After being sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison as a first-time non-violent drug offender, John Gargano received a Presidential Commutation from President Barack Obama. Upon returning home, he earned his Associates and Bachelor's Degrees. John then rose through the ranks at Tom Colicchio's Craft before ultimately growing into the position of General Manager. John continues to advocate for justice-impacted people who come from our penal institutions.
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2023 Welcome Conference
Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center
September 18th, 2023
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Years ago, we set out to create the Welcome Conference, a day where people passionate about hospitality can come together and be inspired by others who embody it each day.

What started as a place for people to network, give inspiration, and share ideas has since evolved. We’ve welcomed over 90 speakers, on three storied stages in New York City — Cooper Union, The New York Times Center, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center — that have shared their stories to over 5,000 people live and hundreds of thousands online.

We believe that living a life of hospitality will have a positive impact on our culture and the stories that we collect are worthy of sharing. In fact, you can find every video since 2014 on our page.