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Legacy Planning in Hospitality: 4 Benefits of Hiring Morrissey Hospitality to Plan for the Future

By September 8, 2022December 23rd, 2025No Comments

It’s no secret that running a family business — especially in hospitality — can be complicated. Countless shows and movies have been made about rivalries and broken trust, and long lists of ruined relationships and closed concepts are written in business journals around the world. So, it’s no wonder you may be nervous about planning your exit strategy, or starting to plan the legacy of your hospitality business.

Maybe you dream of selling your hospitality to the highest bidder. Perhaps, you’d like to expand your operation into different locations or start new concepts. Or maybe, you’re finally ready to take the time you’ve earned to reconnect and relax.

No matter your next moves, working with an experienced hospitality management company to plan and prepare your exit strategy is a worthwhile investment. With over 30 years of experience in hospitality management Morrissey Hospitality has the experience and industry knowledge you need to navigate your exit strategy and legacy planning. And, as a family-owned and operated business ourselves, we have an intimate understanding of the complexities of preparing for and planning an exit.

By hiring Morrissey Hospitality to help with your company’s legacy planning, you’ll experience all the benefits of working with family, without any of the downsides, drawbacks or drama.

1. Morrissey Hospitality is fair, consistent, and unbiased.

At Morrissey Hospitality, we know that big decisions like legacy planning are often challenging and emotionally charged. When emotions run high, it can be difficult to be objective about what is best for your business, for your guests, and for your loved ones — let alone the complicated and complex financial and logistical arrangements of a major operational change.

When you hire a hospitality management company like Morrissey Hospitality, you invest in a consistent, fair and unbiased partner to help with your business’s legacy plan. With over 30 years of experience in hospitality management, and a well-rounded team of experts in operations, financial services, management, marketing and more, the Morrissey team will guide you through the complexities of building a successful strategy — keeping you focused on what matters most.

2. The Morrissey Hospitality team is trustworthy.

Morrissey Hospitality has been a trustworthy hospitality leader in the Upper Midwest for over 30 years. We have developed deep and lasting relationships with our guests, community leaders, and hospitality clients — relationships built upon accountability, authenticity, and trust.

As a family-owned business that had to unexpectedly navigate our own company’s legacy plan, we understand the nuances, complexities, and dynamics of legacy planning and creating an exit strategy. We’ve been in your position, and have guided many other business owners through the process of planning for their exit strategy. Whether you are poised to sell, setting up a successful succession strategy, or simply ready to retire, you can trust the team at Morrissey Hospitality to have your back every step of the way.

3. Morrissey Hospitality is knowledgeable and experienced.

With more than three decades of experience in hospitality management, our team has learned a thing or two about successful legacy planning in our industry. With so many details to consider — whether financial, operational, logistical, or even emotional — business owners looking to transition their business can be understandably overwhelmed.

At Morrissey Hospitality, our passionate team of multi-disciplinary hospitality experts will guide you through even the most complicated or convoluted details of your business’s legacy plan. We’ll use our decades of experience and industry knowledge to help you make the best decisions for your business and for your family’s future.

4: Morrissey Hospitality shares your purpose.

Morrissey Hospitality partners with our hospitality clients toward a common, shared purpose — creating the best legacy plan possible for your unique family business. As hospitality professionals and family business owners ourselves, we share your passion for hospitality, and respect the values you hold. Our team members inherently understand the unique challenges that business owners in the hospitality industry may face when planning for the future of their business and will help you find the solutions that fit your unique company.

At Morrissey Hospitality, we thrive in partnership with other passionate, driven hospitality professionals. We believe that by forging meaningful relationships with our clients, we can exceed expectations and inspire success. We are passionate about what we do, and work tirelessly with our clients to plan their company’s future, drive results and create a legacy plan that fits their family business.

Your Partner in Legacy Planning

While plenty of restaurant consultants and hospitality management professionals can offer advice, hiring an unbiased, trustworthy, experienced partner to help you plan the legacy of your business is an important investment in your family’s future. With the help of Morrissey Hospitality, you can be confident that when you step away from your business, your loved ones, your guests — and you — are getting the best.

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Richard Dobransky

President & CEO

Richard joined Morrissey Hospitality as President in 2018 and accepted the role of CEO in 2023. Under Richard’s leadership, the organization implemented best-in-class solutions to support its hotel, restaurant, and events venue portfolio. He spearheaded efforts to upgrade all internal systems, embrace automated workflows and data analysis, and streamline every aspect of the organization for real-time, accurate reporting and accountability.

Focusing next on the employee experience, Richard oversaw a restructuring of employee compensation to ensure that every Morrissey employee earns more than a living wage. With his team, he improved employee benefits packages and ushered in numerous new initiatives to reflect the needs of employees and promote better work-life balance.

Under Richard’s leadership, the Morrissey portfolio has grown from 5 to 18 owned and managed properties. He oversees a team of over 100 managers and 1,000+ employees, leads efforts to provide authentic hospitality experiences at every location, and is an active coach and mentor to many.

Well respected and highly regarded throughout his career, Richard enjoys annual recognition in the Minnesota Top 100 and Top 500 Business Leaders list, and was named among Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal’s 2026 Most Admired CEOs. He serves on the Board of Directors for Visit Saint Paul and The Downtown Saint Paul Alliance.

Richard intrinsically understands the communities he serves, helping to create hospitality concepts that serve as long-lasting, meaningful gathering spaces. He aims each day to make, do, and be better for Morrissey customers, employees, clients, partners, vendors, and community members alike.

Elizabeth Morrissey

Senior Vice President

As Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer at Morrissey Hospitality, Elizabeth leads the company’s growth strategy with a focus on business development, strategic partnerships, and brand expansion. With nearly a decade of internal leadership experience and deep roots in hospitality, she drives new revenue opportunities, cultivates client relationships, and strengthens the company’s presence in new and existing markets.

