Founder & Owner · Polish + Pour
Michael Delgado
Hospitality Executive
Operations, Beverage & Education
I believe great hospitality is built on people.
For more than 15 years I have led operations, beverage programs and teams across acclaimed restaurants, a Platinum private club and new openings, and I have written the training behind every one of them. I build the culture, the education and the systems that turn an owner’s vision into how a property runs every day, and I stay on the floor with the team while it happens: personalized care for every guest, real growth for every employee and the financial discipline to sustain both.
Read the Executive Dossier ↗Professional Experience
- Role Scope: Independent restaurant and bar openings and remodels. Selected engagements are listed in the Executive Dossier.
- Business & Brand Development: Built the Polish + Pour proposal and website, including a portfolio of my original food and cocktail work.
- Culture & Systems Implementation. Created front-of-house education, service standards and operating controls built around each property.
- Beverage Program Creation & Execution. Built wine, spirits, beer, original cocktail and nonalcoholic programs, with the recipes and education to serve them consistently.
- Remodel Leadership & Aesthetic Direction. Brought each property’s look and layout together with what service actually needs to run well.
- Openings & Implementation. Worked side by side with each team to put our standards into daily practice through demonstration, rehearsal and coaching.
- Proprietary Training Codex. Wrote role-specific training for hiring, onboarding, sequence of service and beverage education, plus tools for recipes, costing, ordering and inventory.
- FOH staff overseen: 70+
- Annual F&B revenue: $11M+
- Culinary program oversight: Yes
- Google rating: 4.8 / 5 · 73 Google reviews
- Beverage program: 400+ wines · 60+ spirits · 12 house cocktails · 10 nonalcoholic libations
- Platinum Clubs of America • Colorado AvidGolfer Best Food Staff Pick, 2022 & 2023 • No. 1 Best Denver Region Private Club • No. 1 Best Private Clubhouse
- Increased bottled wine sales 18% through approachable wine education and genuine, unpretentious guest guidance.
- Wrote and copyrighted a 96-page front-of-house training manual that I own, along with 46 supporting files that helped the club earn national Platinum Clubs of America recognition.
- Responsible for all front-of-house hiring, training, scheduling and labor; created every house cocktail, curated all music and built a private dining program for nonmembers.
- Made member recognition part of our training through quarterly surveys, detailed preference profiles and updated member photos, and taught staff to read body language and visual cues.
- Created five nonprofit charity events in my first year and hosted them every year after, each welcoming more than 1,000 guests.
- FOH staff overseen: 40+
- Annual F&B revenue: $9M+
- Culinary program oversight: No
- Google rating: 4.6 / 5 · 1,497 Google reviews
- Beverage program: 2,000+ wines · 200+ spirits · 14 house cocktails · 8 nonalcoholic libations
- Wine Spectator Grand Award, 1983 – 2026 • 33 consecutive AAA Four Diamond ratings • 42 consecutive Forbes Four Star ratings
- Beverage Direction & Cocktail Development. Directed the wine, spirits, beer, cocktail and nonalcoholic programs and created original cocktails built around flavor, balance and presentation.
- Wine Education & Sommelier Development. Taught the team to talk about wine and every beverage with confidence, developed their sommelier service and coached them to recommend and sell through product knowledge and clear, guest-focused language.
- Ordering, Inventory & Cellar Management. Responsible for beverage purchasing, inventory and P&L. Reorganized the cellar so the team could find any wine quickly and inventory always matched what was on hand.
- FOH staff overseen: 40+
- Annual F&B revenue: $5M+
- Culinary program oversight: Yes
- Google rating: 4.6 / 5 · 2,342 Google reviews
- Beverage program: 300+ wines · 200+ spirits · 18 house cocktails · 12 nonalcoholic libations
- Two-Time James Beard Award Winner • Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, 2010 – 2026 • 5280 Top of the Town winning mixology program, 2019
- Responsible for FOH and BOH P&L, ordering, costing and menu engineering alongside Executive Chef Jennifer Jasinski, James Beard Best Chef: Southwest winner, 2013.
