Mark Allen Caesar is a hospitality developer / entrepreneur / philanthropist / brand developer / musician / producer from Boston, MA. He is best known for creating, developing and building many high profile projects in Boston, Miami and Los Angeles. Caesar also has released several house music hits in the 90s as a producer/remixer with the groups Caesar&Manolo and the Drama Queens.
Early life
Born Mark Allen Cicia, he grew up in Wakefield, MA, was trained early as a musician, and entered Berklee College of Music in Boston two weeks after graduating Wakefield High School in 1986.
Music Industry Career
At Berklee he met Leo Mellace and Steve Catizone and after three years of playing the local scene and producing recordings for several acts in Boston, he graduated from Berklee and moved west to Los Angeles. For over four years he worked as an assistant and personal manager for Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band, Jason Scheff of the rock group Chicago, and music producer/director Michael Dorian (The Gap Band, Robert Palmer, Jody Watley).
While in LA he met drummer David King and formed the acid jazz/pop group House of Hep. After a short lived deal with Warner Brothers, Caesar returned to Boston after five years in LA.
He reconnected with Mellace and Catizone to design and build Sanctum Sound & Design Studios in Boston’s Leather District. There he started the dance music label CHA-CHA RECORDS with Jeff Unger, Jorge Iglesias and Ramon MacCrohon. CHA-CHA release several house music tracks promoted with Brad LeBeau at ProMotion. The remix team Caesar&Manolo was formed which produced a Billboard Hot Dance Chart #5 Hit[1] “BOLERO”[2]. He was also a member of DRAMA QUEENS with DJ Manolo and DJ Danae Jacovidis and had remixes for Jaki Graham[3] (Rose Royce) and Karen Parker.
Hospitality Ventures
In Boston Mark joined in several restaurant and club ventures. Caesar was instrumental in the marketing identities of the Venu & Rumor Nightclubs in Boston’s Theatre District. He was also closely involved with OSKAR’S owners Jeffrey Unger and Newman Flanagan during planning, construction and opening.
Caesar teamed up with partners Michael J. Scanlan and Karl Prinz to found Crescent Entertainment Group. Wooing master chef Robert Fathman (Grill 23, The Federalist), CEG opened TRIO[4] in Boston’s Leather District. He was involved in the opening of The Biltmore Room in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood.
In 2003, Caesar relocated to Miami and joined forces with Laurent Bourgade & Igor Blatnik to realize the boutique nightclub INK[5] [6]. INK opened in 2006 to and was frequented by major celebrities such as Mark Wahlberg[7] & Paris Hilton. DJ supergroup Swedish House Mafia made their Winter Music Conference debut at Ink on Friday March 23rd, 2007[8].
Caesar developed the eco-friendly hotel concept Hotel Echoe with Hudson Development Group. In 2009 Mark Caesar joined the pre-opening team of W South Beach where he became Hotel Operations Manager.
In 2015, Mark joined Miami nightlife guru David Grutman of GROOT Hospitality and Jeffrey Chodorow of China Grill Management to help realize KOMODO Miami. At KOMODO, Caesar was introduced to investor Alex Pirez, a Miami developer and entrepreneur.
The introduction to Pirez lead to a partnership at MOCCA Group, a boutique firm specializing in the construction, real estate, and hospitality industries. Projects included Swan & Bevy, Papi Steak, Firestone [Winker’s, Sushi Fly Chicken & Toothfairy], Planta Queen, Planta West Palm Beach, Billionaire Boys Club, & Klaw.
In 2019, MOCCA Group became strategic partners with Major Food Group in Miami, developing and operating several establishments Carbone, ZZ’s Sushi & Members Club, HaSalon, Dirty French Steakhouse, Sadelle’s & Contessa.
Charity & Philanthropy
In 2013, Caesar took a leave from hospitality development and committed his time to charitable causes. He became the Director of Development & Strategic Initiatives for the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation. Working directly with his dear friend Jim Wahlberg, he worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for inner city youth through a working partnership with youth organizations.
In 2021, Mark and his wife Marta founded the Caesar-Iglesias Family Foundation. C-IFF’s mission is dedicated to serve all living things in need: {People, Pets & the Planet} through Arts, Education & Activity. C-IFF has been active in alleviating suffering in Food Insecurity and Youth Empowerment in the Miami area.
Personal Life
Caesar was married to Marta Iglesias in Marbella, Spain in May of 2008. The wedding[9] was attended by Julio Iglesias and Julio Iglesias, Jr. They have 3 children and live in Miami, FL and Marbella, Spain.
Links
References ࠚ
[1] http://books.google.com/books?id=wQkEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA36&dq=caesar%20manolo%20-%20bolero%20billboard&pg=PA36#v=onepage&q=caesar%20manolo%20-%20bolero%20billboard&f=false
[2] http://www.discogs.com/Caesar-Manolo-Bolero/release/3298412
[3] http://www.billboard.com/song/jaki-graham/don-t-keep-me-waiting-drama-queens-remix/1946303#/song/jaki-graham/don-t-keep-me-waiting-drama-queens-remix/1946303
[4] http://www.zagat.com/r/trio-boston
[5] http://www.southbeach-usa.com/popshots2/2007/ink/01-05-07/01-05-07.htm
[6] http://ink.inetgroup.com/history.html
[7] http://www.markwahlberg.com/viewtopic.php?t=12775&sid=c8d601deec615a328aee3626f171071d
[8] http://axwell.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Dates&action=print&thread=1068
[9] http://www.hola.com/musica/2008052641573/musica/boda/marta/iglesias/1/