THE TEAM

Lon Symensma

Founder & Executive Chef

Chef Lon Symensma opened ChoLon in 2010, having already earned two stars from the New York Times during his time working at Buddakan in New York City. ChoLon, which means “big market” and refers to the largest Chinese-influenced market in Saigon, Vietnam, is Symensma’s homage to Southeast Asia and the years he spent traveling and living in that region. In 2011, the restaurant was a James Beard finalist for Best New Restaurant in America and landed on Details Magazine’s Top 10 Best New Asian Restaurants in America. ChoLon has also been named in Denver’s Top 25 Restaurants by 5280 Magazine eight years since its opening.

Christopher Davis-Massey

Founder & Chief Operating Officer

After 16-plus years in the legal and financial industries, Christopher Davis-Massey is what you might call a reformed attorney who has set his sights on the restaurant industry. This nonlinear approach is exactly what makes Davis-Massey so valuable: He understands the finer points of business from the inside out.  Davis-Massey has partnered with Chef Lon Symensma since 2014 and they officially launched ChoLon Restaurant Concepts, the Denver restaurant group that includes ChoLon, Cho77 and LeRoux, with Symensma in early 2017.  Davis-Massey works alongside Symensma to ensure that daily operations run smoothly, while keeping an eye on the future. He leads the front of the house management team, oversees all aspects of restaurant business operations, including finance, legal, human resources, and development and investment opportunities.

Jose Rodriquez

Manager of Special Projects

With over ten years in the hospitality industry, Jose has gained a strong understanding of restaurant operations. He earned his B.S. in Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida and spent his early career building his business ideologies at a number of notable restaurants in downtown Orlando. In 2014, Jose moved to Denver, met Chef Lon Symensma, and immediately knew that the playful creativity driving Symensma’s flagship restaurant, ChoLon, was something he could get behind. Since then, he’s led the management team of almost every project CRC has launched.

What’s your biggest passion/favorite hobby outside of work?
I love to hike, climb, and do anything outdoors! I also enjoy traveling, camping, and seeing live music, especially at Red Rocks.

Savanna Ronco

Communications & Events Manager

Born and raised in New Orleans, Savanna moved to Denver four years ago for a new adventure. After working for several years as a server and manager at ChoLon, she accepted the Communications & Events Coordinator position, blending her love for the restaurant industry with her joy of planning events and communications.

What’s your favorite dish from a CRC restaurant?
Ah! What a tough question. I’d have to go with either the Mushroom Mille-Feuille from LeRoux or the Fish Tacos from ChoLon Downtown’s lunch menu (sub tortilla for lettuce wrap).

What’s your biggest passion within your role?
I count myself super lucky to be able to share our restaurants with the public. A lot of my role focuses on outreach, social media, etc., and that’s so easy to do when you’re pushing chefs & dishes that you’re genuinely proud of.

Aaron ONeill

Sous Chef
Cho77

Donald Beaney

Executive Sous Chef
ChoLon – Central Park

Originally from North Texas, Donald has been with the ChoLon group for four years. Before moving to Denver, he spent six years with the Jean-Georges Restaurant Group in NYC working in Southeast Asian/French Fusion restaurants.

Eric Carter

Assistant General Manager
LeRoux

Born and raised as a Denver native, Eric recently joined the CRC team as AGM of LeRoux. He’s excited to get to know our team and describes his biggest passion as leadership and pairing food & wine.

What’s your favorite dish from a CRC restaurant?
Although I haven’t tried a lot of dishes yet, my favorite dishes so far are the lamb shank at ChoLon Central Park and the Onion-Crusted Short Rib at LeRoux.

What other restaurants/bars in Denver would we find you eating/drinking in?
Fruition and Mercantile and for specialty cocktails Death & Company

Tony Cicak

Chef de Cuisine
LeRoux & Cho77

Tony, a Denver native, has been with the ChoLon group for over five years. He did a three-year culinary apprenticeship with the BroadMoor Hotel where he worked in the Penrose Room. When he isn’t working, he enjoys playing golf, traveling, and spending time with his wife.

How would you describe your chef style?
Finesse and attention to detail. Making sure that everything is cared for 100% – down to that last grain of salt. Another thing I try to think about is respect for the ingredients. The farmer that grows the onion or butchers the cow. You always need to remember where these ingredients come from and people that produce them.

What’s the thing you’d most like to see improved upon in the restaurant industry as a whole?
To have more cooks out there be prouder of what they do! So many young cooks are just looking for paychecks and don’t care enough about the push it takes to work in restaurants.