- Rewrote our onboarding, training and education materials from scratch and built a multi-store wine education program with Master Sommelier Doug Krenik.
- Rebuilt the wine list, which earned regional Wine Spectator Award of Excellence recognition twice; increased bottled wine sales 8%.
- Created seasonal happy hour menus, a guest relations position and a maître d’hôtel reservation incentive program; curated all music.
- Helped coordinate private events and develop menus; led the mixology program named in 5280’s 2019 Top of the Town.
- FOH staff overseen: 20+
- Annual F&B revenue: $4M+
- Culinary program oversight: Yes
- Beverage program: 200+ wines · 50+ spirits · 10 house cocktails · 2 nonalcoholic libations
- Hired to lead the restaurant’s closure, remodel and reopening, including its aesthetic direction, while running P&L, hiring, scheduling, HR, purchasing, inventory and private events.
- Created the beverage menus and programs; increased year-over-year revenue 12%.
- Wrote complete front-of-house onboarding and service training from scratch, setting one consistent standard for the restaurant’s new direction.
- FOH staff overseen: 40+
- Annual F&B revenue: $12M+
- Culinary program oversight: No
- Beverage program: 1,200+ wines · 160+ spirits · 12 house cocktails · 3 nonalcoholic libations
- Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence, 2012 – 2023
- Helped build a wine list recognized twice on Wine Spectator’s national Top 100 list.
- Created weekly beverage education for the front-of-house team.
- Led service planning for the outdoor Summer Concert Series, serving more than 600 guests per concert day.
- Trained hands-on in kitchen prep and portioning.
- FOH staff overseen: 25+
- Annual F&B revenue: $3M+
- Culinary program oversight: No
- Google rating: 4.6 / 5 · 251 Google reviews
- Beverage program: 400+ wines · 100+ spirits · 8 house cocktails · 4 nonalcoholic libations
- Corporate Opening & Beverage Education. Transferred to the corporate opening team to teach wine and spirits to every manager and server. Built the opening wine list and the systems for tracking inventory and beverage costs.
- Dining Room Standards. Created the opening sequence of service and wrote the materials to teach it, tying beverage education directly to dining room execution.
- FOH staff overseen: 25+
- Annual F&B revenue: $6M+
- Culinary program oversight: No
- Beverage program: 500+ wines · 100+ spirits · 8 house cocktails · 4 nonalcoholic libations
- New-Market Opening & Private Events. Helped open the Lone Tree restaurant by training servers and server assistants, coordinating private events and preparing banquet event orders.
- Wine Sales & Kitchen Practice. Part of the location that led the company in bottled wine sales. Trained hands-on in kitchen prep, portioning and costing to understand the work behind every dish.
Operating Systems & Opening Preparation
Across every role
- Beverage Systems & Tools: Created beverage menus with full recipes, batch instructions, wine education and formatted lists, and connected every cocktail and alcohol-free program to vendor selections, order guides, inventory organization and service.
- Opening Preparation & Service Standards: Wrote opening agendas, hiring plans and schedules, sequences of service, floor plans, guest language, product education and tip-pool tools, always tied to each property’s standards, needs and budget.
- In Every Leadership Role: Responsible for hiring, onboarding, scheduling, discipline and front-of-house training. Managed ordering, costing, inventory and P&L; created cocktail and nonalcoholic recipes and selected glassware and stemware.
Education & Credentials
Colorado State University
BS, Business Administration
Fort Collins, CO · 2006 – 2010
Johnson & Wales University
Introduction to Culinary Arts Certificate
Denver, CO · 2015 – 2016
Court of Master Sommeliers
Level 1 — Introductory Sommelier Certificate
Level 2 — Certified Sommelier Certificate
Southern Wine & Spirits
Sommelier of the Month
2018 · 2019 · 2023
