ICONA Resorts Avalon, Diamond Beach, Cape May Acquires Regionally Renowned FUZE Restaurant

AVALON – ICONA Resorts has announced new executive chef Steve Cozzi and the acquisition of Fuze Restaurant. Cozzi brings more than 20 years of food and beverage experience, including over 15 years experience as an executive chef, from top establishments including Stephen Starr’s award-winning restaurants Buddakan and the Continental, as well as, New York’s Le Cirque 2000 and Osteria del Circo.
Chef Cozzi is a graduate of the esteemed Culinary Institute of America (CIA), New York. In 2009, Cozzi brought his culinary expertise to Avalon when he opened Fuze Restaurant and later Fuze Italian (2012).
“Steve is well known for his talent in the kitchen and his great honors, however, many do not realize how much Steve does outside the restaurant,” said Eustace Mita, CEO of Icona Resorts. “We were drawn to Steve because of his dedication as an educator, mentor and servant leader. Steve is an instructor at the Academy of Culinary Arts and has been able to develop some of the best young chef talent in our region. ICONA has a mission to educate and inspire and Steve is a perfect fit for our leadership team.”
Cozzi will lead the ICONA team in its four food and beverage outlets in Avalon: Shimmers by Fuze, the Sandbar Village, Avalon Brew Pub (coming Spring 2017) and ICONA Golden Inn events catering, as well as its three food and beverage outlets at ICONA Diamond Beach: Coastal Blue Oceanside Bar & Grill, Bungalow No. 7 Beach Bar and premium beach catering.
“Acquiring Fuze Restaurant is an incredible opportunity for ICONA. We have always admired the quality of the Fuze team and their commitment to excellence,” said Josh McCallen EVP ICONA Resorts. “Steve has established Fuze as one of the premier culinary options in Cape May County earning top rankings on OpenTable, Tripadvisor and Yelp for the past eight years. ICONA is passionate about establishing our restaurants, catering and beach bars as the best in NJ, and with the acquisition of Fuze we are one step closer to our goal.”
Cozzi joins ICONA at the forefront of investments to the food and beverage division of ICONA resorts and is the first of many phenomenal growth-oriented chefs joining the team.
“This is an opportunity that comes around once in a lifetime. I’ve been blessed with a very successful career in F&B,” said Cozzi. “This move allows for a much bigger platform to go to the next level. ICONA is the most beautiful resort I’ve ever seen, it is truly iconic! They have their finger on the pulse of where hospitality is going in the future. That future involves 5-star service, 5-star hospitality and 5-star food and beverage. The whole Fuze team including myself is honored to join ICONA Resorts. We are going to do great things together!”