University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 18, Feb. 6, 1997
New manager in place at Blue and Gold Club

     As the spring semester begins, the Blue and Gold Club will
be in full operation, serving lunches, dinner and catering to
special events. Susan Spiwak, the new manager of the Blue and
Gold Club, brings years of varied experience in the restaurant
and hotel field to her new position.
     She arrived during the holiday season  and began her job at
a busy time of year, but Spiwak said she is enjoying the
challenge and her new responsibilities. "My experience has been
in hotel restaurants, and a private university club has a
different atmosphere. I am looking forward to working here and
with Dan Beggs, the executive chef, and the rest of the staff,"
she said, soon after her arrival.
     A communications major from the University of Maryland,
Spiwak began her career in hotel sales for the Potomac Hotel
Group. She soon found she was more interested in the food and
beverage division, and later moved to the Grand Hyatt in
Washington, D. C., a large hotel catering to conventions.
     "I had worked as a waitress when I was in college, and since
then I have been involved in all aspects of the restaurant
business, working in both the front and back, in three-meal
restaurants, in fine dining restaurants, in convention services,
room service and bars. In this business, you pitch in and help
wherever needed, so I learned all operations of the restaurant
business, and about food and wine firsthand," she said.
     A connoisseur of wines, Spiwak has a wine captain's
certificate from the Sommelier Society of Washington.
     During a visit to Arizona, she fell in love with the West
and remained there for a time, working at the Sheraton Hotel in
Scottsdale. She returned to Washington and worked at the Hyatt
Regency Crystal City, where she served as restaurant manager in
charge of the Chesapeake Grill, a rooftop restaurant.
     "I am a hands-on manager," she said. "I think a manager
should know everything about the foods and beverages that are
being offered, such as the ingredients of the different sauces. I
enjoy new experiences, and I am looking forward to being involved
in all phases of the Blue and Gold Club," Spiwak said.
                               -Sue Swyers Moncure