Steve Fortunato

FOUNDER & CEO

For Steve Fortunato, the meal has always been the center point of the community. After 19 years in hospitality working for other organizations, Steve set out to pursue his vision for what a hospitality and events company could be. His love for great meals and creating great conversations is what drew him into this work at 14. Over time he watched as the pursuit of excellence in food and beverage became more and more about performing and demonstration.

For Steve, hospitality has always been about an invitation — and letting the craftsmanship, be about nourishing people on multiple levels. Seeing what he calls the cycle of “Virtuous Hospitality” as the way forward, he launched roomforty, a concept in catering where everything was made from scratch — even the furniture. The success of room forty in creating completely guest-centered experiences led Steve to expand by opening The Fig House, a creative event space for private events in Highland Park. In short order, Pharmacie, a boutique beverage service, joined the newly formed Hospitality Collaborative family of companies to bring Steve’s vision of hospitality as an invitation across all types of events from weddings, to corporate events, to high-fashion photography, and clients from President Bill Clinton and Jay-Z, to thousands of brides and a few hundred kids celebrating their first birthday. The family of brands has continued to expand with The Harper private event space in Orange County that opened in 2018, and most recently the addition of Brave & Maiden Estate, an estate winery in Santa Ynez Valley, where Hospitality Collaborative has exclusive private events & catering partnership.