James Brennan, CEO

James Brennan has received national recognition for his success as a restaurateur and nightclub owner. He is the founder of Enlightened Hospitality Group, which held Stingaree, and continues to hold the Fabric Family restaurants, including Searsucker and Herringbone.

Combining his expertise in launching businesses and his entrepreneurial approach to building buzz and excitement, Brennan also helped lead the charge of Suja Juice’s launch and groundbreaking success as one of the co-founders. Today, Suja is one of the fastest growing juice companies in the country, and was recently featured in Forbes as the second most promising company in America.

Recently, he has created the venture building firm, Enlightened Brand Ventures, where he has co-founded both Dizzle, a mobile branding app for the real estate industry and Kopari, a health and beauty line based around coconut oil.  He is also a partner in Original Grain, which uses only the most exotic wood to create high fashion watches. 

His success, however, is also defined by his dedication to philanthropy. He believes in the power of giving back and uses this success to make a difference in his community — locally and globally.

Brennan sits on the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities of San Diego, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and is an active member of the San Diego Chapter of YPO.  He was the driving force behind Rockaway Reach, a disaster relief fund created in the aftermath of the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Sandy on the communities of Breezy Point, Belle Harbor, and the Rockaways, in Brennan’s hometown of Rockaway, NY. His relief work led to a profile on “60 Minutes” with reporter Scott Pelley in November 2012. In 2013, Brennan was named Big Brothers Big Sisters 2013 Person of the Year.