“Diners are reflective of how people eat today”
- Robert Giaimo

When Robert (Bob) Giaimo and Chef Ype Von Hengst wanted to open the original Silver Diner their vision was simple: to create a family-oriented restaurant that fills the gap between fast food and white-table clothed restaurants. Their inspiration was the American Diner, a place where you can get reasonably priced American food, served by contagiously friendly servers, in a clean and comfortable atmosphere where everyone feels at home. However, they did not want their restaurant to be a nostalgic trip. They wanted a new way to look at the American diner – where the menu reflects how people eat today. Since 1989, Bob and Ype have expanded that original vision, evolving the diner and its menus into new concepts, creating timeless appeal to multiple generations.

Today Silver Brands, is an award-winning restaurant group nationally recognized for their menu innovation, their people-first culture, and their authentic diner hospitality.

SILVER BRANDS MILESTONES

  • First Silver Diner in Rockville, Maryland

    1989

  • Heart Healthy Options Introduced

    1998

  • First Airport Location at Baltimore-Washington

    2006

  • Local Sourcing Introduced

    2010

  • Eat Well, Do Well Non-Profit Introduced

    2011

  • New Kids Menu with Complete Healthier Meals

    2012

  • Winner Healthier Innovations – Menu Masters

    2013

  • Flexitarian Menu Introduced

    2014

  • Leader in Healthy Kids Meals, National Recognition

    2015

  • Excellence in Produce Award

    2015

  • First Silver New American Brasserie

    2015

  • New Modern Diner Design

    2017

  • Chef Ype Wins Food Network's Chopped

    2017

  • Chef Ype on Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay

    2018

  • Plant-Based Menu Launched

    2019

  • Global Best Practices Employer of Choice Winner

    2020 + 2023

  • Leadership Role in Giving Back

    2020

  • First DC Silver Diner + Silver Social

    2022

CHEF-LED MENU INNOVATION

For 35 years, award-wining Chef Ype Von Hengst been at the forefront of the culinary industry; introducing local sourcing at a mass scale, healthier choices for families, and dietary options that taste good and are good for you. He has been nationally recognized for modernizing the American diner for today’s consumer.

  • Fresh & Local Menu

    2010

  • Healthier Kids Menu

    2011

  • Menu Masters Healthful Innovations Award

    2012

  • Introduced Vegan, Vegetarian & Gluten-Free Options

    2013

  • HALO Winner for Adult & Kid Menus Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

    2014

  • Independent Study on Impact of Menu Changes to Eating Healthy

    2015

  • Excellence in Foodservice Winner

    2015

  • Follow-Up on the Impact of Menu Changes to Eating Healthy

    2018

COMMUNITY

Diners have always been a gathering place for the community. Silver Brands believes in upholding that tradition, by being a key part of the communities we live in and serve. We actively support initiatives that promote health and wellness, especially amongst children. We created a not-for-profit program, Eat Well Do Well, that donates a percentage of sales to schools’ nutrition and fitness programs. We expanded our commitment to children’s nutrition, by coaching culinary middle school and high school students, and by partnering with Montgomery County Public Schools to create vegan items for their lunch menu.

  • $1.1 Million Donated to Schools

  • $100K Raised for Food-Insecure Families

  • 75K Free Meals Prepared for Families in Need

THE FOUNDERS

Bob Giaimo

Founder, CEO & Chairman of the Board

Mid-Atlantic Restaurant Entrepreneur Robert (Bob) Giaimo, is co-founder and president/CEO of Silver Brands, a Mid-Atlantic restaurant group with $150 million dollar sales and 23 locations including Silver Diner, Silver New American Brasserie and Silver Social. He previously founded the award-winning American Café in 1977. Giaimo is recognized as a pioneer in the “American Cuisine” movement on the East Coast.

Reinventing the American Diner Giaimo started his restaurant career when he was a freshman at Georgetown University, becoming the youngest restaurateur in Washington D.C., opening a 100-seat restaurant in Georgetown that catered to fellow students and the Georgetown crowd. After college, he founded the popular American Café Restaurants and gourmet markets, one of the first multi-unit restaurants to promote contemporary American cuisine” and innovative American design while pioneering the croissant sandwich.

