This week, Ira Sternberg spoke with Tom Ryan.
Tom Ryan, who opened Toms Urban on the Las Vegas Strip at New York-New York Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas in December 2014, is not your typical restaurateur. He is not a chef and didn't study restaurant management. In fact, he never expected to find himself in the restaurant arena.
Ryan is a food scientist, earning Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees in Flavor and Fragrance Chemistry from Michigan State University. During his Doctoral studies, he became intrigued with Marketing and Consumer Research, which set him on the career path of a lifetime.
Taking development positions at Proctor and Gamble and Pillsbury, Ryan recognized the power of combining strong technical knowledge with great consumer insights. He spent hours chasing and evaluating restaurant trends, searching for the next "big idea" to bring to grocery shelves. Along the way, he fell in love with restaurants, menu innovations, and the plethora of creativity he saw in the emerging restaurant landscape. It didn't take him long to get into the game.
Ryan joined Pizza Hut in the late 1980s and quickly brought his first round of iconic products to the marketplace. The Lover's Line, Breadsticks and Chicken Wings, Sicilian Pizza, and Stuffed Crust Pizza all came from Ryan and the teams he led.
Ryan joined McDonalds in the late 90's and held Menu Development, CMO, and Worldwide Chief Concept Officer titles. Over his seven years at McDonalds, he brought McFlurries, The Dollar Menu, and McGriddles to the marketplace, here and around the world.
In 2003, Ryan partnered with Rick Schaden in Denver Colorado to focus on new concepts. He joined the Quiznos team as Chief Branding Officer and brought record-setting new sandwiches to the marketplace, like Steakhouse Beef Dip and the Prime Rib Sub.
In 2006, Ryan and Schaden set out to build new, disruptive concepts focused on the next generation of consumers. In 2007, Smashburger was born and has become an industry icon for quality, growth, and business acumen. Smashburger has been named twice by Forbes as "Americas Most Promising Company," has won countless local awards for best burgers, and earned him a spot on Gourmet Magazine’s " 25 Top Food Entrepreneurs of the Last 25 Years" list.
In 2012, Ryan and Schaden opened Tom's Urban in downtown Denver, a full service, urban concept designed to provide multi-ethnic food, craft beers and cocktails, specifically focused on how modern consumers eat, drink, and socialize. This namesake concept opened its second site at LA Live, in the heart of resurgent LA. The third is now on the Las Vegas Strip
In 2013, Tom's Live Basil Pizza, featuring organic/natural /authentic Neapolitan Pizza, served in fast casual style, debuted in Denver. This modern, cooked to order, 150-second bake pizza concept is focused on pizza for the next generation of pizza lovers.
Ryan lives with his wife Jody in Denver and Minneapolis, has three children spread across three continents, and thoroughly enjoys his empty nest status, spending time cooking, tasting wine, visiting restaurants, and thinking about his next concept.