CHERRY CREEK FASHION — The Men of JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek: Dean Griffin and Sean McNamara

PHOTOGRAPHED & WRITTEN BY ESTHER LEE LEACH

LOCATION JW MARRIOTT DENVER CHERRY CREEK

Esther Lee Leach: JW Marriott Denver Cherry Creek has been on the forefront of the hotel industry in Cherry Creek. Tell us about your role here and how you got started in the industry.

Dean Griffin: My role as the General Manager is overseeing the day to day operations of the hotel from top to bottom but more importantly I believe my role is to support the team to ensure they have all the proper training, tools and equipment for them to be successful in their jobs to put their best foot forward for our guests. I got my start in the hotel industry in college where I started working as a Room Attendant in the Housekeeping department then moved over to the front desk. I fell in love with the industry and officially changed majors from Mechanical Engineering to Hotel & Restaurant Management and never looked back. This industry has allowed me to work with the most amazing humble people from all walks of life and make friends all over the world.

Director of Sales & Marketing Sean McNamara

ELL: What attracted you to the hotel industry and why did you choose to work at JW?

Sean McNamara: I would say originally it was a pretty selfish pursuit just to be happy. I wanted to feel good about what I was doing. Throughout the 2000s, I was an Account Executive for a large financial institution and I had the unpleasant experience of living through the great recession and seeing so many dreams go up in smoke as the housing market and financial industry imploded. As a result, I was looking for a career change!! Like so many of us do, I learned somewhere along the way that the quickest path to feeling good about yourself is to be in service to others. The service industry was an obvious choice. I started out in hotel operations just caring for guests. Eventually I moved back into sales and marketing and I always try to keep that spirit of service top of mind.

ELL: The property is known for it’s amazing restaurant, Toro. How did JW attract Richard Sandoval to open a location of Toro here and tell us more about the restaurant and menu.

DG: Chef Richard Sandoval is such a great person with his charisma and style of cooking. Something people may not know is that his company is actually headquartered here in Denver and when considering to bring in a new concept unique to the area, Toro was a natural fit with the evolution of the Cherry Creek neighborhood. Toro is a Pan-Latin cuisine style restaurant using traditional Central and South American influences in our dishes. Here at Toro we are all about creating experiences through the drinks and dishes we serve and providing a space to be together. As our Chef, Oscar Padilla would say, it’s a place you can call home. A few of my personal favorites on the menu are the Sweet Corn Empanadas and the Adobo Spanish Octopus. In 2022 we look forward to opening our Ceviche bar and kicking off ceviche making classes, so get ready because it will be something you will not want to miss!

ELL: The Cherry Creek North district continues to evolve and attract more customers, restaurant brands and luxury boutiques. There is a lot of evolution and transformation happening at JW as well. What future projects are you excited about at JW? How does the hotel continue to evolve and attract customers?

SM: It’s one thing I love about this area—Cherry Creek is constantly reinventing itself. I cant wait to see what the next couple of years have in store. Our hotel is no exception. It seems like we’re always making improvements whether it’s to the building itself, like the addition of Toro last year, or to the services and amenities, like the bees up on our roof making our house honey. There are some big exciting changes coming for the hotel that I can’t quite reveal yet but everyone in Cherry Creek will want to stay tuned. Our lobby is going to be transformed yet again. Toro is going to be bigger and better. The hotel you will come to know in 2022 will not be the hotel of 2021. This will be the next big thing in Cherry Creek—mark my words!!

ELL: What are your three favorite places in Cherry Creek? (Restaurants, bars, boutiques, gyms, etc)

DG: One of my favorite things about working in Cherry Creek is that we are surrounded by over 250 unique retail shops, restaurants, wellness studios and other businesses all within our beautiful and walkable 16 square blocks. Some of my personal favorites when it comes to dining are, of course, Toro Latin Kitchen and Lounge. When I am not enjoying Toro’s pan-Latin cuisine I love Barolo Grill. You cannot beat their Italian dishes. Also, Forget Me Not has been a great addition to the neighborhood with their killer cocktails . With so many amazing dining options here in the area it has always been very important to me to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. When I am not participating in an Alex Toussaint Peloton class, some of my favorite go-to health and wellness spots here in the area are Orange Theory fitness and CYL Sauna Studio when I just want to relax and sweat it out.

ELL: What are you looking forward to in the winter season at JW?

SM: All of it. Sipping Toro’s Oaxacan Hot Chocolate by the fire pits. Rolling through Cherry Creek North’s Winter Wanderland’s Holiday Lights. Throwing a sweater into the mix. I love the winter season!! I’m especially excited about the improvements we’re making at the hotel. Like I said, it’s a little hush hush right now. But just wait…we’ll be shouting it from the rooftops in no time!!

JW Marriott Cherry Creek: @jwmarriottden

Toro Latin Kitchen & Lounge: @torodenver