Bob Puccini, founder of the Puccini Group and a pioneer in restaurant and hospitality design, died on October 9, the company said.
Puccini founded his company more than 20 years ago with a focus on restaurant design and operations, and over the years was responsible for the concepting, design and renovation of over 1,000 restaurants worldwide.
“Bob approached restaurants with a deep understanding of how people want to feel,” said his wife, Niki Leondakis, in a statement. “While food, design, and service were all critical, he would absorb, in a way that no one else could, the desires of a population and translate them into dining experiences that would fulfill people’s dreams of being comforted, loved, important, and awed.”
The company will continue with his partners, Shelia Turner, COO; Rob Polacek, chief creative officer; and Simeon Meyer, CFO.
In a joint statement, the partners said, “We have been blessed to have worked with Bob for many years. We share his vision for the business, and plan to do him justice by running things as he would have done. Bob was well-loved and is fondly remembered by our team as well as by our clients. It is due to his entrepreneurial spirit, unconventional approach, deep generosity, and love of mentoring others that Puccini Group is where it is today – a global leader in the hospitality industry. We will miss him dearly and are honored to build on his legacy.”
Puccini served on the board of the California Restaurant Association and the Board of Advisors at University of San Francisco’s Hospitality Management program. Over the years, he was a blogger, as well, for HOTELS, on wide-ranging subjects including F&B, design and innovation in the hospitality space.
