Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa has appointed Brandon Veitch as executive chef at its Galena, Illinois property, the company announced Thursday, signalling a deliberate move to sharpen its food-and-beverage programme at one of the Midwest's larger destination resorts.
Veitch, described by the resort as carrying nationally recognised fine-dining credentials, will oversee culinary operations across the full Eagle Ridge property. No financial terms were disclosed, and the resort did not specify how many dining outlets fall under his remit, though Eagle Ridge operates multiple restaurants and event-catering facilities across its 6,800-acre campus.
The hire follows a broader industry pattern in which full-service resorts are investing in chef-driven programming to defend room-rate premiums and capture a greater share of on-property food-and-beverage spend — a revenue line that hospitality analysts note has outpaced rooms revenue growth at leisure resorts since 2023. For operators in drive-to markets such as Galena, elevated dining has become a primary tool for extending average length of stay and boosting ancillary spend per guest. For more on that trend, see our coverage of how Midwest leisure operators are repositioning F&B as a revenue driver and the broader executive-chef hiring wave reshaping resort dining.
"His creativity, leadership, and passion for hospitality make him an incredible addition to our culinary team as we continue elevating the guest experience across the resort," said Steve Geisz, general manager at Eagle Ridge, in the announcement. Veitch did not provide a statement in the release.
Eagle Ridge Resort & Spa, which has previously been recognised among top Midwest resort destinations, competes for leisure travellers against a cluster of Wisconsin and Illinois lakefront properties. The resort's culinary repositioning comes as Food & Beverage Magazine and sector observers have noted sustained consumer willingness to pay a premium for experiential dining at resort properties, even as discretionary travel budgets face pressure from persistent services inflation. The appointment takes effect immediately, according to the release.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.