Ype Von Hengst

Founder, Executive Chef

Chef Ype Von Hengst is co-founder and Executive Chef of Silver Brands. He is responsible for the sourcing and development of all menu selections for Silver Diner, Silver New American Brasserie and Silver Social. Von Hengst has received many accolades for his creative menu that features fresh and local products, vegan and plant-based entrees, and an expanded award-winning healthier kids’ menu.

Born in the Netherlands, Von Hengst discovered his passion for food while cooking for his family at the age of seven. His time spent in the garden and in the kitchen has led to a lifelong career of cooking and helping others live a healthier life. He received his training in some of Europe’s finest restaurants before coming to the U.S to work as Executive Chef and Corporate Chef for Restaurant Associates at Rockefeller Center in New York City, where he oversaw a dozen premiere restaurants and is credited with developing the highly successful original menu at Rockefeller Center. Von Hengst then moved to Washington, DC and worked as a partner at Dominique's (on Pennsylvania Avenue) and eventually met his eventual partner, Bob Giaimo, at American Cafe.

Von Hengst has been featured on numerous local and national television programs including Beat Bobby Flay, and Food Network’s Chopped, where he won and donated his winnings to Doctors without Borders.

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Glenn D’Amore

President
27 Years

  • Glenn D’Amore is president of Silver Brands. He has been with the company for more than 27 years after working his way up from manager. He worked every management position in the company before becoming area director and then, most recently, chief operations officer, prior to being named president.

    Over the past 27 years, Glenn has been instrumental in the growth of Silver Brands—the restaurant group’s portfolio that includes Silver Diner; Silver, New American Brasserie and Silver Social. As a new store manager in 1997, he developed a marketing program to attract families that is still being used by the company today. As the Chief Operation Officer, he oversaw the transition to “fresh and local” sourcing resulting in a +40 percent comp sales growth over 10 years.

    Glenn graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in hospitality. Right out of school he attended a college career fair and left with a job offer from Silver Diner.

    Born in the Bronx, D’Amore’s family moved to Northern New Jersey when he was six. After attending college, Silver Diner sent him to the Potomac Mills, Va. location where he started as a manager in training. He then moved to various other Silver Diner and Silver restaurants as he climbed the corporate ladder.

    Glenn currently resides in Alexandria, Va. and is an avid baseball and sports fan. When he’s not in a restaurant, he can often be found working out at his nearby gym.

    How Glenn D’Amore rose from manager to company president at Silver Diner
    Alexandria Times

Eric Forward

Chief Financial Officer
6 Years

  • Eric Forward is an accomplished financial executive with substantial experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry. He is recognized as a value centered leader with clear communication practices, and a track record of building trusted teams and enduring partnerships. Eric has extensive experience in finance and operations across restaurant, retail, gaming, entertainment, and consumer goods segments.  

    As Chief Financial Officer for Silver Diner Holdings, he oversees all aspects of Silver Diner’s financial operations and reporting, banking relationships and risk management. His broad experience provides valuable direction in the performance and growth of the company. Since his arrival in 2018, the business has increased revenues by 50% and doubled EBITDA.  

    Prior to joining Silver Diner, Eric worked as CFO for Margaritaville Enterprises for 13 years as a partner and catalyst during its significant restaurant/retail growth, both domestic and international, and diverse brand extensions. His leadership and vision proved instrumental in building the financial and tech infrastructure to support the brand expansion.  

    Eric also held senior financial positions with Hard Rock Café International for over 10 years. He led finance teams in the U.S and Europe, provided financial experience in system infrastructure and assisted with opening over 20+ restaurants worldwide.

    Eric holds a Bachelor of Science, Finance from St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY. He enjoys golf, travel and time with family. He is married with three children and lives in Maryland.

Chris Shand

Chief People Officer
20 Years

  • Chris Shand has extensive experience in human resources and development. As Chief People Officer for Silver Brands, he oversees the restaurants’ employee management development including management recruiting, training, benefits, compliance, legal, succession planning and organizational development at all levels.

