OUR STORY
The Feast of Friends was created to solve the chaos and inefficiency in the Food & Beverage industry by eliminating the need for multiple agencies to mange PR, marketing, and website operations. Our team, calling on a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, answers this issue with coordinated marketing and messaging on all platforms.
As a rule, we seek only to work with brands in which we believe, and in situations where we believe we can make a difference.
MEET THE TEAM
Eric Gladstone
Team Leader
Eric has enjoyed a distinguished and varied career that has given him a broad base of experience and relationships. His first phase involved music journalism, writing pivotal features on artists like the Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, and Beck for magazines including Rolling Stone, SPIN, Alternative Press, NME, and pioneering websites including MTV Online and America Online. Editorial positions at influential magazines (Beastie Boys') Grand Royal, and Ray Gun in Los Angeles led to a staff position with Us Weekly's Hollywood Bureau, where he profiled A-listers, broke celebrity news and covered Oscar parties.
Gladstone departed entertainment to help open Silver Lake's Edendale Grill as principal investor, while collaborating on the branding, concept, décor, beverage lists, and marketing, his entry point into the world of F&B. The majority of his initial vision continues in the successful restaurant/bar today.
He then took his newfound interest in F&B (as well the luxury/travel category) and returned to journalism, where a content management position at AOL with the legendary Robin Leach led him to Las Vegas. He held a Contributing Editor position at Vegas Magazine, and wrote for national publications and sites including BonAppetit.com, The Tasting Panel, Life & Style, Orbitz, About.com, and Insomniac.com. In Las Vegas he has written for a majority of local titles and co-authored a guidebook to Las Vegas restaurants.
Recently, Gladstone pivoted once again to marketing, media relations, social media, branding, and consulting with the one7 agency in Las Vegas and Carns Media in New York City before creating The Feast of Friends in early 2018. Prominent chefs he has worked with closely include John Tesar, Luke Palladino, Johnny Church, Alex Stratta, Dan Krohmer, John Arena, James Trees and others. He has also assisted with local casting for "Chopped."
Also in 2018, Gladstone created the Vegas Unstripped food festival, gathering the city's top independent chefs in an annual event.
Eric has an uncommon trifecta of awards for journalism, public relations and social media, and has been interviewed in outlets ranging from NPR to Access Hollywood and the Los Angeles Times.
A single full time dad of one, Eric collects vinyl records and vintage cookbooks, gets involved with the fights against homelessness and hunger whenever possible, and leaves town whenever he thinks no one will notice.
Kerry Callahan
ALTERNATIVE MARKETING DIRECTOR
Kerry Callahan is a disruptor, continually seeking out new technologies and approaches to engage modern consumers.
Within weeks of earning her BA, Callahan was working with an established Las Vegas PR firm to launch a hotly anticipated restaurant, and support other prominent local venues. She then honed her skills with events and internal messaging at MGM Resorts International as an Events and Communications Specialist, focusing on employee culture and corporate communications. In her time at MGM Resorts, she was tasked with creating marketing strategies to engage and motivate over 80k MGM employees. With the Feast of Friends, Kerry is focused on new tech and strategies to find consumers resistant to established marketing approaches.
Callahan’s love for the field can also be seen through her work with mentoring young professionals and her commitment to improving standards in the marketing community. In her spare time, you can find Kerry traveling, spending time in nature, or discovering new happy hours around town.
RACHEL DIEHL
PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR
With more than 15 years’ experience, Diehl started handling public relations campaigns for nonprofits in high school before graduating from University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies. Since then, she has built a career with prominent local agencies representing clients for across a variety of industries from food, beverage and entertainment, to retail and technology. Her public relations campaigns have been recognized by peers in her industry including a feature in PR Week’s Exceptional PR Campaign Case Studies, as well as earning a PRSA Pinnacle Award for Public Service Campaign.
Diehl loves to live life to the highest extent possible. More nights than not you can find her out and about town exploring the latest happenings, hiking, playing board games, checking out the latest craft beer releases, and connecting with the people who make Las Vegas a great place to live. In her “downtime” she loves to cuddle her puppy @dora_the_pitsplorer, with a good craft beer and a Seahawks or Knights game.
