Meet the Bite the Fruit Team
Russwin Francisco
President
Francisco was named The Washington Blade’s Best Businessperson in 2025. He is an educator, speaker, writer, actor, and film producer.
He taught college business and information systems for 15 years, and classical mythology for two years. Concurrently, he was a university administrator for a decade where he coordinated collaborative initiatives among 12 colleges and universities.
He co-founded a public policy think tank which provided intelligence to support litigation in the public interest and federal safety legislation.
Francisco holds a Ph.D. in Epistemological Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, focused on the psychological anthropology of major cultural spheres. He earned an MS in Information Systems from Marymount University, and a BBA from The George Washington University.
Francisco is an accredited investor in the Broadway musical Here Lies Love and produced and appeared as Manny in the award-winning musical film The Girl Who Left Home.
James A. McGlade
Chief Executive Officer
Relocating to Washington DC in 1990, McGlade is an entrepreneur known as a savvy businessman and benefactor of the city. He owned the Leather Rack, an internationally acclaimed adult store. He established Black Fox Lounge, a live jazz venue in Dupont Circle, which received excellent industry reviews during its five-year run.
Fondly regarded as "Big Jim" by close friends, he began his career in hospitality more than 50 years ago as a restauranteur in his home town, Cape May, New Jersey. He owned and operated three restaurants by the time he completed the executive chef program at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, he worked at the Claridge Hotel as its assistant executive chef and food and beverage manager. Then for several seasons, he was the general manager of the Mississippi Queen, a 422-passenger paddle wheel driven river steamboat that cruised the Mississippi river in New Orleans, Louisiana.
By turns, he established three Don Shula Steak House restaurants and consulted for a Florida-based full-service staffing and systems syndicate with major hotel clients as the Sheraton, Hilton and Marriott.
Roberto C. Canales
Vice President of Operations
Canales has managed day-to-day operations for Bite the Fruit since opening in 2012. Previously, he supervised production for the store’s progenitor, the Leather Rack. For nearly 15 years, he worked as a server, bartender, bar manager, and banquet captain for some of the more celebrated restaurants and bars in the Washington DC area. He worked in various capacities for caterers favored by high-profile events and galas.
Christian Talavera
Senior Sales Associate
Talavera is an analytical and research chemist from California. He possesses a BS from Brown University, and an MS from the University of Notre Dame.
Flavio Luzardo
Senior Sales Associate
A native of Brazil, Luzardo studied public relations and marketing prior to making Washington DC his home. He has been a real estate agent for more than 20 years. He is a top producer for Coldwell Banker Realty, and teaches realtor courses.
Abigail
Security Chief
Sissy
Security Deputy
Luna
Security Guard
