There’s a joke in Michael’s family that he could spell culinary before he could spell his name. Perpetually cooking throughout his youth, he cut his teeth working at Schlotzsky’s Deli and his father’s Subway franchises.

After earning his BS in Advertising from the University of Florida he began his professional career at Busch Entertainment. In 2007 he bought his father’s ad agency and bolstered it with clients like Subway, Stonewood Grill and Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. Throughout his advertising career he satisfied his appetite for the food industry with Subway and Jimmy Hula’s franchises and even built East Central Florida’s first coastal brewery–Dunes Brewing.

Eventually, he couldn’t resist his true love and in 2020 he created ParkerStark, a hospitality management group dedicated to identifying culinary trends and connecting investors with like-minded franchises. Today, ParkerStark has an increasing presence on the East coast with Jimmy Hula’s, Huey Magoo’s, Scooter’s Coffee and The Boulevard Food Hall.

Nowadays, you’ll find Michael always on the go looking for unique flavor combinations, up and coming restaurants, and enjoying his never-ending quest for the perfect barbecue.