Restaurant Marketing Workshop

Meet the Top 30 Movers & Shakers: Restaurant Marketing

We’re proud to honor the 2026 Restaurant Marketing Top 30 Movers & Shakers, who will be recognized at the Restaurant Marketing Workshop on June 2–3 in Boston. Registration is open.

April 10, 2026 by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Summarize withChatGPTGrokPerplexityClaude

The restaurant marketing landscape is evolving faster than ever, and today's most impactful leaders aren't just adapting; they're redefining what's possible. From data-driven loyalty engines to culture-forward storytelling and viral social strategies, these 30 standout marketers are shaping the future of guest engagement, digital innovation, and brand growth.

We're proud to honor the 2026 Restaurant Marketing Top 30 Movers & Shakers, who will be recognized at theRestaurant Marketing Workshop on June 2–3 in Boston. Here's a closer look at each honoree, sorted alphabetically by last name. We'll reveal the top vote getter at the workshop; Register here to attend.

The 2026 Restaurant Marketing Top 30

Doug Baker | Wing Shack

Doug merges marketing and tech to build automated lifecycle programs that drive repeat orders and retention. His segmented flows convert up to 10.8% of new guests and turn major events like the Super Bowl into measurable return traffic.

Alexander Barwin | Bushfire Kitchen

Alexander drives growth through UGC-led advertising, community partnerships, and a tech stack that unifies guest data. His strategy reduced CPM/CPC by ~35% and generated major catering and local activation revenue.

Kathryn Bleeker | Ziggi's Coffee

Kathryn built Ziggi's communications engine from scratch, earning 1,900+ media mentions and 5.44B in reach while elevating franchisee communications for 110+ locations and relaunching TikTok with consistent success.

Rev Ciancio | Salad House

Rev developed a data-first lifecycle strategy that lifted loyalty revenue capture from 48% to 64%, doubled habitual guest rates, and kept discount costs far below industry benchmarks, driving sustainable, predictable growth.

Kim Collura | Jason's Deli

Kim modernizes Jason's Deli with data-driven loyalty initiatives, refreshed digital platforms, and high-performing seasonal promotions like 12 Days of Deli-cious, which lifted check-ins 56% and offer redemptions 2x.

Hillary Frei | Handel's Ice Cream

Hillary blends legacy authenticity with modern marketing, boosting systemwide sales past $130M, supporting 20+ openings, and propelling Handel's up 50 spots in the Franchise Times Top 400.

Jessie Galioto‑Grebe | Via 313

Jessie built Via 313's digital and community infrastructure, launched its first loyalty app, grew catering 40%, and drove the highest-grossing opening in brand history.

Alexis Gillette | Craveworthy Brands

Alexis integrates loyalty, LTO strategy, and omnichannel commerce across a 20‑brand portfolio, delivering measurable growth, such as 100% year-over-year welcome offer usage and major cross-brand engagement gains.

Catriona Harris | Jeff's Bagel Run

Catriona built scalable marketing systems that fueled expansion from 2 to 30 shops, grew loyalty to 25%+ of orders, and delivered strong LTO performance like a 10% beverage lift over 12 weeks.

Carmela Hughley | Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard

Carmela drives insight-led decision-making, strengthening product innovation, guest engagement, and brand relevance. Her leadership positions Rita's for sustainable, data-backed growth.

Jennifer Jackson | Hungry Howie's

Jennifer elevated a legacy brand through National Flavored Crust Day, garnering 4M+ media impressions, 160K social impressions, and a nationwide Detroit-style pizza launch with 490M+ impressions.

Ryan Jones | Olga's Kitchen

Ryan helped grow off-premise from 30% to 60% of sales through AI-driven insights and delivery expansion, increasing DSP revenue by $4M and improving total company cash flow by 60%.

Jami Kimbrough | Surcheros

Jami drives community-first expansion, producing record opening-day sales and helping earn the brand a spot on the Bulldog 100 list while expanding digital reach across 30+ locations.

Shawn Lalehzarian | The Red Chickz

Shawn built a massive organic following — 1.2M TikTok followers and 40M+ likes — turning viral content into real-world sales despite operating only six locations.

