Alicia Fernandez

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS & EVENTS

Alicia grew up in Southern Virginia, with family roots in the service industry – her parents met while working in hotel + restaurant management, after-all! After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2009, Alicia spent several years putting her B.S. in Real Estate and Urban Development to work in the commercial real estate industry.  While working as a Commercial Portfolio Manager for Thalhimer, Alicia focused on the day-to-day and fiscal operations of a large portfolio of assets, including budget management, project management, vendor management, and client/tenant interactions – a role that provided the platform for Alicia to become well-versed with the qualities needed to become a PRO at multitasking and people wrangling!

 In 2013, a case of wanderlust led Alicia to Charlotte, where she landed a job serving, bartending, expediting, and managing for a well-known restaurant in South End.  While at The Liberty, Alicia found her passion for all things food, beverage, and events, and reconnected with her service industry roots! 

 When searching for an opportunity to expand her skillset in the industry, Alicia connected with Chef Rob.  The real adventure started when Alicia joined the Kre8 team in 2017 as Operations & Events Manager, assisting with the planning and execution of events, and working on the behind-the-scenes tasks and the daily management of Kre8 + Twisted Eats. 

Alicia currently functions Director of Operations + Events - the “right-hand” to Chef Rob, Kre8, and Kounter.  She is tasked with keeping track of all the things, connecting with clients to help bring Chef Rob’s visions to life, keeping a pulse on all team members, and most importantly, taste testing beverages for the well-known cocktail program at Kounter! You will always be able to find Alicia behind the scenes at any Kre8 event!