John Flick is originally from Maryland. Even though he lived in Cumberland, MD, because his father was a missionary, John traveled extensively all over the east coast taking part in tent meetings. In 2003, his family packed up and moved to Dover, DE where they began pastoring at Eagle Wings Ministries.
Even in his early teens, John dreamed of having his own restaurant. In an effort to achieve his goal, in 2008 he started working at the Golden Corral as a silverware roller. To completely immerse himself in the food business, over the next 6 months he rotated through a variety of positions including host, cashier, server, cook, prep, and meat cutter. To broaden his experiences, the following year after his graduation he started at Chick Fil A where he began as a cook. Because of his skills and leadership abilities, he was promoted to a crew chief within 4 months. Since John was highly motivated, he decided to pick up a part time job during the summer where he worked at Vitalie’s Homemade Italian Ice & Ice-cream. That is where he met Nina Jenkins, the current Assistant Food and Beverage Director for Dover Downs Raceway and Casino. Nina immediately recognized John’s positive attitude, agreeable personality and professionalism, leading her to offer John a spot to work during race weekend.
John was so successful that he spent the next 8 years in the food and beverage department within the Casino, including Dover Downs where he hosted The Race & Sports Book. Following his stint there, he moved on to the Hollywood Casino in Perryville, MD where he was a part of the ground-breaking team that opened the first casino in Maryland. Again, his leadership and organizational skills led him to a directorial position where he served as the Stewarding Supervisor. After the first year, John decided to take a risk and left to help Maryland Live open up its facility. It didn’t take Hollywood Casino long to realize that an asset escaped their grasp. To correct the situation, they made John an offer that was too good to pass up. The casino wanted him as their Food and Beverage Supervisor. John readily accepted.
At the Hollywood Casino, John oversaw the Celebrity Bar & Grill (Sports Bar), Extras Grill (Grab & Go) Sunset Bar, and of course the full staff of 76 team members. Recognizing John’s ability to handle many tasks at once, he was also given the responsibility of organizing event and banquet operations. This entailed handling anywhere from 25-250 people at a time, as well as the surf and turf dinner celebration every NYE, reaching 1000 covers. Additionally, he hosted Beer Dinners and VIP Dinners on a regular basis. He also planned and organized the 5th year anniversary celebration that ended up being covered in the Cecil Whig. Unfortunately for John, Hollywood Casino linked up with The Green Turtle where they signed a contract for them to take over food and beverage operations, thus eliminating his position.
Not to be discouraged from achieving his career goals, John began looking for employment and made the choice to move back to Dover to be closer to his friends and family. This began a new chapter in his life where he accepted a position with High 5 Hospitality as an Assistant Manager for Buffalo Wild Wings in Dover, DE. After a short 8 months, his talent and knowledge of the restaurant business led to his promotion to General Manager in the Bel-Air, MD establishment. Having accepted the position, John and his fiancé Erik Melvin relocated in September of 2017. John was honored at the recent H5H luncheon as the winner of the 2017 Thomas E Kreusch Memorial Award.
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