Gaurav “G” Patel’s story begins in the small farming village of Zervavra, in the Northern Indian state of Gujarat. As a child, he was given a plot of land and was told to grow small crops in order to obtain funds for school supplies. This was his first successful business venture.
At 10 years old, G and his family moved to Morehead City, North Carolina. Upon his arrival in the United States, G spoke no English. Twenty-one years later, Patel has become a staple name in the Triangle dining scene, creating and managing over a dozen top-ranking Triangle restaurants and employing more than 500 people in the area.
His journey as an entrepreneur began when G moved to Raleigh to pursue a degree in business at North Carolina State University. Through the duration of his education, G directed his attention to the area’s potential for business opportunity and decided to begin the foundation of a local hospitality company in Raleigh. Since the business conception in 2006, G grew the company’s presence with multiple restaurant concepts across the Triangle and set a standard for the restaurant industry locally.
Eschelon Experiences
Eschelon Experiences is committed to providing guests at all of our concepts with a one-of-a-kind experience, offering distinctive dishes and a stylish atmosphere to enjoy food, drinks, and time spent with family and friends.
Eschelon Experiences was founded by Gaurav “G” Patel in 2006 with the purpose of developing and delivering exciting and unique hospitality concepts to the Raleigh-Durham area.
Eschelon began when G purchased Mura in North Hills, and the remaining restaurant concepts soon followed. In 2013, Eschelon rebranded with help from the brand identity experts at Engine, changing its name to “Eschelon Experiences” to better portray the one-of-a-kind approach to dining and entertainment provided by the chefs and rest of the staff at each of our four Raleigh, NC concepts.
Visit Eschelon Experiences’ Raleigh, NC establishments: The Haymaker, located in Downtown Raleigh on Fayetteville St.; Cameron Bar and Grill, located in historic Cameron Village; Edwards Mill Bar and Grill located in Olde Raleigh Village; and Mura, located in the North Hills Shopping Center.
Social House Vodka
G is one of the founding partners behind Social House Vodka. Part of the goal with SOCIAL HOUSE® vodka is to inspire change in the way we work and live. Across America, friends, colleagues, and neighbors gather much as we do in small local watering holes, restaurants, parks, and backyards.
‘There’s nothing better than getting together and catching up with one another. No agenda, no pretense – just a moment to relax and be yourself.
While the people we’re with and the experiences we enjoy together leave the strongest impression, for us, these gatherings are never complete without sharing in our mutual love of vodka. After one such occasion, it suddenly struck us: wherever we are, as long as we have a group of friends nearby and a trusted vodka in hand, ‘we’ve found our Social House. Wanting to share the joy of these seemingly small moments on a larger scale, we made the perfect complement to great times with great people — the new standard for high-quality American vodka, which we named “SOCIAL HOUSE®.”
To be rather than to seem. We take that very seriously at SOCIAL HOUSE® Vodka. We ‘don’t want to seem like a great American vodka; we want to be a great American vodka. ‘That’s why we very purposefully choose sustainable ingredients from local North Carolina growers and suppliers that we know and trust. Our distillery sources water via the Black Creek aquifer to ensure that the flavors of these exceptional ingredients come through in your glass. ‘It’s here that water has filtered through fine salt and pepper sands for tens of thousands of years before making its way into our stills. This natural filtration process allows us to make a vodka of unsurpassed purity and flavor. We not only care about what goes into our vodka; we care about what comes after it as well. As a net-zero operation, we power our distillery with excess organic material and supply our local farming partners with the rest. We measure true success by more than just a robust bottom line. ‘That’s why we strive to be model corporate citizens, investing in our community, and supporting responsible drinking programs locally and abroad.
Learn More About Social House Vodka
Community Involvement
In addition to his business ventures, G demonstrates the importance of civic responsibility by working closely with nonprofit groups including the Tammy Lynn Center for Developmental Disabilities, Raleigh City Farm, Band Together, and Hope for Haiti Foundation. In addition to non-profit work, G regularly participates as a guest speaker and advisor for academic and leadership programs including the NC State Poole College of Management Jenkins Graduate School Global Luxury and Management board, NC State Entrepreneurship Clinic, as well as the Shelton Leadership Center. He has also served as a new mentor at Council for Entrepreneurial Development: CED, bringing in a unique focus outside of life science and tech.
In October of 2019, G became part of the “Real Men Wear Pink” campaign on behalf of the American Cancer Society, sharing, “As a son, a husband, a father, and a brother to some of the most important women in my life, it’s important to me to create awareness for breast cancer.”
Awards and Acknowledgements
In 2015, G was presented with a 40 Under 40 Award from the Triangle Business Journal. This award recognizes 40 individuals under the age of 40 who have provided great contributions to their organization and to the community.
The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Associaton (NCRLA) named G Patel as Restauranteur of the Year in 2018.
Many Thanks
G’s work endeavors would not be possible without the support of his loving wife, Julie, their daughter Zara, and son Azil. G also enjoys traveling and mentoring young minds.