Haver carries on family tradition of culinary, customer service excellence at Fourth Estate

Olivia Haver, the new manager of the Fourth Estate Restaurant at the National Press Club, grew up in and around restaurants.

The daughter of a chef, she absorbed her father's passion for food and customer customer service and lived in a home where excellence in food preparation was the norm.

Her father helped develop and nurture a palette for food prepared correctly and eschewed limiting his child’s food exposure to kid-only food choices. It is a deep seated memory for Haber and something she aspires to emulate.

Haver comes to the Club after earning a degree in music from Penn State University, studying the double bass.

During college, Haver worked in the bakery and the alcohol sales division of Wegman’s, a supermarket famous for its commitment to superior customer service. Her bakery experience exposed her to a demanding food preparation environment. Alcohol sales provided an opportunity to interact with customers, pairing beers from around the world with menu items.

"Customers seldom realized that there were so many different styles of beer that could be served with salmon, depending on how they planned to prepare it," she said. "It was great to be able to tell them about some of my favorite micro-brewed beers in addition to brands with which they were already familiar. I enjoyed that sort of help for customers."

Most recently, Haver worked with a respected catering company in Northern Virginia, RSVP Catering. She coordinated events as diverse as a wedding for hundreds of guests at a winery in the Virginia countryside to an industry unveiling at the U.S. Botanical Garden.

She also organized diverse off-site events, including a farm devoted to rose production and a Mardi Gras party in a private school. The themes and level of sophistication ranged from burgers and Kobe beef hot dogs at a sports-themed party to smoked tomato on grilled polenta canapés for a private industry event.

As a musician, Haver performed at venues as renowned as the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall. She hopes to bring the same spirit of excellence to service and the dining experience at the Fourth Estate.