Webinar: Restaurant Renovation Challenges and Opportunities

Nancy joined Cedar Fair in April of 2015 as the Corporate Vice President of Food and Beverage. Hamlin has served in that role since that date leading the development of capital resources, strategic planning and human capital to drive results in a fast growing revenue department. Hamlin began her career with Restaurant chains such as Stouffer Restaurants, Cracker Barrel,  Rainforest Café, J .Alexander’s and Capital Grille. In July of 2003 Nancy joined Levy Restaurants as the Assistant Director of Operations at Ford Field. In 2004 Nancy continued her development as a nominee into Levy Restaurants’ Top Gun Program and graduated as the valedictorian.  With a proven record for achieving profit goals while maintaining Levy’s world class points of difference, Nancy was promoted in October 2004 to Director of Operations.  Nancy’s experience in the role along with her passion, focus and enthusiasm for delivering at the highest standards is a perfect fit with Levy’s philosophies and made her a great resource for other locations. During her tenure as a leader of Levy Restaurants, she was awarded many accolades for her leadership, including Director of Operations of the Year for the prestigious Levy Dream Team.  Nancy led the planning and execution for Super Bowl XL in February 2006 serving over 70,000 fans.  Her career, with Levy, then became a meteoric rise based on her talents.  In May, 2006, Nancy was transferred to the Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.  After a successful run in Charlotte, she became Area Manager in February 2007.  In February 2009, she was then promoted again to Regional Director of Operations for the Southeast Region.  Her role once again expanded in April 2013 to Senior Regional Director of Operations, covering all of Boston, Charlotte, Atlanta and most of Florida.  In July of 2014 Nancy was promoted to Regional Vice President of the Southeast Region.  In December 2013, Nancy was honored as the first recipient of the Edie Levy Award For Outstanding Mentorship for her impact throughout the company in training and development, as evidenced by all the leaders that have worked for her and been promoted. In April 2015, Nancy left Levy Restaurants to join Cedar Fair to take on the new challenges of theme park food services and to have a better travel/life balance. Nancy is a graduate of both the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Paul Smith’s College in Lake Placid, NY.   

Louie has been with Herschend Family Entertainment since January 2019 as the Corporate Vice President of Food & Beverage. In this role, he partners on leading the strategic planning and resource allocation of the Food & Beverage experience throughout the various theme parks, waterparks, aquariums, attractions and hospitality properties. He focuses on building strong teams to provide a unique and quality dining experience and driving business results.

A native of the Buffalo, NY area, Louie started his career in parks in 1996 leading procurement and warehousing at Fantasy Island Amusement Park and later joined Six Flags Darien Lake. Pivoting away from parks, in 2004 Louie relocated to New York City leading procurement efforts for the world-renowned Waldorf=Astoria hotel. While at the Waldorf, Louie supported events such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, the annual NASCAR Awards Banquet, the Michael J. Fox Foundation and several other high profile social, philanthropic and political events, meetings and galas. In a return to the park industry, Louie joined the opening team at Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, SC leading Food & Beverage procurement, bars and concessions. Following Hard Rock Park, Louie joined Levy Restaurants in Dallas, TX at American Airlines Center, home of the Stars and Mavericks leading the concessions business for one of the busiest arenas in the world. In 2012, Louie joined Central Market, a specialty food retailer known as a “Theme Park for Foodies.” He led store teams delivering the most unique shopping experience including European style scratch bakery and pastry shop, hundreds of hand-cut cheeses from around the world, a Chef driven prepared foods section and restaurant and thousands of wines, products from artisan and small batch food makers, hundreds of choices of fresh cut meat and seafood and the largest variety of produce all under one roof.

Louie is a graduate with honors of Niagara University’s College of Hospitality, Sport and Tourism Management. He lives in the Atlanta, GA area with his wife, Mary and three boys.

Bernie has been with Whirley Drinkworks for over 30 years. He has provided valuable guidance to numerous Theme parks and attractions making Souvenir vessels a key component of any park's revenue stream. Whirley Drinkworks specializes in the manufacturer of refill/souvenir vessels throughout the world. Along with Bernie, Whirley has worked to pioneer the refill/souvenir container offerings for the Amusement Park and Attractions Industry.