Elizabeth began her career at The Saint Paul Hotel before taking on leadership roles at the Waldorf Astoria New York, Johnson Brothers Liquor Company, and Moet Hennessy. She returned to Morrissey Hospitality to help shape the company’s next chapter, progressing quickly from operations into business development. Her background spans hospitality operations, marketing, human resources, and sales strategy — making her uniquely positioned to scale the organization’s impact while preserving our guest-first, people-focused culture.

Elizabeth’s leadership is grounded in purposeful growth: building high-performing teams, elevating client brands, and delivering exceptional service across every property in the Morrissey Hospitality brand portfolio.

Paula Soderberg

Vice President of Human Resources

Paula is a results-driven professional with comprehensive and extensive human resources experience. She is well-versed in labor relations, employee relations, retention, training and development, HRIS, compensation and benefit management, domestic and international recruiting, job description development, HR audits, unemployment hearings, worker’s compensation claim management, and risk and safety management. She is also well versed in Def Leppard — so don’t mention the band unless you want her to talk your ear off.

Paula’s experience helps her foster an optimal working environment through development and deployment of new strategies in recruiting, onboarding, training, job description and standards, benefit administration, and employee development. She is a versatile and motivated leader, with proven communication and organizational skills. She is practical, articulate, and creative with a demonstrated ability to solve difficult issues.

Paula started in hospitality while a teenager at her family’s restaurant in Stillwater, MN. She continued to work FOH positions while in college pursuing her HR degree (don’t ever let her work BOH. She can’t cook…at all.) She understands operations, allowing her to support management and coach employees effectively. She also has held many HR management roles within healthcare, insurance, telecommunications, and government, but hospitality is her home.

Keith Reardon

Vice President

Keith is a hospitality management professional with 30+ years of experience leading food & beverage operations for hotels, restaurants, golf courses, and sports & entertainment facilities. His peers describe him as a high-capacity, intuitive, creative, thoughtful, and disciplined leader. With years of industry knowledge and experience in multifaceted hospitality environments, he routinely demonstrates strength in strategically building high-performance teams, resulting in stable revenues and profits.

Before joining Morrissey Hospitality, Keith held positions with Ritz Carlton Hotels in Palm Springs, before moving on to Centerplate, where he operated the Colorado Convention Center and opened Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. Keith’s passion is restaurant and kitchen design and construction. He recently completed the design and construction of all the hospitality components at Morrissey’s newest location, Tattersall Distillery in River Falls, Wisconsin. Keith is active in the Twin Cities community, serving as Treasurer on the Executive Committee for the Hospitality Minnesota’s Educational Foundations Board, and as an advisor to Visit Saint Paul.

Johnessa Hardyman

Vice President of Finance

Johnessa has always had a passion for finance and accounting. She started her career in community banking and completed her bachelor’s degree in accounting before finding a passion for hospitality in 2012 at The Saint Paul Hotel. Johnessa spent two years working onsite at The Saint Paul Hotel before transitioning to the Morrissey Hospitality Shared Services Office.

Johnessa Hardyman brings over a decade of expertise in hospitality finance to her role as Vice President of Finance at Morrissey Hospitality. Since joining the company in 2012, she has held key leadership positions, including Senior Accountant, Controller, and Director of Financial Planning and Analysis. Johnessa’s extensive experience spans budgeting and forecasting, cash management, internal and external audits, system transitions, and acquisitions.

With a Master of Science in Accountancy from Saint Mary’s University, Johnessa excels at leveraging financial data to drive informed decision-making. She leads the accounting team with a focus on accuracy, efficiency, and strategic planning, ensuring that financial insights translate into actionable business strategies. Passionate about financial forecasting, she thrives on analyzing how businesses actualize their projections and the impact on cash flow. Her deep understanding of both finance and hospitality makes her an invaluable asset to the organization and its clients.

Amy Houston

Vice President of Marketing & Communications

A Professional Certified Marketer (PCM) with a deep passion for hospitality, Amy blends creativity with strategic vision to build meaningful connections between brands and guests. Her expertise in brand development, campaign execution, and revenue-focused marketing continues to shape Morrissey Hospitality’s growth and industry leadership. Known for her empathetic leadership style, she fosters collaboration and inspires those around her to think bigger and work together to bring bold ideas to life.

Amy Houston brings over 20 years of experience in marketing, hospitality, and sales. Since joining Morrissey in 2020, she has led strategy for 18 independent brands, driving measurable success through data-driven campaigns and innovative storytelling. Under her leadership, the company has transformed its marketing operations, bringing services in-house and streamlining digital platforms to create a more cohesive, results-driven approach.

Callie Kiepke

Vice President of Operations

Callie Kiepke is Vice President of Operations for Morrissey Hospitality, bringing more than a decade of leadership experience across event venues, restaurants, and golf course operations. Known for building strong teams and implementing effective, scalable processes, she plays a key role in driving consistent performance across the organization.

Callie began her hospitality career at 18 and earned a degree in Hospitality Management from the University of Wisconsin–Stout. After nearly ten years with TPC Twin Cities, she joined Morrissey Hospitality at Bunker Hills Event Center, where she advanced from Catering Sales Manager to Director of Catering and later General Manager. Under her leadership, Bunker Hills became one of the company’s top-performing properties.

In addition to her work at Bunker Hills and Kendall’s Tavern & Chophouse, Callie has supported operations at Stockyards Tavern & Chophouse, played a key role in the opening of Dawn Manor, and is instrumental in strengthening private dining operations. As Vice President of Operations, she leads menu development, systems strategy, and process standardization, with a focus on continuous improvement and exceptional guest experiences.

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