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Steven Schussler
Chairman of the Board
Prior to entering the restaurant and entertainment arenas, Schussler held executive positions in the television and radio broadcast industry, selling radio air time in Miami and then television air time for networks, independent and cable television throughout the United States.
A creative type all his life, Schussler has a passion for conceiving concepts that appeal to the masses. His career in the restaurant industry began with the development of Jukebox Saturday Night, a nostalgic restaurant and night club with four locations in Chicago, Illinois; one in Des Moines, Iowa; one in Springfield, Massachusetts; one in San Francisco, California and one in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Schussler’s first Rainforest Cafe™ (A Wild Place to Shop and Eat™), opened at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota in October 1994. Steven and his public company owned and operated 45 Rainforest Café restaurants in seven years, in three continents and sold the chain to Landry’s Restaurants in 2000, but not before receiving more than 40 awards in six years including: Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S.A. (named to the list two consecutive years); Nation’s Restaurant News’ Hot Concept Award, Orlando Magazine’s Best Theme Restaurant; the National Retail Federation’s National Retailer of the Year; and Chicago Tribune’s Best Restaurant for Kids. Schussler Creative, Inc. was founded in 2000, where he leads the creative vision and overall strategic direction of the organization.
Steven founded and created T-REX™: A Prehistoric Family Adventure™ :A Place to Shop, Eat, Explore and Discover™; Yak & Yeti™ Restaurant; Betty & Joe’s™: Baker & Coffee Maker™-You Can’t Have One Without the Other™; Hot Dog Hall of Fame™: Frankly the Best Hot Dogs, Sausages, Dumplings, and French-Fries in the World! ™; Galaxy Drive In™: Aliens, Humans and All of Our Four Legged Friends Welcome™ - Made on Earth™ and Backfire BBQ™ featuring Orange County Choppers, Bikes, Burgers, and BBQ™.
For more information about attractions under development, visit the concepts page in this web site.
Get Connected with STEVEN:
For full biography on Mr. Schussler Click here->Steven Schussler Biography
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Kari Honoroff
Executive Assistant
Ms. Honoroff holds the position of Executive Assistant to Steven Schussler and is involved in all faucets of his day to day business operations. Ms. Honoroff has been Mr. Schussler’s assistant since 1994.
Prior to that, Ms. Honoroff worked at Grand Casino, Hinckley, MN as the Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Food and Beverage.
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Chrissy Bloemendal
Senior Buyer of Retail
Ms. Bloemendal’s expertise includes all aspects of retail planning, styleouts, merchandise buying, distribution, and store operations. Ms. Bloemendal’s successfully oversaw the interior retail design and product assortment for the opening of Backfire Barbeque™ currently opened in Kansas City, and will be instrumental in the development and design of retail for Mahogany Bay™ and Aerobleu™ currently under development.
Prior to joining the Schussler Creative organization, Ms. Bloemendal held merchandising and human resource positions with ShopNBC, a multi-media retailer, and responsible for over $20 million in airtime sales annually.
Ms. Bloemendal is a graduate from Augsburg College with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management.
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Jeff Bornmann
CFO and Senior Vice President of Business Development
Mr. Bornmann is responsible for the financial planning, generation and review of business opportunities and implementation of strategic plans. Mr. Bornmann oversees the planning, budgeting and construction of all restaurant and retail sites. Mr. Bornmann was responsible for the construction and business management of the $30 million, 30,000 square foot, 600 seat T-REX™: A Prehistoric Family Adventure™, A Place to Eat, Shop, Explore and Discover™ at Downtown Disney® and the $16 million 19,000 SF Yak & Yeti Restaurant located inside Disney’s Animal Kingdom. In addition to T-Rex, Mr. Bornmann also oversaw the construction and business management of the opening Backfire Barbeque™, featuring Orange County Choppers, Bikes, Burgers and Barbeque™, and the renovation of the Galaxy Drive In™: Aliens, Humans, and All of our Four Legged Friends Welcome™, located in St. Louis Park, MN.
Prior to joining Schussler Creative, Mr. Bornmann was responsible for the development and business management of the $100 million Water Park of America indoor water park resort, the $32 million Grand Rios Indoor Water Park Resort and the $45 million conversion of the historic Minneapolis Athletic Club. His construction, real-estate and business management experience include projects in the hospitality, cellular communications, retail, medical, office and industrial markets.
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Jannette Gonzales
Office Manager / Project Coordinator
Ms. Gonzales is the Project Coordinator for Jeff Bornmann, CFO, and SVP of Business Development, who oversees the planning, budgeting and construction of all restaurant and retail operations. Ms. Gonzales is responsible for office management, web site content management and provides administrative support to marketing and public relations efforts.
Ms. Gonzales brings a wealth of experience with business administrative experience in the industries of technology, accounting, government, public relations and theme entertainment. In addition, she was also one of the original team members of Rainforest Café.
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Jean Golden
President Golden Publicity Group
Ms. Golden has worked in the public relations and corporate communications field for
over 20 years and is highly experienced in creating national publicity and special events
for clients, due to her strong relationships with the print, broadcast and electronic media.
In addition, she also co-created and hosted Million Dollar Idea, a nationally syndicated
television show featuring inventors and their new products.
Ms. Golden specializes in generating national press coverage for clients. Examples include:
The Oprah Winfrey Show (Famous Dave’s of America), People Magazine (Veggie Tales
feature story; Million Dollar Idea Show), New York Times (Million Dollar Idea Show;
Ricardo Beverly Hills Luggage Line), CNN (Story on education and the Internet), CNBC
(Rainforest Cafe), Wall St. Journal (T-Rex Café), Business Week (Ricardo Beverly Hills
Luggage Line), Fortune Magazine, Parade Magazine, Entertainment Tonight, Access
Magazine and Family PC.
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Dave Flom
Design Engineer and Creature Keeper
Mr. Flom is responsible for the design and maintenance of the concepts’ mechanics,
special effects, and animatronics and the curator for their live animals (birds, fish, etc). Mr.
Flom is a master electrician, builder and artisan and has acquired patents for mechanical
inventions he has produced in the aquatic filtration field. Prior to joining Creative
Attractions, Mr. Flom was the corporate curator for Rainforest Café. Mr. Flom has the
respect and admiration of nature enthusiasts, zoos, universities and nature organizations
around the world.
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