Vibe
We’re a flock of hospitality freethinkers dedicated to dreaming up ways to spread high vibration hospitality.
Our first restaurant, Palm House, is home to one of San Francisco’s oldest palm trees. Its happy and carefree presence taught us that vacation is a mindset, not just a destination. Our hospitality projects are here to provide both.
We welcome you to drop in, let go and celebrate whatever day of the week it is with us. We’re here to create better lives through better leisure.
THE TEAM
CO-FOUNDER OF PALM HOUSE HOSPITALITY
Benson was born into a family of third generation restauranteurs and distillers. In his home, the typical salutation is “are you hungry?” Hospitality is in his blood and what he loves. As a child, Benson would sneak into the dining room and be mesmerized by the sights, sounds and unadulterated emotion around each table. He saw firsthand how food fostered community and connection.
After earning his B.S. in Business Economics from UCLA, Benson worked for Moelis & Company in their investment banking and private equity group. He went on to join TPG Capital’s fundraising group where was responsible for the sales, marketing and business development of the platform.
In 2013, Benson left finance and returned to his roots by partnering with Anderson Pugash to open Palm House. A year later they opened The Dorian and then founded the parent company, PHH. As co-founder, Benson oversees strategic and financial planning, operations, concept development and best business practices to deliver transportive leisure.
Benson is a board member of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, SF Travel committee member and member of the Guardsmen of SF. In his free time, he loves biking, hiking, lighting up the grill, and spending time outdoors with his wife and three kids.
Benson Wang
Anderson Pugash
CO-FOUNDER OF PALM HOUSE HOSPITALITY
Anderson began his career in hospitality before he was old enough to enter a bar. At 20, he organized a fundraiser in honor of his recently passed father to raise money for charitable causes. Skilled in bringing people together, Anderson scaled the event to become “The San Francisco Social” a philanthropic group that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Bay Area charities. Anderson then founded one of the city’s largest independent promoters, Crossroads Nightlife Group, known for chartering Private 737s to Vegas for New Year’s Eve and throwing concerts and block parties for thousands of attendees. Post college, Anderson spent a few years running acquisitions for real estate development firm SIMEON while continuing to plan events. At 27, Anderson’s passion pulled him into hospitality full time. He co-founded Bergerac, a bar with an impromptu house party feel and Audio, a music-driven nightclub. He expanded with the opening of Palm House, a tropical restaurant with vacation drinks and The Dorian, a neighborhood supper club. In 2018, he launched PHH with his partner and co-founder Benson Wang.
Anderson was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Bay Area and earned his B.S. from the Wharton School of Business. He has a passion for music, meditation and spiritual pursuits. He studied Sound Healing at the Globe Institute, is a Reiki Master Practitioner and a life-long student of Siddha Yoga.
Jake Lucas
CORPORATE EXECUTIVE CHEF AT PALM HOUSE HOSPITALITY
Jacob Lucas was born and raised in Lodi, California. In 2005, at the age of 17, he moved out to SF for school and found his true calling in restaurants. His career took him from Spruce to SPQR where he quickly moved up the ranks from line cook to Executive Sous Chef. From there, he joined the opening team of a new Italian restaurant in his longtime neighborhood - Che Fico. After a successful launch, Jake decided to take a step into the corporate culinary world as an Executive Chef at Off The Grid. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the food truck program on Google’s campus. He managed a team of 70-80 people - including 8 sous chefs - to produce nearly 8,000 pounds of food through 40 different food truck concepts, feeding a total of 15,000 meals per day. However, after 5 years, he found he was missing some of the fire and passion that he fell in love with nearly 20 years ago in his day-to-day work life, leading teams in brick-and-mortar restaurants.
With two decades of experience, he is excited to take all that he learned and adapt this new perspective to the restaurant kitchens as the Executive Chef of Palm House Hospitality
Jazlyn Hoover
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS AT PALM HOUSE HOSPITALITY
As Director of Events and Business Operations, Jazlyn runs all of the various events at the San Francisco Palm House Hospitality properties. All groups with guests ranging from 12 to 350, Jazlyn’s your gal! She is an expert at selling our venues and making sure guests are having the perfect experience from start to finish. When she is not planning and running events she is running our recruitment and hiring efforts for all venues.
After earning her business degree in Corporate Communications from Arizona State University, Jazlyn moved to the Bay Area to continue her career with The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company. During her 8 years at The Ritz Carlton she worked in various job roles from managing multiple restaurants, to VIP Coordination and finally ending her time there as a part of the Events Team planning weddings and large corporate events. From there she went on to travel the country planning large corporate incentive conferences gathering knowledge from some of the world’s top leaders in the hospitality industry. She now uses her expertise to make guests feel at home with Palm House Hospitality.
Jazlyn is the Director of Membership at Meeting Planners Internationals Northern California Chapter and is involved in San Francisco CASA organization helping foster youth navigate through the court system.
Jeff Davis
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND MANAGING PARTNER AT PALM HOUSE HOSPITALITY
Jeff Davis brings more than 20 years of experience to his role of Director of Operations and Managing Partner at Palm House Hospitality. He defines his role through passion and consideration for staff and guests alike. “In everything we do, we look to create ‘guests for life,’” he says. “We want them to feel welcome any time to come in and sit back, relax, and enjoy themselves with our incredible menus, ambiance, and service.”
After graduating from Bowling Green State University just south of Toledo, Ohio, two hours north of his birthplace in Dayton, Jeff began his managerial experience as a corporate trainer at Gordon Biersch Brewing Company in Southern California before joining Levy Restaurants in 2002. He served as bar manager at Dodger’s Dugout Club in L.A., at which he gained recognition for his innovative thinking on the cocktail menu. His management style continued attracting big names in business, leading him to book events for celebrities and global corporations such as Microsoft and Google, as well as supervising functions for major network companies like CBS and ABC. By 2009, Jeff worked his way up the managerial ladder, serving as a Senior Manager at Hyde Lounge at the Staples Center while concurrently working at Dugout Club. During his tenure with Levy, he was honored with the “Levy Legend” award three times for his work at Dodgers Stadium and Staples Center. Prior to Palm House Hospitality, he worked as Regional Director and as the Marketing & Sales Director at Red O restaurant group and as Director of Operations at Kinetescape Inc., the Los Angeles management group behind The Edison and Clifton’s Brookdale.
When he’s not at one of the Palm House Hospitality venues, he can be found pursuing one of his hobbies: working out, exploring new restaurants, and watching sports. He also enjoys spending time with his girlfriend Taylor and his dog Steve.
