Meet the Founder

Romance Reed is a hospitality executive, business strategist, and operations leader with more than two decades of experience driving growth, profitability, and organizational excellence across the hospitality, food service, recruiting, and public sectors.

Known for his ability to transform operations, develop high-performing teams, and execute complex business initiatives, Romance has led multi-million-dollar operations, overseen large-scale workforces, and successfully managed diverse portfolios of nationally recognized brands. His expertise includes operational leadership, financial management, talent acquisition, organizational development, business turnaround strategies, compliance, and customer experience optimization.

As a senior leader within Applegreen, Romance oversees multi-brand travel plaza operations, providing strategic direction and operational support for concepts including Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Shake Shack, and Dunkin'. His leadership philosophy is rooted in accountability, servant leadership, and creating cultures where both people and businesses thrive.

In addition to his corporate leadership experience, Romance is the Founder and CEO of Coffee Shop Recruiting, a consulting and recruiting firm focused on helping organizations attract top talent while connecting professionals with meaningful career opportunities. He also brings extensive experience in political strategy, campaign management, community development, and affordable housing initiatives throughout New York State.

A respected leader, entrepreneur, husband, and father, Romance's journey reflects a commitment to continuous growth, resilience, and excellence. Having risen from humble beginnings to executive leadership without a traditional degree, he is passionate about mentoring others, creating opportunities, and proving that success is earned through discipline, vision, and relentless execution.

His mission is to build stronger organizations, develop future leaders, and create lasting impact in every community and business he serves.