American Dreams Restaurant Group Appoints Chief Operating Officer

American Dreams Restaurant Group currently operates two restaurants, Duval’s Fresh Local Seafood and, Element Modern Grill, contemporary fine dining. Both restaurants offer inventive gastronomic flair and notable wine lists. With its new COO, ADRG is continuing to drive full force into the exciting and ever-changing world of food and hospitality. Most importantly ADRG continues the organization’s dedication to its employees by offering best-in-class training and advancement opportunities.   

A native of Philadelphia, Michelle Schlingmann has a vast array of leadership experience ranging from entertainment, home services, tourism development, and the hospitality industries. Michelle has dedicated her 27-year career to enhancing operational procedures with a focus on people and business development. Her unique solution-driven approach to operations management, strategic planning, and team building has earned her a reputation as a highly competent, passionate and engaging leader. 

Prior to transitioning to American Dreams Restaurant Group (ADRG), Michelle worked for six years at Feld Entertainment Inc., the parent company for Disney On Ice®, Jurassic World Live Tour®, Monster Jam®, and other live entertainment shows. As a Business Partner at Feld, Michelle worked with leaders and their teams to develop ways of aligning business objectives with people and technology assets; all to streamline processes and enable the business units to work with greater efficiency.

As the new COO for ADRG Michelle will be responsible for overseeing and enhancing day-to-day operations and will serve an important part in ADRG future endeavors. She understands the sustainability of the businesses will only happen with consistent delivery of a quality product and second-to-none guest experiences.   

“I am grateful for the confidence Jim and partners have in my abilities to extend their vision for ADRG,” said Schlingmann. Having previously worked for Jim Abrams for ten years successfully leading numerous profit centers, Michelle has achieved annual double-digit net profits, implemented new technology that reduced expenses, increased client profits, and in less than two years aided in growing the vendor partner program by 278%.

Michelle knows Jim has ambitious goals and high expectations for everyone. She has hit the ground running, meeting and working side-by-side with team members to learn the company culture, strengths, and opportunities. “Every element of detail will go into making sure our guests have the best dining experience and it must be a habit for all… front of house and back of house,” said Schlingmann.

“Jim Abrams has been one of the most impactful people in my life. It is truly an honor to work with him again. Jim is forever the entrepreneur and teacher with unmatched foresight in anything he pursues. I will strive daily to uphold and continue Jim’s greatest accomplishments of building strong sustainable businesses and helping associates achieve their life goals,” said Schlingmann.