Steve Fortunato left the Santa Cruz mountains as a teenager with a dishrag in his hand and a vague sense that hospitality meant something more than most people understood. Thirty years later, he's returned—not as the kid bussing tables, but as the founder behind some of Los Angeles's most celebrated hospitality ventures, ready to build something entirely new.

The years in between read like a masterclass in entrepreneurial grit.

Fortunato's LA chapter began with roomforty, a boutique catering company he launched from a converted taco stand barely larger than a walk-in closet. One hundred square feet. No investors. Just an unshakeable conviction that making people feel genuinely valued was the only business model that mattered. From that cramped kitchen, he cooked for President Bill Clinton and built a client roster that would eventually include Fortune 500 companies and cultural icons.

But roomforty was just the beginning. Fortunato went on to found The Fighouse, an acclaimed event venue that became the backdrop for moments like Jay-Z's TIDAL launch and numerous launches and marquee events for global artists and business leaders. He created The Harper in Orange County, extending his vision beyond LA proper. And he built Hospitality Collaborative, the umbrella organization that housed his growing portfolio of ventures.

Each company followed the same arc: build with intention, grow with discipline, exit with success. Fortunato didn't just start businesses—he built them into something valuable enough that others wanted to own them.

Along the way, he challenged the conventions of an industry obsessed with celebrity chefs and Instagram aesthetics. His philosophy, which he calls "virtuous hospitality," flips the script: instead of using guests to celebrate your craft, use your craft to celebrate your guests. It's a subtle distinction with profound implications, and it's the throughline connecting everything he's built.

That philosophy now lives in print. His book, The Urgent Recovery of Hospitality: How Rediscovering Generosity Restores a Civil World, has drawn endorsements from founders like Spencer Rascoff of Zillow and hospitality leaders nationwide. It articulates what Fortunato has spent three decades proving in practice—that generosity isn't just good ethics, it's good business.

Now, the surfer who grew up on California's central coast has come home.

In 2024, Fortunato brought Michelin-trained chef Alejandro Guzman aboard to help realize his most personal vision yet: transforming roomforty from its LA catering roots into an intimate, immersive dining experience nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It's a deliberate shift—from scale to intimacy, from urban hustle to mountain stillness, from serving hundreds to creating singular moments for a handful of guests at a time.

For Fortunato, the move represents less a retirement and more a refinement. After decades of proving that hospitality done right can build empires, he's now asking a different question: what happens when you strip everything back to its essence?

The Santa Cruz Mountains, it turns out, are the perfect place to find out!

Want to connect with Steve?

Come join our upcoming CEO Works luncheon event on January 21 where Steve will be presenting!