Age: 38

Sign: Gemini

Grew Up: Henniker, New Hampshire.
Lived in Manchester, NH, October 2000 to March 2007

Favorite Foods: Pizza at Federicci’s in Freehold, NJ; a good veal chop; bar-b-que ribs; fresh turkey sandwiches and cold meatloaf; Boston cream pie

Not a Fan Of: Dessert. But I like sweet ladies. I’m also not a fan of rude people.

His Story: Started working at the Country Spirit on July 13, 1984 – the second day of business -- as a busboy. Worked there for 12 years. Now an owner, with Arthur and Sally Kendrick and their son, Michael

›Moved to Tampa, FL to work for Stauffers Corporation in Tampa as a fish cutter for 91-92 Parker’s Lighthouse, a high-end restaurant on a harbor island.

“The Queen of England docked her ship when I was working there.  The restaurant was a hotspot for celebrities like Whitney Houston, Joe Theisman, and Chris Berman,” says Rick.

›Worked for a year and then returned to New Hampshire to manage the kitchen at the Country Spirit from 1992-96.
›Left before Spirit was sold; moved to North Conway to become sous chef for the Christmas Farm Inn, two years
›Ran the food service at the Appalachian Club visitor’s center for a season, Pinkham Notch, NH.

Moving from the kitchen to financial planning
›Returned to Henniker and school; worked at Prudential as a financial planner
›Went into mortgage business in 1999 and worked for a national company for a year then opened an office in Salem and Nashua for a small broker in Merrimack, NH
›Opened mortgage office in Henniker: Clearly Simple Mortgage, December 2004
›Purchased the Spirit on March 27, 2007

“What I love most is making sure people who come in enjoy their experience to the fullest. My passion for that keeps me coming back to the restaurant business,” says Rick.

When He’s Not Working: Mountain and road biking, travel, rock climbing, skiing, visiting other restaurants, working at his mortgage business, baseball, dim sum with Arthur and Sally in Boston, partying in Manchester

How He Met His Business Partners: “In the late 80-s, Mike took me rock climbing for the first time. By the fourth or fifth time we went out, we climbed up the Old Man of the Mountain’s face on Cannon. It was the coolest thing I have ever done. From then on, we climbed, skied, hiked, biked, and worked together. He showed me things in life I really enjoyed but hadn’t been exposed to yet. We look at our partnership in the Spirit with the same sense of adventure,” says Rick.