David Quintana, the former executive chef at cocktail bar Dot Dot Dot, started a new position this week as the executive chef for Dimensional Fund Advisors. There, he’ll oversee company dining and catering when the company moves into its new space at 1515 South Tryon Street.

Quintana started at Dot Dot Dot two weeks after it opened in Park Road Shopping Center, changing the menu drastically and putting his knowledge of charcuterie to use. Under Quintana, the food was dependably excellent and fit the vibe of the dark, elegant space.

“It took a lot of transforming, but we built that thing together,” Quintana says. “It was not the vision that they had food-wise, but we built it, and everybody feels really good about it. Stephen, our GM, he’s the best dude. I can’t even say how much that [he and owners Stefan Huebner and Conrad Hunter] helped me and how much I love those guys. But when I found out I was having a baby, I knew it wasn’t going to work.”

Quintana and his wife welcomed a baby girl, their third child, in September. To help make his schedule more family-friendly, Hunter and Huebner shifted his position to include overseeing the kitchens at Foxcroft Wine Co. When he saw the job posting for the Monday through Friday daytime position with DFA, however, he knew he had to apply.

“I’ve been thinking about myself and my career for so long, and still going to be doing what I like, I’m just going to be out of the mainstream,” Quintana says.

Now, he’ll be home from work before dinner. As executive chef at DFA, he will oversee a massive kitchen and 14 to 15 employees, who will manage food stations including rotisserie, sushi, pastas, soups, and salads. Who else wants a job at DFA now? —Kristen Wile

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