    Chris began his career with Marriott Hotels and then moved into the full-service restaurant industry where he quickly moved up to regional VP overseeing operations from Chicago to California. His career included developing training programs and leading operating services for Einstein Bros. Bagels, leading operations for Xando (now Cosi) and vice president of HR and training for Chicken Out before joining the Silver Brands team and assisting with rigorous expansion.

    Chris holds a BBA in finance from Loyola Marymount University, MBA/JD from UCLA and SHRM-SCP certification. He is a board member and recent chapter president for the Virginia Restaurant Travel & Lodging Association, board member of Visit Fairfax, and an active member of the Council of Hotel & Restaurant Trainers (CHART)—he is an active advocate for the hospitality and restaurant industries.

    Born and raised in Toronto, Arizona and California, Chris enjoys the diverse climate and culture of all regions. He and his wife enjoy traveling, spending time with family and friends. Chris is also an avid surfer.

Matilde Ott

Chief Marketing Officer
12 Years

  • Matilde Ott is the Chief Marketing Officer with Silver Brands where she started as director of marketing in 2011 and continues to oversee the company’s significant expansion and growth. She has more than 20 years of experience working with mid-size to large company restaurant operations including Potbelly Sandwich Works, Popeyes Chicken and Papa John’s Pizza. In addition to in-depth marketing experience, Matilde brings enthusiasm and creativity to effectively market Silver Brands’ multiple concepts while working in a demanding, fast-paced, results-oriented environment.

    Matilde is known for taking a 360-degree approach to solving problems and creating measurable results. She has successfully implemented the company’s fresh and local, farm-to-table approach that even saw farm boxes available to customers at Silver Diner restaurants during the pandemic. Not only did the sales of produce boxes help maintain traffic to the restaurants but it also helped the restaurants’ important resource—local farmers to survive.

    Matilde has also supported Chef Ype by promoting his healthy kids menu and oversaw a significant increase in national and local news coverage as well as store traffic. She has also partnered Silver Diner with area schools and local charities to ensure food insecure communities are supported. The result has been more than $1.5 million to local schools for nutrition and physical education programs.

    Matilde has overseen the successful opening of more than a dozen Silver Brand restaurants including Silver Diner; Silver, American Brasserie and Silver Social. Prior to establishing her strategic marketing campaigns, Matilde fully analyzes each restaurant’s demographics and market drivers. She has successfully conducted numerous focus groups and created programs based on customer feedback and she has promoted more than 24 new menu updates. Matilde is also in-tune with the restaurant brands’ varied demographics. Her marketing campaigns reflect her market knowledge and include social media and influencers when tasked with reaching younger diners. Matilde’s success is demonstrated in the large increases in sales year-over-year.

    Matilde lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where she enjoys an array of outdoor activities with her husband and two American Water Spaniels.

Mark Russell

Chief Development Officer
28 Years

  • Mark Russell is Chief Development Officer. His focus is leading company strategic growth plans and outstanding locations, driving expansion through new design concepts and improvements in outstanding sites, and driving continuous improvement of new and existing facilities to align with current consumer trends in a timeless design.

    Mark has been in the hospitality business his entire career working in multiple concepts and hotels and has been associated with Silver Diner since 1996. Mark started as an MIT, and served as Kitchen Manager, Hospitality Manager, Operating Partner, Area Director, and Director of Operations prior to his current role. Mark authored the company operations manual and brings a unique level of expertise to the design and workflow of the diners. He led the development of the updated “Silver Diner 2.0” design and was also instrumental in development of Silver, Silver Social, and Airport concepts.

    A native of Western Pennsylvania, Mark is passionate about family and the outdoors, and can usually be found at the lake or forest whenever possible.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Robert Giaimo

    Founder, CEO, Chairman of the Board
    Silver Brands

  • Ype Von Hengst

    Founder, Executive Chef
    Silver Brands

  • Joe Ferreira

    Founder
    Goode Partners

  • Dave Oddi

    Founder
    Goode Partners

  • Daniel Bonoff

    Partner
    Goode Partners

  • Dan Simmons

    Founder
    Farmers Restaurant Group

  • Mike Collier

    President
    Uniwest Construction, Inc.

  • Steve Hislop

    President, CEO, Chairman of the Board
    Chuy’s Tex-Mex