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Employment and Job Training
Employment and Job Training
Light House Bistro is a social enterprise developed by The Light House Homeless Prevention Support Center to help train and provide living wage employment for students coming out of our workforce development programs and other partnering programs. Our social enterprise provides life-changing skills, experience and opportunities to move people forward as they rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient.
Click here to learn more about Our workforce Development Programs
CHANGING LIVES ONE MEAL AT A TIME
CHANGING LIVES ONE MEAL AT A TIME
The Light House Brings
Social Enterprise to Annapolis!
The Light House Bistro gives people with employment barriers the opportunity to learn while developing a resume and earning a living wage. We are a social enterprise created by The Light House Homeless Prevention Support Center to further train culinary students that have graduated from our workforce development and other partnering programs. Light House Bistro serves our community by creating a warm, fun atmosphere where people can gather to eat, drink and give back to the community.
Social enterprises create revenue from selling goods and services in the open market. All profits are reinvested back into the mission of the organization benefiting people in need and the communities in which they live. The bottom line for The Light House Social Enterprise is employment for people experiencing homelessness.
The Team
The Team
Ashleigh plasterer
Director of Social Enterprise
Ashleigh is a veteran restaurant operator, mixologist, business consultant, sommelier, and James Beard Award-winning GM. She cut her teeth in the restaurant industry during an 18-year stint in San Francisco and has worked with well-known Michelin and Bib Gourmand San Francisco restaurants such as Lazy Bear, Chambers at The Phoenix, Wildseed, Music City Hall of Fame, The District Group, M.Y. China and A16 (where she won a JBA for Outstanding Wine Service in 2015). She also worked as a Distiller and Blender for Wright & Brown Distilling in Oakland, as well as a Cocktail Consultant for SABE Beverages. After Ashleigh moved home to be closer to family in 2023, she took the position of Director of Operations of The Bluebird, The Green Room & The Whiskey Pub in the Hampden neighborhood of Baltimore, where she won the Baltimore Cocktail Competition Ryes Up (2023). We are happy she has joined the Light House Bistro team!
Ronniece Johnson
General Manager
Ronniece came to The Bistro in February, 2017 just a day after we opened our doors. Her Mother, Ms. Nita, who was a BEST graduate and a great asset to the Bistro team, reached out to her daughter and recommended her to the Bistro. Ms. Nita knew Ronniece would be an excellent fit and we are forever grateful for this Mother’s intuition.
Ronniece started as one of our first baristas and quickly made her way to server then floor lead and now we are thrilled to have Ronniece as our General Manager. Her restaurant experience and strong leadership skills are a great asset to the Bistro and she is loved by all!
Johnathan Matias
Assistant Restaurant Manager
Johnny started with the Bistro in September of 2018. Beginning as a dishwasher, he has since worked his way up through almost all of the positions in the kitchen, then through the front of the house where he was recently promoted from Server to Assistant Manager. Johnny is very dedicated to our team and our mission and it is obvious in how he shows up for work every day. We wouldn't be surprised if, in time, Johnny was running the whole show.
Tyler Nelson
Executive Chef, Light House Bistro
Tyler graduated from our B.E.S.T. program in 2019 and came to work at The Bistro immediately following his graduation. His passion for the culinary arts and his previous restaurant experience helped him to rise to the top of his class. Tyler started as a Line Cook at The Bistro and quickly moved to Lead Line Cook and then to Sous Chef and now Executive Chef. We are thrilled to have Tyler on our team!
Deon Day
Executive Sous Chef
Deon is a born and raised Annapolis native. He fell in love with food at his first cooking job at the Annapolis Smokehouse and Tavern 11 yrs ago. Like most of our team, Deon has worked his way up through the kitchen and gained all of his knowledge through experience. He is a big fan of working in 'From Scratch' kitchens, which is what initially attracted him to the Bistro. Previously he was an Executive Chef at Gordon Biersh. We are so lucky to have so much management talent in our kitchens to help teach others the skills they need to work in a kitchen and further our mission.
