Michael J. Mooney—General Manager
Michael graduated from Temple University in 1994. He comes to Rialto from the Mobil Five Star rated Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia where he was the sommelier and manager. Prior to that he opened and directed Atlantic City’s most successful gourmet restaurant, was the beverage director and dining room manager at Philadelphia’s Mealticket Inc. as well as the maitre d’ at the four-star restaurant Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine. He also worked as the online manager of Wineaccess.com.

Aja Amontea—Private Dining and Special Events Manager

Whether selecting linens, flowers and menus or making customized jewelry on the side, Aja gets involved in every detail of the weddings, luncheons and dinners she plans. She comes to Rialto with a wealth of event planning and design experience. While pursuing a masters degree in Media Studies at Emerson College, she spent four months covering Hollywood happenings during an internship at People magazine. She also caught the Italian bug while living for a semester in Sicily, painting in the theater at Taormina and picking up the language at the University of Messina. Although she can hob-knob with folks in L.A. or Italy, as a South Shore native, Aja knows this town inside and out.

Mana Sombutworrakul - Restaurant Manager

After growing up in Thailand and studying to be a medical technologist, Mana

moved to Boston to switch gears, learn English and dive into the fashion world. She pursued a degree at the School of Fashion Design and then opened a high-end fashion company called Ahteameala, designing clothes for young, professional women.

In Thailand, Mana had grown up surrounded by delicious food at her mother's 30-seat restaurant. She always loved meeting customers and so, when looking for a part-time job while studying in Boston, she naturally sought out a position at a Thai restaurant. The fit was such a success that she eventually bought the 20-seat Thai Palace and ran it for 4 years. She's dabbled in PR and currently hosts an online Thai variety show. Mana's thrilled to be back meeting customers in the dining room at Rialto but keeps her fashion sense alive at home where she has a small studio.

Kelly Coggins - Wine and Beverage Director             

The consummate Southern gentleman and self-proclaimed "wine geek," Kelly comes to Rialto with a pleasing Texan drawl and a passion for wine. During his freshman year at the Culinary Institute of America, Kelly discovered his oenophilia while sipping a glass of Bellenda Prosecco--ever since it has been Barbaresco, Barolo and Chianti. Kelly made his way to Boston in 2004 after graduating from the CIA. Since then, he has worked as a manager at The Federalist, assistant manager at The Wine Bottega and sales representative for Adonna Imports, Jeannie Rogers' Italian wine importing business.

Catherine Dry— PR and Marketing Manager
Catherine’s marketing background comes from both within and without the food world: she has promoted traditional foods from the Mediterranean, designed international reading campaigns for the childrens’ book publisher Scholastic, Inc. and imported cheeses from Italy for the specialty-food store Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, MA. Catherine studied Italian Literature at Wesleyan University, was a Fulbright Scholar in Trieste, Italy and received a MALD in International Business from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.  

Carolyn Johnson—Chef de Cuisine
Carolyn graduated from Wellesley College in 1996 with a degree in economics. After graduation, she took a job as a line cook at the now-closed Salamander in Cambridge. From there, she headed to Icarus in the South End, and then became a sauté cook at the highly-acclaimed Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine. As executive sous chef, Carolyn helps oversee all of the operations in the kitchen. She also works to promote the use of seasonal produce from local farmers, and is involved in the Chefs Collaborative group

Nuno Alves—Sous chef
As the youngest of 11 siblings, Nuno spent much of his childhood in his family’s Cambridge kitchen, where he learned traditional Portuguese cooking from his parents. He honed his culinary skills with jobs at a local bakery, butcher shop, and in the kitchen at Cambridge City Hospital. Nuno joined the Rialto team in July 2002, starting on the line as garde manger. Now, as sous chef, he specializes in butchering, and works with Chef Jody Adams on menu development.

Andrew Hebert—Sous chef

Hailing from Yorktown, Virginia, Drew hit Boston in 2005 after graduating from Johnson & Wales with a culinary degree. He has worked as a line cook at Blu in The Sports Club/LA in Boston as well as a sous chef at The Trellis in historic Williamsburg, VA. Drew grilled, fried and chopped his way up the line at Rialto and is now a sous chef. With an Italian Mom pulling on his heartstrings, Drew feels particularly fond of the classic Italian cuisine served at Rialto.

Susan Abbott —Pastry chef                                   
After receiving a B.S. in Conservation of Natural  Reserouces from the University of California, Berkeley, Susan took a turn into the food world. A graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, Susan has worked as a pastry chef at Shelbourne House in Shelbourne, VT, Sherborn Inn in Sherborn, MA, SuSu Bakery Boutique in Wellesely, MA and Foley's Bakery in Portland, ME, among other restaurants and bakeries. The Boston Globe restaurant critic Alison Arnett, in her recent four-star review of Rialto, proclaimed, "Rialto's dessert is a good course to linger over." She went on to say, "the buttermilk sherbet with mascarpone tart in a cornmeal crust, offset with blueberries soaked in grappa, really steals the show."