The Power 20 - 2019

The Power 20

By RB Editors on Apr. 11, 2019

The influencers on this year’s Power 20 list aren’t just changing the menu within their own organizations—they are altering how the entire restaurant industry thinks about and approaches menus. They are the disruptors and the rebels who dare to go in a different direction.

The Power 20 - 2019

Joe Guith

Jan. 28, 2019

As operators compete for off-premise dollars, they are learning that packaging can put them ahead.

The Power 20 - 2019

Audrey Saunders

Jan. 21, 2019

In the early 2000s, cosmopolitans were the cocktails du jour, vodka bottles dominated the back bar and most bartenders were male.

The Power 20 - 2019

Kim Bartley

Jan. 17, 2019

To get an idea of what it was like to live life as a vegetarian, Bartley tried it. “I visited restaurants for a period of time, tried to order from the menu and realized salad was usually my only option,” she says.

The Power 20 - 2019

Joel Yashinsky

Jan. 15, 2019

A sandwich for a buck? Meh. Consumers can find that anywhere. But a cocktail for the same dollar? That’s like lobbing a halibut into a shark tank, as Applebee’s has learned with its deeply discounted drink specials, a key part of the casual-dining leader’s turnaround.

The Power 20 - 2019

Peter Dukes

Jan. 13, 2019

Dukes, Starbucks’ director of espresso Americas, was tasked with coming up with a killer seasonal espresso beverage for the coffee giant in 2003.

The Power 20 - 2019

Brady Knight, Michael Farid, Kale Rogers & Luke Schlueter

Jan. 07, 2019

It’s a good bet that the only mechanical engineers on this Power 20 list are Knight, Farid, Rogers and Schlueter.

The Power 20 - 2019

Vijay Sukumar & Andrea Zahumensky

Dec. 25, 2018

Mainstream restaurant chains are striving to convince their customers that their R&D kitchens are the ultimate innovators, searching far and wide for the next “hot” flavors to put on the menu.

The Power 20 - 2019