Stir Restaurant Gears Up For November Grand Opening With Key Hires

  • Tuesday, October 27, 2015

SquareOne Holdings announced Fletcher Thompson, Scott Eiselstein and Jamie Walton as the newest members of the leadership team behind the company’s latest venture, STIR—an eatery opening at the Chattanooga Choo Choo on Nov. 16.

A Chattanooga native with years of management experience and expertise in the restaurant industry, Mr. Thompson joins STIR’s leadership team as the new general manager.

Mr. Eiselstein, known for his creative culinary flair who also hails from the Scenic City, fills out STIR’s team further as the restaurant’s executive chef.

Partnering with Mr. Eiselstein as STIR’s new ice chef and opening chef, Walton will meticulously measure, shave and cut the restaurant’s signature artisanal ice, while overseeing the back of the house during the opening.

Prior to joining STIR as general manager, Mr. Thompson worked as a restaurant consultant in SquareOne Holdings and former general manager for Carolina Brewery, in Chapel Hill, N.C. He further expanded his management portfolio while serving as the manager for CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries for seven years. Mr. Thompson earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina’s Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism and Management School.

The career of STIR’s new Executive Chef Scott Eiselstein began in the early 1990s at The Sand Bar Restaurant in Chattanooga where he was first exposed to commercial kitchens. From there, he worked his way through the kitchen, ultimately becoming the manager and moving on to executive chef positions. He has headed up the kitchens of Southside Jazz Junction as executive chef, CIBO Restaurant as sous chef, Tremont Tavern as culinary manager and Bluewater Grille as executive chef. Having graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Mr. Eiselstein uses his fine arts background— combined with his more than 20 years of restaurant experience— to spark his creativity in the kitchen.

As STIR’s new permanent in-house ice chef, Mr. Walton brings more than 20 years of training and culinary experience to the restaurant’s management team. Prior to moving to Tennessee, Mr. Walton served as executive chef of the Ragtime Tavern in Jacksonville, Fl. He has since worked as training and culinary director for SquareOne Holdings and former culinary training manager for CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries Inc., overseeing the training for both Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery.

STIR is hiring more than 100 team members in Chattanooga. To apply and learn more about STIR’s November opening, visit www.STIRChattanooga.com.

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