HEI Management Appoints Erin Lovely as Director of Sales and Marketing and JC Colón as Executive Chef for Hotel Republic San Diego

February 20, 2018 – Hotel Republic San Diego appoints two key personnel: Executive Chef JC Colón and Director of Sales and Marketing Erin Lovely.

Erin Lovely, Director of Sales and Marketing, Hotel Republic San Diego

Erin Lovely has spent more than 15 years working in hospitality sales and marketing, curating her skills in group, transient and catering sales at some of the most well-known brands in the United States.

Upon graduating with a degree in Restaurant Foodservice Management from Syracuse University in New York, Erin began her career in the Washington, DC metro area working for Hilton properties. In May 2005, she took an opportunity at Kimpton Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels Group’s brand of boutique properties. Over the next six years, Erin honed her talents at Kimpton’s DC properties before moving to Phoenix as part of the pre-opening team of Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar in 2011. One year later she moved west to Hotel La Jolla as the property’s Director of Sales and Marketing, where she spent three years learning the Southern California market.

In November 2015, Erin transitioned to Embassy Suites by Hilton, San Diego Bay Downtown, as the Director of Sales. A $25 million operation by HEI Management group, Erin led the hotel’s sales team in booking 38,000 group rooms annually. In January 2018, she brought her expertise of the convention-driven market with her to Hotel Republic, also an HEI Management property, as the Director of Sales and Marketing. A downtown resident, Erin enjoys living and working in San Diego’s bustling city center with her husband and little yorkie, Rocky Diamonds.

JC Colón, Executive Chef, Hotel Republic San Diego

Chef JC Colón’s approach to cooking is simple: gather the best ingredients and allow them to shine. A 2007 graduate of New York’s French Culinary Institute in Manhattan, Chef Colón began his professional culinary career at Chef Michael Fiore’s former Tempo Restaurant & Wine Bar in Brooklyn, followed by Nelson Blue in New York City’s Financial District, before returning to the West Coast in 2010 to work with San Diego’s Urban Kitchen Group at Cucina Urbana.

Chef Colón was soon promoted to the role of Chef de Cuisine at the former celebrated neighborhood eatery Kensington Grill prior to being tapped by Blue Bridge Hospitality to lead Leroy’s Kitchen + Lounge as Executive Chef two years later. In 2014, celebrated restaurateur Brian Malarkey sought out Chef Colón’s culinary credibility to spearhead the kitchen as Executive Chef of Searsucker in Del Mar, and after two years, Colón went on to partner with Las Vegas-based Gen3 Hospitality group to introduce Flour & Barley in the Headquarters at Seaport Village.

Now, as the Executive Chef of downtown’s new Hotel Republic San Diego, Chef Colón is at the helm of Trade, Topside Terrace Kitchen & Bar, and Patio Marketplace in collaboration with the hotel’s culinary partner, The Patio Group. Keeping in line with his everything-made-in house credo, Chef Colón brings globally inspired craftsmanship to the Baja-influenced menus of Hotel Republic. A strong proponent of sustainability and responsible sourcing, Colón utilizes regional farmers and local purveyors to develop a variety of dishes that delight the discerning palates of hotel guests and local gourmands alike.