Justin Dunne
Bio
USA
Justin Dunne:
Justin, a California native, grew up in the Gold Country with vegetarian parents and a minimal allowance of sugar.
Remember carob, unsweetened Shredded Wheat and Creedence Clearwater Revival?
Justin does.
While his upbringing did not start with a varied culinary or beverage background, by the time he was in high school he spent the summers working in Amador County’s famed Shenandoah Vineyards while his father was establishing a long career with the Sacramento Bee as it’s Food & Wine Editor. His father’s career, as he was writing so much about food, led the family to ditch the veggie patties, tofu stew and other vegetarian dishes. Simultaneously, it created a strong interest in how eye-opening the Food & Beverage industry was.
After finishing his studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (he holds two degrees, both with cum laude honors), Justin’s theatrical work (Justin is also a graduate of the esteemed Joanne Baron / DW Brown School of Theatrical Arts, Los Angeles) picked up simultaneously with continuous work at several of Los Angeles’s top nightspots.
Although Justin had enough success to work on highly rated television shows such as Silk Stockings and Pensacola it was the time he was putting in behind the bars that was netting him the most recognition. “It was all a lot of happy accidents. While I was going on auditions during the day, I was fortunate enough to have a lot of success finding work at many of LA’s busiest and well known bars and nightclubs.”
Shenandoah Vineyards, California
Amador County, California
University of California, Los Angeles
BANGKOK
In 2005, while contemplating a move to Hong Kong, Justin received an opportunity to manage the bar at Bed Supperclub in Bangkok and never looked back.
By 2007, Justin was promoted to the General Manager position at Bed Supperclub and kept the venue as Bangkok’s leading hot spot throughout his reign, which ended in June 2012. During Justin’s last 2 years at Bed, Bed Supperclub was recognized by the prestigious DJ Magazine as one of the Top 50 Clubs in the world.
In August 2012 he joined the globally recognized lifestyle brand Ku De Ta as the Director of Bars & Clubs (an opening set up originally of 7 bars, 3 restaurants, and 2 nightclubs). In April 2014, Justin left Ku De Ta to create Namsaah Bottling Trust with friends and business partners, Chef Ian Kittichai and Frederic Meyer.