![]() ![]() Since starting the sports grill with former Louisiana State University teammate Jack Warner in 2003, Landry has carved a niche for Walk-On’s in the casual-dining world, taking it across nine Southeastern states with the 50th location opening this spring. Last year, the founder also started an employee meal program that provided furloughed staff with lunch and dinner daily, as well as the Cooper’s Hawk Scholarship for Black American Wine Professionals, which strives to bring new voices and more diversity into the wine world.īrandon Landry may have poked fun at his own college basketball career when naming his restaurant, but Walk-On’s has proved anything but a second-string brand. During the pandemic, McEnery pivoted the brand to a curbside pick-up model in less than a week while maintaining strong community ties through virtual wine club events. When he started Cooper’s Hawk in 2005, founder Tim McEnery saw the potential in building a concept whose experience went beyond the restaurant’s four walls, thanks in part to its signature wine club. THESE FOUNDERS NOT ONLY PLANTED THE SEED FOR A NEW RESTAURANT, THEY ALSO NURTURED ITS GROWTH. He worked with senior leadership to establish First Watch’s You First Fund, which helps workers facing financial hardships during the pandemic, and the #BeABetterPerson initiative to foster employee growth and more diversity at all levels in the company. But beyond the brand’s lucrative success, Tomasso remains steadfast in his devotion to employees. First Watch also bolstered its off-premises business by rolling out an online-ordering and third-party delivery app. When COVID-19 first struck, Tomasso shut the brand down for two weeks to build and perfect new systems to boost safety and efficiency. To maintain that creative spirit, Gibbons cultivates a “blue sky” mentality, where there’s no limit, whether it be new concepts, improvements, or fresh takes on the dining experience.Ĭhris Tomasso joined First Watch in 2006 as chief marketing officer and has since ascended to the top role, guiding the breakfast chain through its explosive growth, which even a pandemic couldn’t halt. In his previous role as president and chief creative officer, Gibbons led the development of several brands within the company’s portfolio including Whiskey Cake, Ida Claire, fast casual Velvet Taco, and Legacy Food Hall FB Society also debuted a new chicken tenders, Buttercup, in February. His promotion was just one part of several changes set in motion last year, including a rebrand with Front Burner Restaurants becoming FB Society. ![]() Although your nominations didn’t surprise us per se, they did make us rethink how we define success and innovation while also introducing us to some under-the-radar power players.ĭivided into 14 categories ranging from favorite legacy chain and best beverage program to most creative brand innovator and fervent industry advocate, these are the restaurants and peers you admire the most.ĪT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THEIR BRANDS, THESE LEADERS ARE TAKING THEIR RESTAURANTS TO NEW HEIGHTS.Īlthough Jack Gibbons is newly minted in his role as CEO, he’s an FB Society veteran, having worked alongside founder Randy DeWitt since 2008. ![]() Rather than handpick a list of restaurants and people, we asked you, our readers, to tell us who you admire the most-something similar in spirit to those old high school yearbook superlatives. Although the daily rigors of restaurant life demand hyper-focus on one’s own operation, industry professionals still take note of their peers and how they are performing, whether the person or brand in question is new to the dining world or a foodservice mainstay. In an industry as diverse as the cuisines it serves, there is no shortage of restaurants worthy of admiration-and the same goes for the people who have fostered those brands and continue to push them forward. In a first-ever report, we asked readers to tell us which leaders and brands they admire most.
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