The Power 20
This year's 20 elite leaders of the restaurant industry
The Power 20
Nate Weir
Scratch cooking from local ingredients is imprinted in Nate Weir’s DNA. “I grew up in Haiti as a missionary’s kid, and my earliest food experience is going to the open markets with my mom. There were no packaged foods … everything had to be made fresh from scratch,” he says.
The Power 20
Marissa Andrada
Recipes can be revised, marketing plans can be rewritten, management teams can be rebuilt. But resetting a corporate culture, the strategic foundation for any and every change, is like sculpting a statue out of smoke.
Alex Adler had never worked in restaurants when he decided in 2011 to launch an elevated taco concept called Puesto. “I was a home cook my whole life,” Adler says. “I just had this crazy idea. We are Mexican-American, our parents are from Mexico. … When we started thinking about Puesto, we saw Mexican food and tacos, especially, being an afterthought.” The chain evolved from a fast casual to a full-service concept, which now has six units in California with three slated to open this year. As a young leader, Adler says he “grew on the job.” But one of his biggest takeaways so far has been in how he hires new talent. “What makes a great leader is being able to focus on what other people’s past has been,” Adler says. “I want people to come in with their previous experience and really educate us, and for us to be receptive about that. A lot of people miss on that point, and that’s been essential.”
While Kiran Pinto originally started in the industry with the dream of becoming a chef, she quickly realized her passion and purpose didn’t align. Now, she’s been with Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) for 17 years and has established a career that has let her explore different areas within the food industry while also driving growth vehicles for the multiconcept operator.
Sweetgreen is among the most digitally savvy restaurant brands, often cited for its willingness to be a pioneer and trial new tech advances, processes and more. Dan Beranek, a former dDirector of dDigital for Starbucks, is one of those leading the charge for the growing fast casual, focusing on driving the best digital experience for both diners and employees. “It goes back to being customer obsessed,” Beranek said at the FSTEC cConference last fall. “That drives everything we do. We have to remove friction from not just customers getting the food, but for our team too.”
Marcus Byrd was merely a fan of fast-casual Mexican chain Dos Toros when he sent a LinkedIn message to the emerging chain’s CEO. A coffee date meeting led to Byrd becoming the brand’s fourth corporate employee when the concept had just four units and was making about $10 million annually. Now, Dos Toros pulls in nearly $60 million a year and was recently acquired by Chopt.