Scott Payne

Private Dining Maitre D was born out of a conversation on the golf course. I had left the restaurant industry in 2015 bc the nights, weekends, holidays, and other pitfalls had finally gotten to me.

Among other occupational pursuits, I had started caddying again. (I caddied at Stonewall Links, outside of Philadelphia, while in high school in the mid-90s.)

Fast forward to a year after Covid, and while on the 5th hole of Gulph Mills Golf Club, also just outside of Philly, a member made that a red-letter day for me. He said (paraphrasing) "With YOUR background, you should help some of these clubs get their acts together!" (Off the record, he specifically mentioned Merion Golf Club.) I thought to myself "wait, why would ANY private clubs need help with this?!" (I don't dine in private clubs...but I will say that dining in public restaurants lost its allure for me over the years–even *before Covid–because once you're behind the camera, you can't watch movies the same way, if that analogy makes sense.

So after doing my research and thinking for literally YEARS about the systemic issues (and philosophies) of private clubs that were causing a variety of challenges, I talked to a GM or two and decided to launch a solution. My response at the CMAA conventions has been in the stratosphere.

From About the Founder on privatediningmd.com

Scott Payne is the founder and president of the industry insider Private Dining Maître D. An accomplished steward of both boutique and high-volume restaurants--from dive to upscale to Michelin-Star--Scott is broadly regarded as an encyclopedia of all things food, beverage, and service excellence. He credits over 20 years of restaurant operations and management experience, particularly in best practices, training, certifications and coaching.

Furthermore, Scott was an instrumental player in numerous successful new-restaurant-openings in this last decade-plus, including two multi-million-dollar pre-open renovations, where BOTH establishments quickly became national OpenTable Hot 100 Restaurants: El Camino, Delray Beach, FL and Kaluz, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL, where Scott organized training programs, including writing service manuals and testing.

Implementing clear-cut service standards and inspiring others with his knowledge and passion is Scott's signature, after having worked across seven major US cities, under parent companies such as Bloomin' Brands, Bonanno Concepts, Darden, Hillstone, Landry's, a handful of private clubs, and more. He has excellent experience as a Wine Director as well as thorough expertise in private event management and seamless BEO implementation, having coordinated and executed events as small as wedding proposals and as large as celebrity charity golf tournaments.

With his first real interest in food and beverage operations being piqued during college, Scott's on-campus occupation for three of his four years at Stanford University was managing and directing a number of private membership-based dining clubs, each with its own private chef! While he directly oversaw these Governor's Corner Dining Societies, Scott also recorded two award-winning albums with Everyday People a cappella and received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.