Kyle Clark

Chef de Cuisine
ChoLon – Downtown

Originally from Wisconsin, Kyle moved to Denver and began working for the ChoLon group six years ago. He started in the group’s flagship and gained experience assisting in other projects, working his way up from line cook to Chef de Cuisine of ChoLon. He was recommended by one of Chef Lon Symensma’s mentors right out of culinary school.

How would you describe your cooking/hospitality style?
My cooking style is growing a lot. I am taking influence from everyone I get to work with and am still narrowing down what it is that defines me as a Chef. I focus a lot on balance in my food but have a tendency to always find a way to include some kind of ferment. Fish sauce, Vinegar and Chili pastes are commonplace in my cooking. In terms of my style of kitchen, I like to operate an honest, supportive, and slightly competitive line where cooks can build off each other rather work against each other.

Stephen Dayton

Lead Server
LeRoux

After spending 18 years working in Austin, Texas at high-end farm-to-table restaurants, Stephen moved to Denver and began working for ChoLon. He quickly became one of the team’s greatest assists and was a natural fit for the opening team of LeRoux.

How would you describe your cooking/hospitality style?
Front of the house is all about making sure the guest is getting THEIR best experience, and it’s always a little different. So there are times when I spend a lot of time table side engaging, but there are times when it is just about ensuring the guest have what they need. And with the very modern and creative menus as we have at CRC, making sure to convey the essence and imagery of the dishes to the guest becomes vital I think. Intuition and the ability to “read” the guest is probably the hardest thing to teach, I feel it only really comes with experience.

If you had to pick a “last meal”, what would it be?
We’ve discussed this amongst the staff from time to time, and we find that the answers often pull from memories that are comforting rather than what might be considered the most perfectly executed piece of culinary art. For me, there was this wonderful breakfast taco at a little walk up window, down the street from where I lived in Austin, that I would have many times a week, and I really miss that. Or maybe Texas brisket. Or maybe a Thanksgiving spread with all the fixings, as long as the gravy is on point.

David Ellis

Assistant General Manager
ChoLon – Downtown

Originally from right outside of Pittsburgh, PA, David has been living in Colorado for nearly a decade. He got started in the restaurant industry as a bus-boy at the age of 13! He’s worked with ChoLon Concepts for nearly two years, starting as a server at ChoLon Downtown before assuming the role of Assistant General Manager in 2020.

What’s your favorite dish from a CRC restaurant (can be any concept)?
Wagyu Beef Tartare at LeRoux or the Barramundi at ChoLon Downtown.

What’s your biggest passion within your role?
See the guest leaving truly happy and impressed with the experience that we provided.

Curtis Thomson

Sous Chef
ChoLon – Downtown

Curtis is originally from East Lansing, Michigan. He moved to Denver nearly six years ago and has been with the ChoLon group for two years. He started as a line cook, working his way up to his current position as Sous Chef. His favorite dish is ChoLon’s Pork Potstickers with Ginger Mustard.

What would you like your last meal on Earth to be?
​Fried chicken, waffles, and champagne. I think this says everything you need to know about me!

Joseph Saltaformaggio

Assistant General Manager
Cho77

Originally a Louisianan and Floridan, moving out to Denver, Colorado was more of a “whimsical decision” according to Joseph – but he quickly landed a position at ChoLon and earned his place as lead server, before being promoted to AGM at Cho77. His occupation within the service/hospitality industry dates back to his childhood – his father managed numerous restaurants over the past 35 years and Joe’s been within the industry (officially) since he was 14 years old.

How would you describe your hospitality style?
Personable, plain and simple. Anyone has the capability to take an order from a customer, but a memorable experience comes from the creativity and communication presented through service. I love to speak and listen to every person within my service.

What’s your biggest passion outside of the industry?
I’m an absolute fanatic when it comes to storytelling, specifically within film. Fun fact, Alien (1979) is likely the greatest Sci-Fi/Horror ever produced in cinema, and the production design alone is worth the numerous rewatches.

David Vasquez

Lead Bartender
ChoLon – Central Park

Originally from Denver, Colorado, David says he was “born here, raised here [and will] die here”. He’s worked at nearly all of the concepts in the CRC group over his four years with the company. He credits his uncle as his inspiration to get into the restaurant industry; he started as a dishwasher and ended up managing restaurants and flying all over the country to open new concepts. When he isn’t working he loves to spend time with his two kids.

What’s your biggest passion within your role?
Providing a great experience for all my guests and treating them as family.

What’s your favorite dish from a CRC restaurant?
Korean Hot Fried Chicken Sliders from ChoLon.