‘Carrot cutting’ marks launch of Restaura’s dining program at The Seabrook

With a ceremonial ribbon replaced by a line of carrots, The Seabrook of Hilton Head officially welcomed Restaura Hospitality Group as its new dining partner earlier this month. The event marked the company’s first full-service senior living launch and introduced a new approach to dining focused on health, local ingredients and shared ownership.

“We met the Seabrook team at a LeadingAge conference in Nashville, Tennessee.” said Joseph Cuticelli, CEO of Restaura. “They showed interest, and we had the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with them. From that point forward, the process began... which then turned into them being our first client.”

Founded by two veterans of national food service companies, Restaura emphasizes what Cuticelli called a “three-legged stool” approach: “unapologetically delicious food,” proprietary dining technology, and employee ownership.

Prior to the carrot cutting, team members received ownership certificates from Restaura founders Cuticelli and Richard Schenkel, part of the company’s defining structure. “Everyone is an owner,” Cuticelli said. “We believe that that ownership culture... changes the way that they serve the customer.”

On food, Cuticelli said, “Everything that we do is scratch made. We are buying local products... South Carolina chicken from South Carolina, beef from South Carolina, trying to be good stewards of the community when we’re purchasing goods. We call it responsibly sourced.”

For Seabrook residents the dining experience is also being shaped by real-time feedback. “We have an incredible technology platform... with some predictive analytics and generative AI,” Cuticelli said. “We’re monitoring resident sentiment in real time.”

Customization also extends to dietary needs. “We will actually do an intake with residents... [to understand] what their limitations are relative to dietary restrictions... but also what are their preferences,” he said. “We put that information into our system... and we can make recommendations to them in advance.”

He cited a recent gumbo served at Seabrook: “It was nutritionally significantly better than any gumbo that they had ever had. It was a little less salty... and we were very intentional with that.”

Asked about early results at Seabrook, Cuticelli said it was too soon to draw conclusions. “It’s only been six weeks,” he said. “If you ask me what long-term success looks like... the Seabrook is known as a dining destination, the best senior living dining... on Hilton Head Island.”

Reflecting on Restaura’s launch, Cuticelli emphasized the importance of staying connected to clients and communities. “One of the most rewarding things is actually getting to know the people who live there,” he said. “We never want to be that big, large company again. We want to be able to manage those relationships very intimately.”

Restaura plans to expand its model nationwide but said its roots in the Lowcountry matter. “The shrimp... that we served [at the event], that was local shrimp from South Carolina,” Cuticelli noted. The full-service transition at Seabrook includes on-site training, recipe development and continued support.

For more about Restaura, visit restaura.com. Information about The Seabrook of Hilton Head is available on their website theseabrook.org.