Restaurant Managers

Laura Lee Peyton began working for Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen because she wanted to become a part of something she truly believed in – her favorite restaurant. She began as a server and moved into front of house management after only six weeks. In this position, Peyton leads the restaurant’s staff in delivering top-notch service while creating a genuinely hospitable environment for the guests.

Peyton has made it her mission to provide superior, fine-dining quality service in a casual setting at Rooster’s Wood-Fired Kitchen. She inspires the staff to become “students of the business” by constantly raising the bar for food and wine knowledge along with service standards.“Getting to know our guests and helping Rooster’s thrive in the Charlotte community are my top goals,” says Peyton. “I am really enjoying the direct contact with our guests. As much as I loved my time in the kitchen, I missed the constant interaction with diners,” she adds

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After receiving her bachelor of science degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, New York, Peyton spent four years with Hillstone Restaurant Group in California. She began as a front-of-house manager then moved into a kitchen manager position, achieving record sales at Bandera in Los Angeles, a 175-seat restaurant that only served dinner.

Prior to working at Bandera, Peyton managed a staff of 80 at Houston’s locations in Century City, Santa Monica and San Francisco for three years. During this time, she opened a new Houston’s location and the company’s first in-store bakery, and also trained more than 20% of the company’s new managers. Peyton then moved to Charlotte to work for Captiva Restaurant Group, helping to develop the company by setting up kitchen systems at two locations as a kitchen manager before she joined the Rooster’s team in May 2007.

Peyton now resides in uptown Charlotte, and spends her free time hiking, practicing yoga, cooking, dining out and enjoying local theatre productions.