Park Kitchen | Gretchen Wilcox , Service Director
           

Gretchen Wilcox likes to say that she “must have been an Italian mother in a former life” because of her love of serving and feeding people.  Chances are that if Gretchen has taken care of you at Park Kitchen, you know what she means.  Hospitality is in her blood, having learned the art of graciousness from her parents.  As a parent herself, she understands what it means to care for others, and that translates to her role as Service Director of Park Kitchen.  “At Park Kitchen, we are truly a family”, Gretchen states, “and our guests, especially our return guests, are part of that extended family.” 

As a pharmacology major in college, Gretchen found she had a knack for memorization.  As a starving college student, this knack proved beneficial in her part-time work as a food server, as she was able to memorize names, beverages of choice, along with wine regions and food facts.  What started out as a game quickly became a career, as she was promoted to dining room manager at the early age of 21 for a 14,000 square foot ocean-front venue in San Diego.  From there, she went on to work for Southern Wine and Spirits as an account specialist, which led to corporate service trainer positions with both Rusty Pelican and California Pizza Kitchen throughout Southern California.  After meeting and marrying her Chef-husband Graham in 1992, she spent 13 years traveling and working in top restaurants in New York, Aspen, Los Angeles, and Napa Valley, finally settling two years ago in Portland, Oregon to raise their sons, Robert and Hunter, who are now 14 and 8 respectively.