BROOK TOWNSEND's introduction to the restaurant business came when an injury sidelined his tennis career. Forced to look for a new life path, he persuaded a chef to give him a job in the kitchen. The reluctant chef agreed and ended up launching Townsend into the business that he has embraced-in several different incarnations-for more than two decades.

Townsend gained experience working for several successful start-up operations. Among them were an exclusive celebrity hang out in Malibu, an esoteric café in West Los Angeles, the Sawtelle Kitchen, with Chef "Ishi," (Masayuki Ishikawa) and Kenji Minamida and the wildly popular Marix Tex-Mex Cafes.

Twelve years ago, at age 27, Townsend opened his first Southern California restaurant: the award-winning Pachanga. This Mexican grill-style establishment was so successful that it spawned a franchise and a catering business. While his businesses thrived, Townsend developed a software package that demonstrates to independent restaurant owners the benefits of group buying.

Today, in addition to being a Partner in Grace, he has investment partnerships in the popular Sangria, a Spanish Mediterranean restaurant and nightclub in Hermosa Beach, California; and in the Manhattan Beach restaurant Towne.