MEET THE EXECUTIVE TEAM
JOE'S STORY
A native of the Main Line, Joe got his first taste of the chef’s life as a teenager when a family connection helped him secure a part-time job at Simon Pearce Restaurant in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Though he had no prior cooking experience, Monnich picked up the work fast, attracted to the quick pace and detail-oriented nature of the professional kitchen. Joe later graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, where his career as a chef began to blossom.
After holding a variety of kitchen positions with the culinary likes of Susanna Foo, Jean-Marie Lacroix, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Robert Aikens, and Greg Vernick, Joe fostered an acumen for not only taste and techniques but the unique relationship between back-of-house and macro-business level management. In 2008, Joe joined STARR Restaurants, working at a number of the most exciting and profitable venues in Philadelphia. Most recently, Joe held the role of Executive Chef of Parc Restaurant, overseeing $16 million in sales for the seven-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year operation, complete with nine chefs and 83 employees under his tutelage.
Joe now resides in Chester County.
JUSTINS'S STORY
Born in “the swamps of north central Florida,” fellow CIA graduate Weathers has had a similarly itinerant career. After the New York life bled his bank account dry, he worked for six months at Merion Cricket Club before heading to Parc. “I asked for a cooking job, but the woman I interviewed with told me, ‘You look like a manager to me,’” Weathers says.
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Weathers describes his year at Parc as “insane but life changing.” He then spent two years as an executive chef for the Philadelphia’s Cescaphe Group before returning to the Starr orbit: “I told [Starr], ‘I’m a chef now.’ He said, ‘No you’re not. You’re a manager.’”
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After 10 years as a manager for several Starr properties, Weathers reconnected with his Parc contact, and he and Monnich started knocking around ideas for their own restaurant. When real estate investors approached them with a space in Lansdale, they were intrigued—but wary. “The town had a lot of vacancies, but not much of a food scene,” says Weathers.
The Stove & Tap gastropub concept worked there—and it’s worked in Malvern and West Chester, too. They have been expanding ever since.
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When he is not managing his growing business he is with his wife and kids. Weathers, also, is an ultramarathon and trail-running “obsessive.” He plans to complete a 100-miler in 2022.
*Information sourced from Stove and Co.’s Monnich & Weathers Build a Main Line Restaurant Empire
ASHLEY'S STORY
Ashley Kane's journey in food and beverage began as a teenager in Asheville, North Carolina, igniting a lifelong passion for hospitality. Her early career unfolded in a city celebrated for its dynamic beer culture, and it was there that Ashley discovered the art of bartending. At 22, eager to expand her knowledge and expertise, she moved to the vibrant city of Philadelphia. It was in the City of Brotherly Love that Ashley dedicated herself to honing her craft, obtaining her cicerone certification, specializing in the world of whiskey, and even participating in prestigious cocktail competitions where her creative concoctions and innovative approach to mixology consistently earned her accolades and victories.
Ashley's commitment to empathy isn't just a personal value; it's a mission. She briefly stepped away from the restaurant industry to create a retail startup committed to promoting goodwill and positive change, discovering her fervor for operations and problem-solving along the way. She returned to the industry with a renewed dedication to hospitality to work with Stove and Co, a like-minded team with a shared culture of honesty and compassion. Ashley is determined to transform the industry from within, with a strong focus on first improving the culture of her teams to create a better experience for their guests.
*Information sourced from Stove and Co.’s Monnich & Weathers Build a Main Line Restaurant Empire