Missy Maio | Gong cha Americas

Missy drives global-to-local cultural relevance with viral partnerships like Peanuts and Neopets, boosting loyalty downloads 30% and supporting expansion toward 500 American stores.

Raul Martinez | The Taco Spot

Raul scaled the brand from 11 to 26 locations and 1M to 1.7M followers through viral campaigns like Birria Pizza challenges, turning digital buzz into measurable traffic and franchise growth.

Jane McPherson | Penn Station East Coast Subs

Jane fuels meaningful sales growth through loyalty (nearly +9% online sales), Barstool partnerships (12M+ impressions), and charitable initiatives raising $330K+ in 2025.

Evan Pardue | Condado Tacos

Evan led the "Unusual Your Usual" brand refresh, fueling a 75% increase in loyalty participation, 55% loyalty-driven sales growth, and new initiatives like daily deals that lift weekday traffic.

Amanda Parker | Vicious Biscuit

Amanda built franchise-ready marketing systems and launched a Rewards app that nearly doubled loyalty-driven revenue while supporting strong new-store performance and 32% systemwide sales growth.

CJ Ramirez | Dog Haus

CJ leads creative, tech, and brand innovation, launching high-impact LTOs, celebrity partnerships, and loyalty enhancements that strengthen cultural relevance and expand multi-concept reach.

Leah Schultz | Krispy Krunchy Chicken

Leah modernized branding across 3,000+ locations, drove a 15% LTO spike through influencer activations, and boosted digital engagement 22% while growing LinkedIn organically by 4,150+ followers.

Lindy Simmons | Smalls Sliders

Lindy shaped Smalls' bold social voice, tripling growth on Instagram, increasing engagement 162%, and driving 11,700+ shake sales with her award-winning King Cake Shake campaign.

Dan Sokolik | Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken

Dan modernized a 60-year-old brand with a humorous national campaign and refreshed identity, boosting online ordering 23% and increasing sentiment 10% across 125+ units.

Tamara Stanley | Capriotti's Sandwich Shop

Tamara drives Capriotti's 50th Anniversary strategy and "Bigger, Better" value initiatives, increasing portions, strengthening franchise satisfaction, and supporting growth toward 500 units.

Brittney Stephens | Velvet Taco

Brittney brings a sharp blend of strategic rigor and bold creativity to Velvet Taco. In under a year, she delivered standout campaigns like "Wreck the Halls," driving a 438% year‑over‑year increase in gift card sales while elevating social strategy to fuel awareness and engagement.

Jodi‑Ann Stewart | Cafe Blue

Jodi‑Ann blends social awareness with performance marketing. Her Men's Day and April Fools campaigns generated up to 72K+ views, 4,500+ interactions, and strong profile engagement through meaningful, culturally resonant content.

Brenna Trumper | Playa Bowls

Brenna drives omnichannel storytelling and major LTO success. The Tidal Wave Smoothie became the top-selling LTO since 2023 and generated 1.18M+ UGC views and standout social engagement.

Pedro Uchoa | TAP

Pedro builds a cultural lifestyle brand around TAP, growing loyalty to 33K members and activating community events, wellness partnerships, and experiential campaigns that attract a guest base that's 88% non-Brazilian.

Peter Wiley | Hot Head Burritos

Peter blends creative, digital, and operational leadership, driving 159% loyalty spend lift, 30% catering growth, and a major social uptick with high-performing LTO campaigns.

Isabella Zagni | Vale Healthy Kitchen

Isabella drives thoughtful brand positioning, community-rooted storytelling, AI-powered workflow improvements, and seasonal campaigns that increase engagement and traffic while preserving premium brand equity.

Closing Thoughts

These 30 leaders represent the creativity, discipline, and innovation reshaping restaurant marketing in 2026. Their work proves that growth isn't just about bigger budgets | it's about bold ideas, data-driven execution, cultural resonance, and staying relentlessly guest-focused.

Congratulations to this year's honorees. The future of restaurant marketing is brighter because of you.

About Cherryh Cansler

---

Cherryh Cansler is Publisher of FastCasual.com and Vice President of Connect Food. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

Connect with Cherryh: