Eric Skokan
Chef/Owner

Chef Skokan was born in San Diego, CA and raised in Virginia. A graduate from The University of Virginia, he studied history.

Always filled with a passion for food and cooking, Skokan explored those interests during an apprenticeship at the Silver Thatch Inn in Charlottesville, VA.

Before opening Black Cat Bistro, Skokan was chef and general manager of Gold Lake Mountain Resort and Spa, near Boulder, CO.  At Gold Lake he married intricate fine dining flavors with lighter, healthier cooking techniques to yield a stunning, beautiful array of dishes, putting the acclaimed Alice's Restaurant at Gold Lake on the culinary map.  He was at Alice's for eight years, and while there was named as one of the region's best chefs by the Denver Post.  He also garnered four-star reviews from the regional media.

Prior to manning the stoves at Alice's, Chef Skokan worked at Valentine's Café in San Francisco, Nora and Brighton on N, both in Washington, DC, and Charlottesville, Virginia's Michael's Bistro. 

Tabitha Gargano

Captain/Sommolier

Tabitha is one of those rare individuals that has a talent for making our guests feel welcomed and their dinner memorable. Talent is not often a word used to describe restaurant waitstaff, but it is the best word for her. She is able to transcend the bussle of the restaurant during a rush and focus on the important parts, that is, our guests.

Tabitha has a gift for wine and has run our wine program from the beginning of the restaurant. Armed with a prodigious memory, a lack of ego, and a desire to share the excitement of discovering wine she has built our amazing wine list.

Chris Long

Sous chef

After stints at Charlie Trotter's and the five star, five diamond Greenbriar Hotel in West Virginia, Long brings wide ranging skills and creativity to the kitchen. Long has a fine palate and strives to capture the vivid essence of each ingredient.

If working behind the stove was not enough, Long is also training to be a tri-athlete.