Meet Regional Vice President of Operations Mr. Leonardo Neves
Leo was born in Brazil and moved to the United States with his family when he was only 8 years old. Leo and his family settled in the North Shore of Massachusetts. Prior to his career at Kings, Leo got his start in restaurant groups such as Legal Seafood’s, Stadium Sports Bar & Grill and Fire & Ice. Leo worked in various roles, eventually moving into management at a very young age. Leo spent several years in a leadership role, honing his skills in both front of house, back of house and administrative positions before running a building as a General Manager.
In 2013, Leo joined the Kings family as a Senior Floor Manager and opened our fifth location in Lynnfield Massachusetts at MarketStreet. Leo quickly stood out from the pack as a calming and confident presence on the floor for what is still one of the busiest openings Kings have seen. No matter the situation, Leo was always the first to raise his hand and offer to help. His dedication to his people and to the experience of Kings’ guests was evident and impressive from the word “go”. Leo’s hard work, dedication and knowledge of the restaurant business as well as his talent for managing people quickly got him promoted to Assistant General Manager shortly after the opening.
A few short months later Leo was offered the position of General Manager at Kings’ impressive location in Orlando, Florida on the world-renowned International Drive. In Orlando, Leo worked tirelessly to develop his store into a big success by fostering Kings’ culture of development and commitment to ensuring a memorable guest experience.
Orlando being the hospitality capital of the world, the heightened level of service was mission critical and something Leo took to new levels. With nearly every attraction, restaurant and entertainment concept within 10 miles of his location, Leo decided that the service of the guest would be how he and his team would win. The empowerment of his young team was legendary in the mission to build the business in a sea of competition. On more than one occasion, Leo and his team landed Kings Orlando in the top 10 spot on several review sites - most impressive given the over three thousand different options they were competing with. One of Orlando best Industry night’s helped to drive the hospitality “regulars” to rally around the unique dining and entertainment venue to make Kings in Orlando a stand out in the community.
In 2016, Leo rose further in the ranks as he was promoted to Director of Operations for Kings’ southern region including locations in Orlando, FL, Raleigh, NC, Franklin, TN, and Miami, FL. Today, Leo has nearly 500 employees under his direction in three states. Leo’s work ethic and dedication is truly remarkable, often spending weeks at a time traveling to ensure the growth and success of Kings across the country. Above and beyond his regional responsibilities, Leo has been instrumental in the opening of each Kings location since he joined on in 2013 – six stores later.
If you ask Leo what he likes best about working at Kings he will tell you he loves the rewards of mentoring the team and observing the individuals within Kings grow as he watches the evolution of the operation he worked so hard helping to build. The evidence of his success in this regard lays in the dozens of individuals he’s mentored from hourly employees to management leaders in the organization. Leo has emerged to become not only an incredible senior leader, but also a mentor and friend to so many within the company. Leo truly embodies the Core Values of Kings and has been one of the stand out reasons for our growth, reputation and success.
In Leo’s “spare” time he enjoys spending time with his 4 ½-year-old son, Lucas along with his friends and family.