Leadership Team

At age seven, when Zack Sklar began mastering perfectly cooked and seasoned omelets in his family’s suburban-Detroit kitchen, he made his career aspirations known: He’d be a successful chef someday.

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Zack began his career catering parties throughout New York's Hudson Valley. Word spread quickly, and soon Sklar was booking everything from intimate dinner parties to 250-person events.

During a visit to his hometown in 2008, Sklar noticed a need for high-quality catering options in the area. He jumped into the market, establishing Cutting Edge Cuisine in 2009. Today, his company operates as one of Michigan's premier caterers, serving clients including Google, Amazon, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Microsoft, and more.

In 2012, Sklar opened his first restaurant, Social Kitchen & Bar, a lively spot serving upscale comfort food and creative cocktails in downtown Birmingham, MI. Following the success of Social, Sklar and his company, Peas & Carrots Hospitality, have gone on to open 15 more restaurants in the Detroit and Chicago area — and he has no plans to slow down.

Sklar currently resides in Birmingham, but often travels to Europe, Australia and the Middle East for inspiration to bring to his current and future concepts. In his spare time, he enjoys hanging out with his rescue dog Barley, working out & cooking with friends and family.

Josh Humphrey has always enjoyed food and kitchens — one of his earliest memories is learning to cook eggs in his grandmother’s cast-iron pan when he was five years old.

During college at Central Michigan University, Josh worked in various restaurant kitchens but soon discovered that cooking was more than a way to pay tuition and rent. It was a passion.

After college in Michigan, Josh attended Johnson and Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina, graduating Magna Cum Laude. Over the past 25 years, he’s honed his culinary skills and led teams in restaurants across the country, including Mon Ami Gabi in Las Vegas and Sam & Harry’s Steakhouse in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

In 2013, Josh returned to his home state of Michigan to team up with Zack Sklar and they together built Peas & Carrots Hospitality. Under his leadership, the company has opened more than 15 restaurants in the Detroit and Chicago markets.

Josh currently resides in Troy with his wife and young daughter. In his spare time, he enjoys mountain biking, learning new cuisine, and rebuilding classic cars and motorcycles.

Jim L. Bellinson is the managing member and founder of Riverstone Communities, which owns and operates over 75 manufactured housing communities in 11 states.

While he’s most closely associated with his real estate ventures, Jim also has a passion for food. A frequent traveler, Jim has dined all over the world and says he’s always wondered “how the magic happens behind the scenes of a successful restaurant.” That curiosity led him to partner with Zack Sklar to co-found Peas & Carrots Hospitality in 2012.

Before his foray into the hospitality world, in 2007, Jim became an organizer and board member of Level One Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The company went public in 2018 and merged with First Merchants Bank (NASDAQ: FRME) in 2022.

Additionally, in 2015, he co-founded Brilliant Detroit, a non-profit that purchases homes in underserved Detroit neighborhoods and converts them into free, early-childhood-learning centers. Serving thousands of participants annually in 18 Detroit neighborhoods, Brilliant Detroit is dedicated to building successful families and neighborhoods where children aged 0-8 have access to essential resources for school-readiness, health, and stability.