CHEF CHRIS PAPPAS
Founder & CEO
HOSPITALITY FROM THE BEGINNING
For Chris Pappas, hospitality has always been personal. Raised in his family’s restaurant business, he grew up watching his father work in the kitchen and eventually learned the business from every angle. Those early years shaped a belief that would follow him throughout his career: great hospitality begins with hard work, generosity, and genuine care for the people you serve.
Chris pursued that calling first at Purdue University, where he studied restaurant and hospitality management and completed internships that exposed him to the broader industry. But it was the kitchen that ultimately captured his attention. He continued his education at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, earning his degree in culinary arts and beginning a formative chapter of his career.
While studying and working in New York, Chris gained experience in some of the country’s most respected kitchens, including Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York City. An opportunity to work at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, would prove especially influential. Its deep connection to seasonality, sourcing, and the people who grow our food expanded Chris’ understanding of what a restaurant could represent beyond the plate.
His time in California also took him to Napa Valley, where he studied wine and earned his first certification through the Court of Master Sommeliers. Together, those experiences gave Chris a foundation that extended across food, beverage, service, sourcing, and restaurant operations.
COMING HOME. BUILDING SOMETHING MORE.
After completing his culinary education, Chris returned to Northwest Indiana to join his family’s restaurant and eventually take over the responsibilities his father had carried for years.
He later opened Provecho, bringing a new expression of Latin American and Spanish-inspired dining to downtown Crown Point. What began with one restaurant grew as Chris saw opportunities to build new concepts, preserve established ones, and create experiences that could each contribute something different to Northwest Indiana.
Today, as Founder & CEO of Meraki Hospitality Group, Chris oversees a growing collection of restaurants, venues, catering, mobile culinary experiences, and signature events throughout Northwest Indiana. His role has evolved from working behind the line to leading the larger vision for Meraki, but his approach remains rooted in the lessons that shaped him from the beginning: respect the craft, take care of people, and understand that a restaurant's role extends beyond the food it serves.
Meraki's commitment to culinary excellence, exceptional hospitality, and purposeful stewardship reflects that philosophy—and continues to guide how the company grows.
HOSPITALITY BEYOND OUR DOORS
Chris believes the role of hospitality extends into the communities Meraki serves. For him, that means finding ways to share knowledge, create opportunities, support local organizations, and give people experiences that bring them closer to food and the people behind it.
Education has become an important part of that commitment. Chris and the Meraki team regularly open their kitchens to the community, from hands-on empanada-making classes with local students to culinary experiences with area Scouts. These opportunities give young people a chance to learn about food, develop new skills, and experience a professional kitchen firsthand.
That same commitment extends to Meraki's partnerships with local schools, nonprofits, civic organizations, and community initiatives throughout Northwest Indiana. Whether through education, fundraising, sponsorships, or simply showing up when there is an opportunity to help, Chris believes a local hospitality company has a responsibility to be an active participant in the place it calls home.
For Chris, building Meraki in Northwest Indiana means investing in the community that gave him his start—and creating opportunities for the company and its people to contribute as it grows.
FAMILY AT THE CENTER
For all that Chris has built professionally, family remains at the center of his life. He and his wife, Jamie, are raising their three children, Calvin, Nora, and Molly, in Northwest Indiana—the same community where his own story in hospitality began.
Growing up in a family restaurant shaped Chris' understanding of work, hospitality, and community long before he knew those lessons would become the foundation of his own career. Today, as both a business owner and father, he has an even deeper appreciation for what it means to build something with roots—and to create opportunities that can extend beyond one generation.
Growth has never simply been about opening more restaurants. It's about creating places that become part of their communities, developing opportunities for the people who work within them, and building a hospitality company that can contribute to Northwest Indiana for generations to come.