Rose Previte

Rose Previte is the founder of Washington, DC’s acclaimed restaurants Compass Rose, Michelin-starred Maydan and Kirby Club, and is the author of "Maydan, Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond," named one of the best cookbooks of the year by Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and Epicurious in 2023.

Raised in a food-loving Sicilian-Lebanese family, Previte started working in food in her mother's restaurant and Middle Eastern catering business. Her first restaurant was inspired by spending nearly three years traveling to over 30 countries, which led to the opening of Compass Rose in 2014. The pioneering restaurant dedicated to global flavors went on to be named the 2017 RAMMY award-winner for best casual restaurant, and appeared on every best restaurant list in DC. In 2017, she opened Maydan, quickly earning acclaim on “Best New Restaurants in America” lists from national media including Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, GQ and Eater. Maydan was named a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best New Restaurant 2018 and for Outstanding Wine Program in 2022 and has earned a one star Michelin rating.

In 2022, Previte also co-founded and launched Go There Wines, a social enterprise company created with the aim of disrupting the global wine industry, bringing to market trailblazing wines made by women and other underrepresented winemakers from lesser-known wine-making regions around the world. That same year, she introduced ​​Kirby Club, a casual kebab-centric Eastern Mediterranean restaurant.

Previte was previously the host of local PBS affiliate WETA's "Check, Please! DC.” As a prominent and progressive small business entrepreneur, she has attracted recognition including Washington Business Journal’s “40 under 40” and Washingtonian’s “40 Under 40” and “Most Powerful Women in Washington” awards. In 2023, she was named “Restaurateur of the Year” by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.