About the Team

Qamara Edwards:

While studying at Northwestern University, Qamara fell in love with the hospitality industry.  Restaurants and hospitality combine all her passions into one: making new friends, hosting friends to her “home” with amazing food and drinks, event planning, and the challenges of running a business – tapping into her strong entrepreneurial spirit. 

Qamara began honing her customer service and sales skills at Roger Brown’s Sports Bar & Restaurant in Portsmouth, VA, where she rose from server to dining room manager in eight short months.

She joined her family owned real estate business in 2003, which brought her to the Philadelphia area.  In her four years there, she oversaw the sales and marketing of two different single-family home developments and continued building her customer service skills.   Qamara met with clients at open houses and answered all sales inquiries and stayed with clients throughout their entire home building journey – including helping to select their customized selections and maintaining communications on their construction timeline. 

When that company closed, she joined Jefferson as the Ryan White grant coordinator.  Having no background in science, health care, or hospitals, she created the entire grant program from the ground up.  The grant enabled Jefferson to start an HIV testing program throughout the company’s entire emergency departments (at the time 3 different hospitals) and enrolled new patients in start of care.

Through the winding road of life, and longing to be back in restaurants (her true passion), she joined the Guest Counts Hospitality team to open Square Peg in Washington Square West, followed by transitioning the Loews Philadelphia Hotel from their restaurant, SoleFood, to their pop-up restaurant, Level 33 (as an interim for Bank and Bourbon).  With those experiences of opening two new restaurants, Qamara met fellow Northwestern alumna, Jill Weber and welcomed the opportunity to join the Sojourn Philly team in 2014, to help open the group’s third restaurant, Café Ynez.

Qamara took on more responsibilities as the Director of Business and Events in 2016.  Over the years, she has introduced the group’s restaurant and catering portfolio to guests through on-site private events and off-site community events, helping to increase revenues to over $6+ million annually.  In addition, she looked for new areas of business opportunities, whether that may be partnering with BYO restaurants for off-site pop-up events, community philanthropic events, or any chance to share how great the restaurants are with Philadelphia residents and visitors.  She remained instrumental in streamlining business practices through vendor relationships and staying abreast of new technological advances.

In 2023, the opportunity arose to join the team at the Kimpton Hotel Palomar Philadelphia.  While there for a year, Qamara oversaw a team of 3 direct reports and 45 hourly team members.  Responsibilities included P&L maintenance (including lowering expenses), hiring and training new team members, efficient labor management, and overseeing the banquet and events team.

A true consummate hospitality professional, Qamara also jumps at every chance to share her love of the entire Philadelphia hospitality community as President of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association.  This role became even more challenging and vital during the pandemic, as she served on many advisory committees with the city to help guide guidelines and restrictions for businesses in Philadelphia. 

Qamara understands that there is nothing greater than strong networks and partnerships and continues to be an ambassador for the entire hospitality industry in this position.  In addition, hospitality remains at the core of even her volunteer work with Bloktoberfest, MANNA, and the Ronald McDonald House.

With over 20 years working throughout various levels of hospitality, Qamara looks to bring her expertise to helping you grow your business by streamlining practices and organizing through company policies to guide your ship to success!

For more information about Qamara, find her on LinkedIn.

Interested in seeing Qamara at work?

Scroll for a collection of a few of her news interviews and mentions.

Qamara Edwards in the Press

Podcasts & Interviews:

Industry Insights & Restaurant Trends:

Outdoor Dining & Hospitality Policy:

COVID-19 & Public Health Policy:

Local Features & Community Impact: