MEET
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TEAM
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MEET ✳︎ THE ✳︎ TEAM ✳︎
Lauren Kershner is a hospitality entrepreneur, award-winning thought leader, and the co-founder and CEO of Goodness Gracious Hospitality Group. She has spent her career building recognized brands across restaurants, catering, specialty food and beverage, and wine tourism — earning a reputation in Sonoma Valley and beyond for creating businesses that are as financially successful as they are genuinely beloved.
Where Lauren does her best work is with owners who are stuck — whether that means the numbers aren't adding up, the vision has gotten blurry, or they're quietly wondering if it's time to close the doors. She doesn't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. She believes in getting creative — digging into the real problem, rethinking what's possible, and building strategies around revenue growth, market positioning, customer experience, and team culture that are as imaginative as they are practical.
She's helped businesses find their footing when it felt like there was none left. If you're on the brink, she wants to hear from you. There's almost always a way forward — it just takes the right perspective and a willingness to think differently.
Lauren kershner, founder/ceo
brandy aviña, founder/coo
Brandy Avina is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Goodness Gracious Hospitality Group — and the person who makes sure that everything that looks good on paper actually works in real life.
With over 15 years in the hospitality industry and deep roots in Sonoma Valley, Brandy is the operational backbone of everything the group builds. She works intimately with each brand in the portfolio, bringing the systems, structure, and accountability that turn vision into a functioning, high-performing business. From building operational frameworks and managing complex projects to developing teams and driving performance, she has a gift for creating order without losing the soul of what makes a hospitality business special.
What sets Brandy apart is how she does it. She communicates with clarity and warmth, earns trust quickly, and has an instinct for coaching people toward their best. She understands this industry from the inside out — the pace, the pressure, the people — and meets all of it with a calm, empathetic presence that is genuinely rare.
Hospitality isn't just what Brandy does. It's who she is.
partner network
Great hospitality businesses need more than one kind of expertise — and we've spent years finding the best people in each discipline. Our Partner Network is a curated circle of specialists across branding, PR, social media, photography, and beyond, each one personally vetted and trusted by our team.
COMING TO THE WEBSITE SOON
Why We're Different
We're Operators First
We're not consultants who study the hospitality industry from the outside. We own and actively operate a portfolio of thriving hospitality businesses. Every challenge you're facing, we've faced. Every system we recommend, we've built and tested ourselves.
We Only Win When You Win
In our Management and Investment partnerships, our compensation is directly tied to your results. We're not here to collect a fee and move on—we're here because we believe in what you're building, and we're invested in making it work.
