staff
Sean Palani
Director of Partnerships & Outreach
Born and raised in CT, Sean got his first taste of restaurant life at the age of fifteen at a local diner. With the opportunity to meet new people every weekend as well as the promise of a post-shift meal, Sean was hooked. The restaurant industry became his life and those in it became his second family.
Sean has lived in CT, Vancouver, WA (where he attended culinary school in Portland, OR), all over San Diego (CA)county, Honolulu, HI, Denver, CO, Pittsburgh, PA and Los Angeles, CA, all while working in the industry. He proudly calls Atlanta home due to its diversity and very close-knit food community which he has been an active member of since he moved here in 2011 to open up Barcelona Wine Bar and bartaco.
Since his diner days, Sean has been in food manufacturing, catering, airport club operations and restaurant operations, and most recently worked as a Restaurant Operations Consultant (ROC) for US Foods.
Sean is also the co-founder of, "The Atlanta Guy's Dinner Group", a very diverse group of guys who get together once a month to not only dine at and support a different restaurant each month, but to also support a different local charity, cause or nonprofit each month, as well. Twice a year, they host an open-invite where EVERYONE is invited to come support that months' cause. As of July 2023, they have (officially) supported sixty-five partnerships.
When he is not working, Sean loves seeking out and supporting small eateries to add to his active "Sean's Must Eats" list with his family which includes his food-adventurous twin boys, Frankie and Keoki. Other hobbies include scuba diving, beach vacations, promoting Giving Kitchen any chance that he can and dreaming up of ways expanding the dinner group nation-wide.