A tireless pursuit of the bounty of seasonal ingredients, a new home rich in culture and community and a passion for Italian culinary traditions led Chef McNee to Santa Barbara and the opening of Convivo. McNee describes the cooking at Convivo as ‘nomad Italian’, sourcing inspiration from around the globe, melding other cultures’ cooking with coastal Italian cuisine. Themenu is subject to the seasonality and the hyper local availability of ingredients from Santa Barbara County. Simple ingredients shine in the hands of Chef McNee.

 A native of Minnesota, Peter moved to California after receiving a degree in Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College. He attended the California Culinary Academy in 1999 while working at Jeremiah Tower’s famed STARS restaurant, building relationships with local farmers. This farm-to-table approach has remained a constant throughout his career. Upon graduation, he headed to wine country where McNee continued his culinary education at Ristorante TraVigne in the Napa Valley. Restless with his stateside education, Peter embarked on a yearlong culinary pilgrimage to Italy. He worked at Ristorante Campagnola in Salo, Italy and for Alain Ducasse trained and Tuscan born Chef Matteo Temperini at Hotel Bel Soggiorno in San Gimignano,Italy. While Chef McNee was living with his host families, cooking and traveling throughout the country, he fell in love with Italian food and culture.

 Returning to the Bay Area, he was drawn to iconic restaurateur Larry Mindel, the founder of Il Fornaio restaurants, and their shared passion for Italy. As Executive Chef at Mindel’s Sausalito restaurant, Poggio,a lasting friendship and partnership formed. In 2009 Chef McNee took top honors at San Francisco’s Cochon 555 competition. At Poggio, he earned multiple 3-star reviews from the San Francisco Chronicle and placement within the coveted “Top 100 Restaurants in the Bay Area” rankings every year since 2008. Michael Bauer,food critic to the San Francisco Chronicle writes of Chef McNee,” You can practically taste the chef's passion in each and every bite.”

 Peter McNee recently moved his family to Santa Barbara, launching Convivo with business partner Larry Mindel. “Santa Barbara’s bounty of ingredients rivals that of the Bay Area. It’s a special place, rich with wonderful artists, small independent farmers, ranchers, fisherman and vintners. This community of artisans is a big reason my wife and I wanted to live in Santa Barbara and raise our young son here."

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nahigian first became interested in hospitality while growing up in a family that entertained frequently.  He was an English major at the University of Rhode Island, but during his free time he always worked in restaurants.  Upon returning to L.A., he began also working in wine retail at the Pasadena Wine Merchants where he studied wine at their in-house classes. Concurrently he began working at PF Chang’s, and he moved to the Newport Beach location to manage.  After a year, he entered the California Culinary Academy, earning a degree in hospitality management.

While at the Academy, Nahigian worked at San Francisco’s prestigious Napa Valley Winery Exchange which specializes in small-production California wines.  He then moved to work at Poggio Trattoria, Larry Mindel’s three-star Italian restaurant in Sausalito.  At Poggio, he began as an extern soon becoming manager, until finally a wine director position was created expressly for him.  While at Poggio he and the chef traveled to Alba, Italy to further explore wine regions and experience the white truffle season.  When not working, he spent time in Napa where building relationships with vineyard managers, winemakers, and winery owners.  His final project before leaving was creating a private-label wine program for Poggio.  He spent four years at Poggio before moving to New York to help open La Fonda Del Sol as Assistant General Manager and Wine Director.

Nahigian went to Spain for an extended stay, driving and visiting vineyards, to prepare for the opening.  During this time, Nahigian found many similarities in Spanish food and wines to the Italian and Californian traditions he was accustomed to.  The simplicity of Spanish ingredients, family-style presentation, and style of dining all struck him, along with the beauty and quality of small vineyards.  His goal at La Fonda is to showcase the variety of quality of Spanish wines, from the smallest off-the-beaten-path producers to the more well-known.  He worked closely with Chef Josh DeChellis to find pairings between the wine and food, enhancing the creative, yet classic atmosphere of a Spanish tapas restaurant.

After a year and half at La Fonda, Nahigian moved into the roll as General Manager while continuing his duties as Wine Director.  With goals of improving profitability and service, La Fonda thrived for the next year.  Working closing with the other Patina units on advice for their wine programs, Patina Restaurant Group created the position of Regional Wine Director for New York.

Nick returned to San Francisco’s Financial District to work at the prestigious Perbacco Ristorante with his mentor, Umberto Gibin, fine-tuning his skills for genuine hospitality and classic service.   As General Manager, he worked closely with Gibin in making sure that Perbacco was always staying ahead of the game while maintaining its classic roots and reputation for one of the best restaurants in Northern California. 

After a few years, Nick decided he wanted to learn the operations of how a developing restaurant group grows, and so called his friend of 30 years, Mike Simms of Simms Restaurants.  He worked at Simmzy’s concepts and helped open the Burbank location.  He most recently was beverage director and service manager at their flagship restaurant Tin Roof Bistro in Manhattan Beach where he worked closely with the owner on restructuring the beverage program including instituting a wine training seminar for the hourly team.

He and his fiancée Laurie are very excited to relocate to beautiful Santa Barbara and rejoin his old friends Peter, Amy, Larry, and Michael as they guide Convivo into its second year.

Growing up in culture rich Chicago, IL, surrounded by culinary enthusiasts, it is no surprise that Amy Svendberg ended up leading a life in restaurants. Amy not only has a zest for food and wine, but also has experience in top-rated eateries around the world.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in French Business and Translation from Northern Illinois University, Amy headed straight for Paris, where her true passion for food and hospitality came to life. After five years in the lively restaurant world of Paris, Amy returned home to Chicago, continuing her career in food and hospitality, including four years as the general manager at Kimpton Group’s Atwood Café.

In 2007, Amy made her move to San Francisco, where she started at the famed Grand Café and soon crossed paths with Larry Mindel. “I was originally drawn to work for Larry because of his great reputation in the restaurant industry, and the outstanding talent in their kitchens,” says Amy. She became managing partner of Poggio in January of 2008, and poured herself wholeheartedly into every aspect of the dining experience from greeting guests at the door, to serving plates, to regularly collecting feedback from servers on how to offer the best possible environment for guests. In 2012, Amy added another role to her successful career, that of managing partner overseeing the opening and operations of Copita Tequileria y Comida.

“Opening Convivo is an incredible opportunity to continue a wonderful partnership with Larry and Peter, and share our love for Italian cuisine and culture with Santa Barbara,” shared Amy.

When not at the restaurants, Amy enjoys rock climbing, running, spending time with her son, and doting on her English bulldog, Beautiful Sophie. She lives in San Francisco.