Bob Habeeb launches Maverick Hotels & Restaurants

Industry veteran Robert Habeeb launched a new Chicago-based hotel- and restaurant-management company, Maverick Hotels & Restaurants. With a focus on unique, lifestyle hotels, Maverick also announced that it will develop and manage the seven-story, 222-room Curio Hotel on Chicago’s Navy Pier Hotel, which recently celebrated its groundbreaking. The property is set to open in early 2020 and will include more than 50,000 square feet of restaurant and rooftop space, according to Habeeb.

“There have been significant, fundamental shifts in the hospitality industry, and those shifts have afforded us the opportunity to start a fresh, forward-thinking and innovative hotel and restaurant management company that will capitalize on emerging trends and opportunities to deliver unmatched value and superlative financial results,” Habeeb said in a statement. “With a foundation of exceeding expectations and delivering on our promises, we look forward to bringing a new perspective to the table for owners and creating value at every hotel and restaurant we manage.”

In addition, Maverick offers advisory services focused on finding solutions to increase bottom-line results through upgrades to technology, refining sales strategies/tactics, improving operations and a skilled approach to capital improvements.

Maverick currently has four signed hotel-development deals, with an additional four more in the pipeline. The company is currently focused on acquiring and third-party-managing existing hotels.

“One of the unique aspects of Maverick’s approach is its ability to deliver a powerhouse food-and-beverage experience. The bench of industry experts Maverick will offer its client partners is unmatched,” Habeeb said in a statement.

Robert Amick, a James Beard recognized veteran in the food industry with more than four decades of experience, multiaward-winning creative concepts and operating expertise, will serve as a managing partner and the firm’s restaurant affiliate. Lynn Mucciano, an entrepreneurial executive with more than 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, will serve as Maverick’s VP of strategy, sales and marketing, where she will create, cultivate and integrate relationships to further profitability, positive experiences and growth for owners, clients and Maverick's culture.

A professional with more than 35 years of multiunit experience in hotel, resort and food-and-beverage management, Habeeb previously spent 21 years with First Hospitality Group, significantly growing the company while winning acclaim as one of the premier hotel groups in the country. Before joining FHG in 1997, he was the COO of the U.S. resort subsidiary of London’s Rank Group (owners of the Hard Rock Café chain), where he was responsible for a multifaceted portfolio of hotel, restaurant and leisure businesses.