enhance our guests’ dining experience.
Ashley’s journey in the hospitality industry began at a young age, working as a busser and server in her home state of Connecticut. After a brief venture into the medical field as a Pediatric Medical Assistant, Ashley re-joined the industry in 2016 at our Town Docks restaurant in Meredith.
Her commitment and dedication quickly propelled her through the ranks of The Common Man Family. She served as an hourly manager at our specialty locations in Meredith and our Diners, and was most recently the General Manager of Town Docks in Meredith.
Ashley was promoted to Beverage Director in 2023, where she achieved her Level One Sommelier certification and remains dedicated to expanding her expertise in the dynamic world of beverage.
Beyond her accomplishments in the hospitality industry, she has been actively involved in fundraising for Make-A-Wish, demonstrating her commitment to making a positive impact beyond the workplace.
Residing in Gilford with her husband and son, she finds joy in family life and embraces all that the Lakes Region has to offer.
Kory Brunell
Director of Operations
The Common Man
kory@thecman.com
Kory Brunell is the Director of Operations for The Common Man, overseeing front and back of the house operations for our Diner Division of Airport Diner, Tilt’n Diner and Route 104 Diner, as well as our Lakes Region specialty restaurants Town Docks, Lago, Lakehouse and Camp.
Ken Woodrow
District Operations Manager
The Common Man Family of Restaurants
ken@thecman.com
Ken Woodrow is the District Operations Manager for the six Common Man restaurants spanning from Lincoln to Windham.
A native of Marblehead, MA, Ken graduated from UMass Amherst’s Hotel, Restaurant and Travel Administration (HRTA) program in 1992.
His career in restaurants and hospitality began as a dishwasher at age 13 and his passion for great food followed shortly after, when he began his cooking career. Ken served in many roles with the Ruby Tuesday restaurant chain for more than 20 years, assisting the company in opening new restaurants and training management throughout New England. He was awarded partner of the year during his tenure with the business.
Ken’s additional restaurant experience includes working for Not Your Average Joe’s as a regional director, where he worked on the opening of a New Hampshire location and he received the President’s Award for top performance. He also worked for Stones Hospitality Group as Head of Operations for the small but growing independent restaurant group, developing and opening a new high-end tapas concept in Nashua, NH.
Over the course of his restaurant career, Ken has led his restaurants and staff in community efforts including fundraisers for No Kid Hungry and local non-profit organizations.
Ken joined The Common Man family in 2021 and served as manager on duty at Tilt’n Diner in Tilton and as interim General Manager of Italian Farmhouse in Plymouth before being named to the leadership team in October 2021.
Ken lives in Bedford with his wife and four children.
Dan St. Jean
Executive Chef
The Common Man Family of Restaurants
dan@thecman.com
Dan St. Jean is the Executive Chef of The Common Man Family of Restaurants, overseeing all kitchen operations, chefs, menu creation and food events for the six Common Man-named locations.
Dan began with The Common Man as the Kitchen Manager for the newly-opened Lakehouse Grille in Meredith in 2004. He left to pursue other job opportunities, and re-joined the company in April 2014 as the Kitchen Manager at The Common Man in Windham. Dan was promoted into his current role in the fall of 2014.
A New Hampshire native, Dan’s love for the restaurant business started at age 13. He worked in several local restaurants throughout high school, until he enrolled as a student at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. After graduation in 1994, Dan was hired as a sous chef at The Boar’s Head Inn in Charlottesville, VA.
Dan moved back to the Granite State in 1996, landing a job at one of the state’s only Four Diamond properties, The Bedford Village Inn. Over the course of eight years, Dan worked his way through the ranks from line cook to sous chef to special events chef before joining The Common Man to assist in opening Lakehouse Grille.
Beyond his Executive Chef duties, Dan is also committed to The Common Man’s mantra to “DO GOOD” and is often seen representing the company at community events and fundraisers. He has also competed in (and won) The Common Man’s Iron Chef competition.
Tony Bomba
Culinary Director
The Common Man Family
tony@thecman.com
Tony Bomba, Culinary Director for The Common Man, got his passion for the food business after watching the hustle, bustle and clockwork it took for his parents to prepare dinner each night for a family of eight.
His first job was as a dishwasher at a local resort, and at age 14, he was propelled into the restaurant business learning prep and spinning pizzas at a local pizzeria. By the time he reached high school, Chef Bomba knew this business was for him, and he considers himself fortunate to have had the opportunity to work under local chefs in a ground-breaking school-to-career program. He attended Lakes Region Community College, studying culinary, but gravitated back to the restaurant business and took his first position running a kitchen at age 19.
Before his promotion to Culinary Director, Chef Bomba was in charge of kitchen operations for Lakehouse, Camp and Lago restaurants, all in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region. He rose to that position after serving for several years as Kitchen Manager of Lago, where his unwavering creativity in the kitchen transformed Lago into an innovative Mediterranean Restaurant. His newly-coined phrase “culinarchy,” defined by him as a culinary anarchy, is the mantra Chef Bomba cooks, creates, and leads by. His varied menu creations in The Common Man’s specialty restaurants use culinary trends from around the world to make the ordinary, extraordinary.
Always eager to represent The Common Man outside of the kitchen, Chef Bomba has been a frequent guest on WMUR-TV’s “Cook’s Corner.” He’s also competed in, and won, The Common Man’s Iron Chef contests, and he was crowned winner of the Steel Chef Challenge, hosted by the NH Food Bank, in 2017. Chef Bomba broke onto the national media scene in 2018, showing his fierce competition skills on Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” on the Food Network, working with a partner in a game show competition to come up with dishes on the fly.
Chef Bomba also embraces The Common Man’s “Do Good” mantra, volunteering his time at local charitable events. He went beyond New Hampshire’s borders in 2017 to assist victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. He and Common Man owner Alex Ray spent several days working in pop-up kitchens, preparing and delivering hot meals to residents who were without food, power or vital supplies.
Scott McCann
Executive Training Manager
The Common Man
scott@thecman.com
Scott McCann is the Executive Training Manager for The Common Man family.
In this role, he assists the Director of Training and the Chief People Officer in strengthening and developing training programs across the company. Scott will create online training programs, teach quarterly classes, and assist at Common Man locations to support all teams.
Scott started with The Common Man family 17 years ago as a bartender at C-MAN Merrimack. His strong leadership skills quickly earned him promotions into several positions before becoming the General Manager of Common Man Windham in 2014.
After successfully leading Windham, he took the helm of Common Man Concord in 2017, while also assisting Common Man Merrimack temporarily to help in covering a leave. He also spent time at General Manager of Lakehouse Grille in Meredith and, most recently, he served as the General Manager of Common Man Ashland.
Scott has always been a positive influence on his staff and a proud ambassador of The Common Man family. He carries the Common Man culture with him, and he’s one of the first people to volunteer to help with company and charitable events. He organized the successful community pancake breakfast in Windham for many years, benefiting numerous local organizations, and the Santa Breakfast in Ashland for local non-profits.
He was named General Manager of the Year in 2016 and was The Common Man’s Rising Star of the Year in 2013.
