Deano: From weather hunk to mogul?
Tags: Dean Tendrich, florida, Hurricane Bar and Grill, John Favole, Laura Harring, Roxanne Stein, Steve Buscemi, Stuart, Wellington Green, WPTV
| Tuesday 24 February 2009 10:42 am
Almost a year to the day he left his 10-year job as WPTV-Channel 5 morning weatherman, Dean Tendrich is rock’n’rolling.
Help the family develop new senior-living community in Wellington?
Check. Devonshire at Wellington Green should open in 2011.
Enter the restaurant franchising game?
Check! Along with two other investors, Gail Meyer (as in Meyer Amphitheatre) and big Dennys franchisee John Metz, Tendrich bought the assets of the Hurricane Grill & Wings chain from Hoffman’s Chocolate CEO Fred Meltzer.
How ‘bout putting some cash in showbiz?
Check! “Deano” just invested in two art-house flicks, Handsome Harry with Steve Buscemi and Sweet 15, probably with Mulholland Dr. hottie Laura Harring.
Recession? What recession?
“The restaurants are one of those things I didn’t think I’d get involved in when I quit TV,” Tendrich told me the other day at the chain’s Stuart restaurant. “But Hurricane Grill is one of the only chains of Florida-themed restaurants left. There are 30 stores in Florida and we’re planning for 600 countrywide. Can you imagine how well a place that says Florida could do in Omaha in the middle of winter?”
Let’s see: a former Florida forecaster taking over eateries named Hurricane?
Makes sense, especially since Tendrich talked TV audiences between Vero Beach and Boca through five of those.
Tendrich says the time’s just right for his grills. For that, he’s got the tanking economy to thank. A family of four could eat for about $40.
“No matter what, people are still going out,” Tendrich said, as he dipped in a sampler of wings, the house specialty. “Our thing is the choice of 37 wing sauces. I haven’t tried them out yet.”
As for the movie business, Tendrich sees gold there, too.
“Having been in television, and all, I always wanted to be involved with movies,” he said. “Handsome Harry is geared to possibly being shown at the Cannes Film Festival. Fewer big films are being made, so smaller films have a better chance of getting distributed. People may pass up an expensive trip, but they’ll continue going to the movies.”
So, does he miss being on the tube?
“Of course. I loved the audience and the morning crew (at the time Roxanne Stein and John Favole). But egos often keep TV people in the business too long. I didn’t want to go through that.”
Deano- Congrats!!!! I have eaten at Hurricane Grill and love it!!
Miss you on Channel 5 - but we must all reinvent ourselves.
Good luck.
Thanks for the head’s up. I will be sure to avoid the Hurricane Bar and Grille.
This guy was the worst weatherman ever. “Weather hunk?” Are you serious? I thought this article was a joke.
Deano is missed and we wish him well but we liked Rob Lopicola better.Please do a story about his whereabouts .
Melvina
Yes, Dean was great!
The big ego’s ?……..could it be ROXANNE ??
And where and what’s up with Rob Lopicola? Be great to know what he is up to, I was away when he left and never did get the scoop on what happended. ?
i think you are all player hating on the man…. let the man be….i think dean was a wonderful weather man and had an awesome personality and attitude…..you go dean make it BIG…..miss seeing you do the weather every morning
Dean has a very soothing voice–you felt ‘at home’ and calm when he was on….he was part of a great weather team and he is missed. His personality was magnetic….I enjoyed listening to his upbeat happy forecasts and chit chat with the gang. I’ll check out his restaraunt.
I was just thinking of Dean this morning while watching the news in Greenville, SC and remembering how much I loved to watch him every morning with Roxanne and John! He was so funny and made waking up early not so bad. I met him once at his yard sale and could not believe how “real” he was. I wish him all the best - he deserves it!
Teri Varnadore - Greenville, SC
Kudos to Dean. Even though he came across as friendly and personable, I was indifferent to him as a weatherman because it’s all just a guessing game. At least that’s what it seems like. I am just happy that he took a chance at something that’s paying off. I am proud and happy for him. That’s the way to make it. Go Dean.
Really miss Dean - YES, Rick S. Dean was a HUNK! So cute and funny, very nice. Sounds like Rick is a bit jealous of Dean’s good fortune. Congratulations Dean.
Yeah, what happened with Rob?
Dean seems super nice and I always loved the food at Hurricane Bar & Grill. I will probally eat there alittle bit more often because of Dean. I like seeing him on those Devonshire at Wellington Green commercials. Keep up the good work!
Nice to hear someone is doing well in this economy. GO DEAN!! And lookout Trump!
Dean seems like a nice guy. A good weather presenter pI think not, but then again this market lacks a real true blue good meteorologist on the tube. They are all the same on West Palm tv and they suck. Quit reading the National weather Service forecast ok !!!!
It is wrong for a man have a rich woman or a woman have a wealthy man?
It is an absolutely extramarital relationship. but more and more services come out on Internet focusing on this kind of relationship. such as *****su g ar mi ngle. c cccom*****.. It’s the biggest dating site for wealthy and suclessful people.
Congrats Dean. As a transplant from Boston a few years ago, he was a welcomed site on the morning news, professional and to the point. Just what you need from a weather broadcast. The new business opportunities sound great and wish him luck. It isn’t easy today with the economic inertia. I have enjoyed Hurricane Grill & Wings on a few visits. It’s got lots of potential. If you need a good marketing company in WPB for your businesses, send me an email, more than happy to help out a proactive business person.
I’m in Miami now, but when I lived in WPB, Dean was my ONLY weatherman. Lopicola’s leaving was a complicated siyuation, you’d have to know him (I did) and be in the life.
[...] factored into her decision to join in the food industry former Channel 5 morning weatherman Dean Tendrich. Tendrich quit last year and ended up buying the Hurricane Grill & Wings [...]
Lopicola left WPTV a few years ago. Or was it the other way around? What was interesting was that shorlty after he was no longer employed by WPTV, he was the grand marshall for some “rainbow” parade in Lake Worth. Regardless of whether you take the “Seinfeld” episode response…”not that there’s anything wrong with that”…doesn’t mean anything when it comes to Broadcast Journalism. You cannot flaunt your personal life in the public’s eye and expect the executives, or the public to look the other way. Now that Rob is in the media eye yet again…and this time it’s for a more serious offense…is only giving him more of a reason to just leave town.
Are you kidding me, Jose. I know that you are a gossip columnist but wouldn’t investigative journalism , at least, be amusing.
Investigate this guy and his family and maybe you will quit promoting him (them).
“Mr. Nice Guy” has a past. CHeck into it.