“After more than two decades inside restaurants, hospitality groups, and agencies, I stepped away—not because I was finished, but because I needed space. Space for family and motherhood. Space to slow down long enough to hear what mattered most. Space to decide how I wanted to work next.
Studio FiveFiftyThree exists because my children changed the way I define success — they are the reason I learned how to listen, pause, rebuild, and lead differently.
What emerged wasn’t a reinvention. It was a refinement.”
Meet the Founder
Nicole Manion has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, specializing in marketing, brand development, and guest experience. A native of Michigan, she moved to Chicago in 2007 and began her career at Quartino Restaurant, where she gained a solid understanding of food, drink and true hospitality. In 2009, she joined The Gage Hospitality Group, where her curiosity and ambition propelled her from cocktail waitress to Director of Marketing by 2014. This experience deepened her passion for the industry and enhanced her strategic skill set.
Nicole, along with her husband John Manion, is the owner of El Che Steakhouse & Bar, where she played a vital role in the brand’s growth when joining the team in 2016. In 2019, she transitioned to the agency side as Lead Strategist at Kinship, a PR and marketing firm, where Ballyhoo Hospitality was one of her first clients. After two and a half years, she moved in-house to Ballyhoo Hospitality, taking on the role of Director of Marketing and collaborating with a talented team of professionals as the group expanded its portfolio.
Today, Nicole consults with hospitality and creative brands, utilizing a strategic yet intuitive approach that has been shaped by decades of hands-on industry experience. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, working on pottery, and exploring tarot as a reflective and creative practice.
Why Studio FiveFiftyThree
A Love for Hospitality
There is a rhythm to hospitality. The weight of a menu in your hands. The light shifting as evening settles in. The quiet choreography of a room that knows exactly what it’s doing.
For more than two decades, I lived inside that rhythm — opening doors, building brands, shaping guest experiences from the inside out. And somewhere along the way, I learned the strongest brands are not the loudest ones. They are the clearest.
They know who they are. They move with intention. They don’t rush.
Philosophy
Studio FiveFiftyThree was created for brands built carefully. The ones that understand hospitality is not performance — it’s care. Marketing, at its best, should feel the same. Not frantic. Not reactive. Not chasing. But aligned. Considered. Enduring.
Studio FiveFiftyThree was built for operators who believe growth should feel steady. For founders who want clarity instead of chaos. For brands that value refinement over noise.
553 as a Method
Studio FiveFiftyThree is a nod to my maiden name, Ess — turned on its axis. A time on the clock that for as long as I remember when noticed I stop and pause. A quiet reminder that perspective makes change.
5 — Pause | 5 — Refine | 3 — Execute
Two fives represent restraint and review. The three represents disciplined action.
Thoughtful movement creates lasting clarity.
