EMMANUEL NONY, Managing Partner
Emmanuel Nony is the consummate hospitality professional. Raised in in the French countryside by parents who were true bon vivants, they passed their love of good food and entertaining down to their son. He often accompanied them to the open-air markets and dairy farms for groceries, and that exposure to the market-fresh food profoundly influenced both his taste buds and his career path. After attending culinary school, Emmanuel fixed his sights on the front of the house, transitioning to the service side from the kitchen – and hasn’t looked back.
After spending several years moving up the ranks with Chefs de France (Orlando, FL), a joint venture between celebrity chefs Paul Bocuse, Roger Verge, and others and the Walt Disney Company, Emmanuel was presented with an opportunity to work with Hyatt International. Over the next sixteen years, he worked at several of their properties, including the U.N. Plaza Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, Grand Hyatt Seoul, and Hyatt Regency Fukuoka (Japan). He oversaw food & beverage operations while tending to the elite and socialite communities that flocked to those establishments, and in 1996, took an opportunity within the company to move to the Land of the Rising Sun. In Tokyo, Emmanuel managed the multi-million dollar food and beverage operations of Park Hyatt Tokyo, voted Japan’s best hotel and featured in the movie “Lost in Translation.” Returning to the States, his next opportunity within the company was to open the highly-anticipated Park Hyatt Chicago and its restaurant, NoMI. There, he set new standards for hotel dining in the city.
Having fallen in love with the Windy City, Emmanuel decided to put down roots here and developed Sepia, his realization of a lifelong professional dream. At Sepia, Emmanuel is blending style with comfort, past with present, and timeless design, showcasing true Midwestern hospitality with international flair.