Erik Oberholtzer co-founded Tender Greens in 2006 in Culver City, California. Tender Greens is a fine-casual dining concept with 24 locations and growing. Erik manages this growing team of talent along with some exciting new brands. He also co-founded P. Balistreri Salumi Company, the first of the chef legacy companies he has helped incubate and bring to market through Tender Greens. Erik earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Temple University in Pennsylvania and a degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island.

Along with food, philanthropy is a big focus for Erik. He is the founder of the Tender Greens Sustainable Life Project, a program aimed to assist at-risk youth to develop new skills and career intentions through structured culinary training and farm exposure. Along with this program, Erik has supported The Heroes Project for years and provides all the meals to participants at our Climb and Cycle for Heroes events. He has joined our Board of Directors to help advance the work we do and teach lessons of limitless possibilities.