Matthew Gundlach

Sommelier/General Manager

Moto Restaurant

Matthew Gundlach admits that he was first attracted to the hospitality industry for the free golf, one of the perks he enjoyed while working at several private country clubs in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. What surprised him was his growing interest in spending time off the greens and in the dining room. Over the next decade, Matt committed himself to pursuing a career in the hospitality industry. Working at some of the finest restaurants and clubs in Madison allowed him to develop a finely tuned palette. It also allowed him to perfect his personable style of polished service. Taking his young, promising career to the next level, he moved to Chicago, having landed a position on the wine team at the esteemed Charlie Trotter’s.

While at Trotter’s, Gundlach was invaluable, working alongside some of the most talented wine professionals in the country. With regular on-site and off-site wine tastings, one-on-one meetings with wine producers and ongoing training at this four-star mecca, he elevated his wine skills to the highest standards. A mutual friend introduced him to Chef Homaro Cantu, who also once worked at Trotter’s. Chef Cantu recognized Gundlach’s passion and offered him the opportunity to join the moto team, spearheading the wine and beverage program. With Postmodern cuisine just beginning to emerge, Gundlach saw this new position as a challenging and thrilling offer – one that quickly paid off. Recognized for his potential, dedication and leadership skills, Cantu soon promoted him to General Manager.

As General Manager, and Director of Operations for the Moto Management Group, Matt rounds out the young, dynamic restaurant team. As sommelier and wine director, Gundlach constructs wine progressions to compliment Cantu’s tasting menus. These are best described as eclectic, cult wines from regions spanning the globe.

Gundlach is the first to say that, “There is something enjoyable in every glass of wine; it’s just up to the guest to experiment and have a little fun along the way.”

Dan Schwarzlose

Office Manager & Events Coordinator

A proud native of Evanston, Illinois, Dan first dined at Moto in November 2004 as an MFA candidate who was exploring the intersection of art and food; that meal completely changed his life. Since then, he has collaborated with Chef Cantu, and the Moto Team to create videos, edible books and poems, and multi-sensory, artistic dinner parties that have explored synesthesia, color-themed music, and a multi-disciplinary reinterpretation of the Futurist Cookbook (originally published in 1932) in honor of its 75th anniversary.

Dan also conceived and completed an independent study with Chef Cantu as part of his graduating MFA thesis in 2006. For years, he has traveled around the world with chefs Cantu and Roche to showcase Moto’s seminal culinary creations and to help facilitate special dinners and presentations at the James Beard House, Madrid Fusion Gastronomical Summit, and a victorious battle against Chef Masaharu Morimoto on Iron Chef America. Today, he is the very enthusiastic and friendly person who likely answers your call when you make a reservation for a private or group event at Moto or iNG Restaurant (ingrestaurant.com)

A classically-trained trumpet player who performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 16, Dan studied music and literature at Northwestern University, and earned his MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Media from Columbia College Chicago. When he is not working at Moto, he is passionately preserving and promoting traditional Cambodian music, which has been threatened with extinction since the 1970’s Khmer Rouge genocide. Dan’s favorite artists are Salvador Dalí, Antoni Gaudí, László Maholy-Nagy, Gustav Mahler, Dizzy Gillespie, James Brown, Ros Sereysothea, Björk…and Homaro Cantu.