Speaker: Mark Canlis ’97 & Brian Canlis ‘01, Co-Owners Canlis Restaurant

Watch Mediasite Video

Mark Canlis

The second of three sons, Mark grew up in a restaurant family. He joined Canlis in 2003 after graduating from Cornell University and serving as a Captain in Air Force Special Operations. He met his wife, Anne Marie, while opening famed restaurateur Danny Meyer’s fifth restaurant, Blue Smoke, in Manhattan. After stints at both Union Square Cafe and Eleven Madison Park, Mark returned to Canlis in Seattle to spearhead the generational transfer and modernization that has garnered the family business national acclaim as one of the finest restaurants in America. He now owns and operates Canlis restaurant with his brother, Brian. He and Anne Marie reside on Queen Anne with their three children, six chickens, and a bird dog.

Brian Canlis 

After graduating from Cornell in 2001, Brian spent four year serving in the United States Air Force before returning to Seattle to join his brother Mark at the helm of Canlis: the landmark restaurant built by their grandfather in 1950. In 2014 he spent time in New York City helping to open the NoMad Bar alongside classmate Will Guidara. Outside the restaurant, Brian hosted the country’s preeminent event on hospitality, The Welcome Conference and has appeared as a judge on Top Chef and a guest on No Reservations with Anthony’s Bourdain.