{"id":9990,"date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/menu\/all-in\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T13:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T17:51:14","slug":"all-in","status":"publish","type":"menu","link":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/menu\/all-in\/","title":{"rendered":"All In."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shantay Brown on Trusting Your Journey & Refusing to Shrink<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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By the time most people are figuring out their first serious job, Shantay Brown had already become a mother, left home and taken on more responsibility than many adults twice her age. Today, at 32, she\u2019s the opening general manager of Playbook Commons, a chic, sports-forward Italian steakhouse at Toronto\u2019s Hotel X. Before that, she raced through the ranks at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), leading teams at Real Sports and E11even\u2014often as the youngest person, and one of the only Black women on the leadership team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On paper, it looks like a perfectly plotted career. In reality, it started with survival. \u201cBeing a young mother\u2014that\u2019s kind of what led me into the industry,\u201d she says. \u201cProviding for my family at the time was something that I needed to do.\u201d While going to university, she picked <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

up shifts in a tiny family restaurant where, \u201cit was only one person working, and that person did it all.\u201d Learning every task\u2014from greeting guests to closing at night\u2014gave her an early, unfiltered view of what real leadership on the floor looked like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she later walked into a restaurant in Toronto\u2019s financial district and got hired on the spot, she was still green\u2014but not for long. \u201cI started there as a host, a couple months later I went into serving,\u201d she recalls. \u201cThat quickly progressed into a leadership role because, as a mother, I wanted that kind of job security. I also loved just being in hospitality. I\u2019m a big foodie\u2026 I love creating moments and experiences for people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That mix of urgency and passion pushed her into bigger and bigger venues\u2014from neighbourhood spots to packed sports bars, from working in quick service at Scotiabank Arena during the Raptors\u2019 historic finals run to overseeing an $18-million operation doing 900 covers a night. Each step demanded more: longer hours, higher stakes, thicker skin. And at every turn, Brown had to prove that a young Black woman not only belonged in those spaces\u2014but could run them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, Brown made Kostuch Media\u2019s \u201cTop 30 Under 30 in Hospitality list\u2014an honour she shares, emotionally, with her family. \u201cWhen I got 30 under 30, it was a moment for my whole family,\u201d she says. \u201cNot just me. It\u2019s like, we did this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recognition put her on the radar of other operators, and after seven years with MLSE and six roles in six years, she was ready to see what she could do outside the organization where she\u2019d essentially grown up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2024, Harlo Entertainment approached her with an offer: open Playbook Commons at Hotel X as general manager. \u201cIt\u2019s my first GM role,\u201d she says. \u201cI joined in March; we opened at the end of May. I\u2019ve kind of been a lone wolf\u2014having some help from my directors\u2014but running the restaurant from the ground up has been a really great experience. The learnings have been continuous throughout, which I love. It\u2019s been a gift to learn that I can do things I never thought I could do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playbook Commons, a unique concept built for guests who want a polished, grown-up room where a steak dinner and the game carry equal weight, feels like the sum of everything she\u2019s learned so far. \u201cI would say it\u2019s our perfect addition to Hotel X,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s a really chic, refined Italian steakhouse in the hotel, but it\u2019s still approachable with a really great family-style menu and incredible wine selection. We have a sports theatre, and yet there are times we\u2019re also showing artwork on our screen. So, we can flip from a classy restaurant into a sports theatre style where people can still have great food, dine with us and have a great viewing experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underneath that polished CV, Brown is clear-eyed about how improbable her path can feel. Talking about becoming a mother at 17 and leaving home young, her voice catches. \u201cI really shouldn\u2019t be here,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes I feel that way.\u201d She doesn\u2019t mean she hasn\u2019t earned her place\u2014she\u2019s deeply proud of what she\u2019s built\u2014but she\u2019s acutely aware of the odds stacked against her. \u201cHaving a lot of responsibility and just being on my own from a really young age has really taught me responsibility and how to really show up for myself and never count myself out even when other people think that it might be over for me or that I\u2019m not capable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI remember being the first Black AGM at Real Sports, and then at E11even,\u201d she says. \u201cThere weren\u2019t many Black leaders, let alone female leaders, in my workspace at the time.