Our Team

Constantine Katsifis

Owner and Chief Executive Officer

Constantine Katsifis was raised in East Brunswick, he attended East Brunswick High School, ran track and worked at the Colonial Diner as a busboy. After graduation he attended Rutgers University, double majoring in English and Engineering. During this time period, he engaged in the family business by working at the Americana Diner.

Since his first day operating the Americana Diner in 1990, Constantine Katsifis has embraced and focused on guest satisfaction and improvement. He has transformed Americana Hospitality Group (AHG) from a “one store owner and operator” to include multiple locations that serve over 25,000 guests each week. AHG now consists of Americana Diner in East Windsor, Skylark Fine Diner and Lounge in Edison and the legendary banquet hall Pines Manor in Edison with a total of over 350 employees. By offering careers in hospitality and not “just jobs” AHG is poised to continue exponential growth with significant increases in profitability.

During the last two decades, he has redefined the diner category in New Jersey by continually improving food quality, service and ambiance. This vision earned Skylark Diner and Lounge their highest rating of “Don’t Miss” from the New York Times, the first ever for a diner. Mr. Katsifis believes you place your management and employees above all and they in turn create a much better experience for the guests. This belief has produced off-the-charts retention rates for management and staff. The combination has produced double-digit, year-over-year growth.

The management team working with Mr. Katsifis upholds the Company’s primary operating philosophy that guests are earned one at a time through personal interaction and delivering on his simple yet powerful message: “Our Effort is Our Distinction.” He believes that dedicated efforts in a focused direction over time pays the greatest dividend and continues to lead by example.

Constantine continues to set this example by staying active in charitable and civic organizations. His most notable charity includes the Embrace Kids Foundation where he is on the Board of Directors. AHG continues to support this charity by donating food for the yearly walk-a-thon at Johnson Park, Dance Marathon at Rutgers University and Annual Dinner. Additionally, he works with East Windsor’s Community Action Service Center and has been a recipient of the Civic Activist Award. By partnering with them for more than 10 years, AHG has provided thousands of families with a Thanksgiving dinner.

Tory Roth

General Manager – Americana Diner

Tory Roth started her career with Americana in 2002 as a server while attending Rutgers University studying Comparative Literature and Spanish. This was a perfect time to discover what she wanted to do with her career. Immediately she fell in love with the hospitality industry. Management at AHG noticed her natural abilities as a true people person and leadership skills.

Tory was given the opportunity to manage at Americana during construction of the new Skylark Fine Diner and Lounge in Edison, NJ. To gain more life experiences she traveled to Spain in an abroad program with Rutgers University. When the management team was being constructed at Skylark, Tory was a rising star and hand-picked to join the team. She gladly accepted this opportunity to be part of the new endeavor. As a member of the opening team she oversaw training, hiring and operational procedures.

In 2008 Tory was promoted to General Manager at Skylark. During her time as General Manager, Skylark received the prestigious Four Star “Don’t Miss” review from the New York Times, becoming the first diner ever to receive a Four Star rating.

In 2011 Tory came back to her roots as the General Manager of Americana Diner.

Dan Cummings

Executive Chef

Danny Cummings is Executive Chef of the Americana Diner. During a distinguished career, he has helped develop the culinary reputations of a number of fine dining establishments in New Jersey.

He joined Americana in 2006 to help owner Constantine Katsifis realize his vision of reinventing the diner experience with a menu based on high quality, sensibly priced food. Prior to coming to Americana, Cummings served as chef at Grenville Bed & Breakfast in Bayhead, New Jersey. The Inn was recognized for culinary artistry.

For seven years before that, he worked at Peach Tree restaurant in Belmar, New Jersey. One of the strengths he developed at Peach Tree is his keen ability to source fresh, local ingredients to help ensure flavor forward dishes.