Outfit Generic is a boutique hospitality group based in San Francisco, California. Currently, the group has a 1,500-square-foot production kitchen under construction in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood. The first concept in Outfit Generic’s portfolio will be a contemporary patisserie in San Francisco set to open in the spring of 2012. Further details, including the name, logo, location, menu, and design, will be revealed early in the New Year.

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William Werner serves as Outfit Generic’s Chief Creative Officer and is responsible for the creation of the group’s strategic vision and concepts, including menu development and overall look and feel. During his year as executive pastry chef/founder of Tell Tale Preserve Company, he garnered praise both locally and nationally for his pastries and preserves in publications including Food & Wine, New York Times and Wallpaper, which awarded him “Best High Tea, Confections.” Prior to Tell Tale, William was executive pastry chef for the renowned Quince restaurant in San Francisco. He brings more than a decade of culinary experience to the group.

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Josh Chen is Outfit Generic’s Chief Design Officer and collaborates with William Werner on the inspiration, branding, packaging and retail environment for Outfit Generic’s concepts. In 2010, the two worked together on the brand look and feel for Tell Tale Preserve Company, through Chen Design Associates, a creative communications agency in San Francisco. Over the past 20 years, Josh’s work has been featured internationally and he and his team have received numerous industry awards, including recognition for their work for Tell Tale by the Type Directors Club, Communication Arts,  and HOW International Design, amongst others. Named one of 50 “People to Watch” by Graphic Design USA, Josh has written three award-winning books, most recently Fingerprint No. 2: The Evolution of Handmade Elements in Graphic Design.

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Kate Killoran, Chief Operating Officer, was born in Los Angeles and raised in Oakland, and previously partnered with William Werner to manage Tell Tale Preserve Company’s operations. Prior to that, the two worked together at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, California. Kate got her start in the food and beverage industry right out of college, working at cafes and restaurants, and joined The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company where she remained for 17 years. Employed at multiple properties including Atlanta, Cleveland and Beijing, she worked her way up from server to director of restaurants, eventually becoming food and beverage director. She also had the opportunity to assist at the Boston and Tokyo properties, as well as to reopen The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

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Lawrence Lai, Chief Executive Officer for Outfit Generic, moved to San Francisco in his youth from Taipei, Taiwan. After college, he took over his father’s knitting factory, Lafa Knit Corp., setting standard operating procedures and streamlining production and sales, before he launched his own high-end men’s fashion line, Selfmade, that generated interest from such stores as Fred Segal and Barney’s.

Ann Lee, is Outfit Generic’s Chief Financial Officer. Born in Taipei, Ann comes from a heritage of Taiwanese tea farming. With a B.S. in mathematics from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA in finance from California State University, she brings more than fifteen years of experience in accounting, finance and human resources to the group.

In 2009, Lawrence and Ann launched Naivetea to bring high-quality Taiwanese tea and fine porcelain tea ware to the U.S. In 2011, the two partnered with William Werner to kick off Kettle Whistle, a pop-up series of modern afternoon teas in San Francisco.

For more information, inquiries or just to say hello > connect@outfitgeneric.com

photo : Aubrie Pick