\u201d Despite being a seasoned foodservice leader, a lack of representation meant that her age, appearance, and family status were often misread as liabilities. \u201cMy appearance\u2014being a woman of colour who presents herself aesthetically well\u2014people thought I was just a pretty face. Those are some of the main challenges I faced as a woman, and particularly as a woman of colour, in a male-dominant environment. I take care to show up as the best version of myself, but I have proven I\u2019m a smart, resourceful person, and my looks are just a bonus. I’ve managed to let that shine through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown also points out the persistent judgment around young motherhood. \u201cWhen I tell people, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m 32, I have a 14-year-old and a 4-year-old,\u2019 they\u2019re like, \u2018Whoa,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cPeople kind of judged me based on that, especially when I was younger. But that\u2019s been my secret weapon this whole time: my kids are my drive. Being a teen mother gave me a sense of purpose and pushed me to show my kids that they can be anything and deserve to be in spaces of influence and success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family has been central to that journey. \u201cWe really are like a one-of-a-kind pair,\u201d she says of her partner. \u201cNot too many people can go through what we\u2019ve been through and still grow together and learn that hard lesson that we did when we were really young. He\u2019s been my rock through this. He\u2019s really pushed me and made me believe in myself at times when I didn\u2019t and allowed me to take every opportunity that came my way. He\u2019s always been my number one supporter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those experiences shape the way she leads. Brown describes herself as a hands-on, empathetic manager who expects a lot and gives a lot. \u201cI can be tough,\u201d she admits, \u201cbut I\u2019m also very human. I know you\u2019re a human too. We all have things that we\u2019re going through, and that\u2019s a big part of hospitality.\u201d She makes a point of being physically present on the floor. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I wouldn\u2019t do in terms of showing up for my staff and the restaurant,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m helping clear tables with my staff and I\u2019m still on the front lines as well. No role\u2019s ever too small for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That respect flows both ways. \u201cIt\u2019s important to treat people how you want to be treated and to approach them as individuals, as responsible grown-ups,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve led teams with people of all ages and backgrounds, and I\u2019ve always been able to garner respect because I\u2019ve approached them the same way.\u201d Having felt small in previous workplaces, she\u2019s determined not to recreate that dynamic wherever she has the chance to lead by example. \u201cBeing someone who has felt small at times has helped me be more emotionally intelligent with my staff because I wouldn\u2019t want them to feel that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years of service have sharpened Brown\u2019s ability to read body language, anticipate needs and build relationships that last. She remembers what people enjoyed on previous visits and checks in about their lives. \u201cShowing staff and guests that you genuinely care about them, that you genuinely respect them, really does create value and a great hospitality environment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balancing that environment with a busy family life is an ongoing challenge, and she and her partner operate with what she calls a \u201ccan\u2019t fail\u201d attitude. \u201cI\u2019ve had so many different roles and shifts and hours; it\u2019s really not been easy,\u201d Brown admits. \u201cMy family has given me grace. We balance a busy household and schedule. You have to be organized, you have to be disciplined, and you have to be driven to make it happen. You can have everything. You can have a family, and you can be a mom and have a career. You don\u2019t have to choose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protecting her sense of self is part of that. \u201cI don\u2019t want to lose my \u2018Shantay\u2019 in my motherhood,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s important to have your own career, your own autonomy\u2014to have that thing that is yours and that you\u2019ve crafted for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because she never had a formal mentor, Brown is passionate about changing that for others. At MLSE, she helped lead an Employee Inclusion Group, planning Black History Month events and marketplace-style activations where staff could showcase their cultures and talents in addition to helping develop community and mentorship opportunities. \u201cIt was all about bringing people together, trying to uplift each other, create access and ways to support each other,\u201d she says. Without that kind of network, she believes, it\u2019s easy to get \u201clost in the cadence of the whole hierarchy and politics\u201d of corporate life\u2014especially as a person of colour. \u201cYou do have to have thick skin,\u201d she says. \u201cBut having someone that can guide you is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She sees enormous potential in building more spaces where Black women in hospitality can connect, share experiences and identify opportunities. \u201cI would love to be a part of more opportunities to be able to educate people on my journey,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s so much you can get from having conversations and opening up and having that network and community. It all comes down to that solidarity. Continuing to build spaces where we are being supportive of one another is the key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, she\u2019s still climbing in corporate hospitality\u2014eyeing an F&B director role\u2014while nurturing a long-term dream rooted in her culture. \u201cDown the line, I\u2019d love to open my own restaurant,\u201d she shares. \u201cI love to cook. A passion of mine is making Jamaican food. Watching these other restaurants blow up\u2026 it does make you feel like, \u2018Wow, it\u2019s possible.\u2019 That\u2019s my end goal, but I want to build my experience through all these different levels of leadership first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shantay\u2019s Advice<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Love the work\u2014and play the long game.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Pour yourself into work you genuinely love, and trust that with time, consistency, and relationships, that passion will carry you exactly where you want to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Move with grace but always advocate for yourself.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Carry yourself with professionalism and kindness, while still speaking up clearly for what you need and deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Don\u2019t lose yourself in anyone else\u2019s idea of you.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Let your own values and ambitions define who you are, not other people\u2019s expectations or ideas of who you should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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