F&B has never been short on bold ideas, but today, many of the most influential ones are coming from the youngest minds in the industry.
Across the U.S., young names are bringing fresh perspectives, entrepreneurial ambition, and a deep understanding of evolving consumer preferences to build concepts that not only attract diners but also influence broader conversations around culture, community, and the future of dining.
In this edition of The Restaurant Times Young Owners Powerlist, we recognize the industry’s most promising voices who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, and commercial success at a relatively early stage in their careers.
More than rising stars, they represent the next generation of food and hospitality itself, and through their restaurants and brands, they are actively shaping how America eats, gathers, and experiences food while setting the agenda for the industry’s future.
Camari Mick
Camari Mick is the former Executive Pastry Chef and Partner at Raf’s and the Michelin-starred The Musket Room. A Food & Wine Best New Chef 2024 and four-time James Beard Award semifinalist, she trained in some of New York City’s most acclaimed kitchens, including Le Bernardin, TAK Room, and db Bistro Moderne. Mick is currently preparing to launch her first solo venture, L’Atelier Ébène, a bakery and brasserie exploring the culinary traditions of the African diaspora through classical French techniques.
Miguel Guerra
Miguel Guerra is the chef and co-owner of MITA, a Washington, D.C.-based restaurant that earned a Michelin star for its vegetable-forward take on Latin American cuisine. At 28, Guerra became the youngest Venezuelan chef to receive the distinction. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Miami and former head chef of the Michelin-starred Elcielo, his work has earned industry recognition, including a RAMMY Award and a James Beard semifinalist nod for MITA.
Calvin Eng
Calvin Eng is the chef and owner of Bonnie’s, the Williamsburg restaurant known for its modern interpretation of Cantonese-American cuisine. A Brooklyn native, Eng draws on his Chinese-American upbringing to create dishes that blend traditional Cantonese flavors with contemporary influences, from fish and shrimp wontons en brodo to his signature cha siu McRib. His approach has helped establish Bonnie’s as one of New York City’s most sought-after dining destinations.
Klaus Georis
Born into a family deeply rooted in California’s hospitality and wine industries, Klaus Georis developed an early appreciation for food, farming, and gathering around the table. His culinary career took him through celebrated kitchens including Quince, Maaemo, Chez L’Ami Jean, In De Wulf, Bar Crenn, and Atelier Crenn. Today, Georis brings those experiences to Maligne, his first restaurant, where local ingredients and hospitality remain central to his approach.
Christian Lee
Christian Lee serves as President of Flame Broiler, the Korean-inspired fast-casual chain founded by his family in 1995. As a second-generation leader, he is guiding the brand’s continued growth across the U.S. while reinforcing its commitment to accessible, health-conscious dining. Lee has played a key role in modernizing the company through people, culture, strategy, and redemptive business practices.
Brianna Keefe
Brianna Keefe is the founder and CEO of Toastique, a gourmet toast-and-juice bar concept she launched in 2018 after identifying a gap in the market for elevated, health-conscious café offerings. A former Division I athlete at James Madison University, she later expanded her portfolio to include Chopsmith, a fast-casual restaurant focused on customizable salads, grain bowls, sandwiches, and grilled dishes. Together, the concepts reflect Keefe’s focus on better-for-you dining experiences.
Dan Leyva
Dan Leyva got his start in hospitality at 13, when he fibbed about his age to land a job at KFC. The first member of his Mexican-immigrant family to graduate from both high school and college, he later acquired and expanded Wings Over, growing the brand to more than 35 locations and over $50 million in annual sales. In 2024, Leyva launched Taco Azul, a Mexican restaurant group centered on the flavors and traditions he grew up with, and plans to expand across Greater Boston.
Jun Cho
Jun Cho is the co-founder of The Boil Daddy, a seafood restaurant chain he launched in 2020 with an initial investment of $30,000. A South Korean immigrant, Cho left college to pursue the business, growing it from a single restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles into a multi-unit brand with locations across California and Texas. Built on a flexible franchise model that includes both full-service restaurants and ghost kitchens, The Boil Daddy has expanded rapidly since its launch, establishing a solid presence across the U.S.
Téa Ivanovic
Téa Ivanovic co-founded Immigrant Food, a mission-driven restaurant group with 3 key locations across the Washington metropolitan area. Built around the idea of using food as a platform for cultural exchange and advocacy, the concept combines globally inspired menus with partnerships that support immigrant communities. During the pandemic, Immigrant Food distributed 25,000 bowls through World Central Kitchen and, in 2024, raised nearly $1 million through a crowdfunding campaign. Prior to launching the business, Ivanovic worked in journalism, foreign policy, and strategic communications.
Angel Zheng
Angel Zheng is best known as the co-founder of Moko Omakase and Isshiki Matcha, two New York concepts that have helped establish her as a rising entrepreneur in the F&B sector. By the age of 25, Zheng had already launched multiple businesses across fashion, hospitality, and consumer products. Today, Isshiki serves between 100 and 300 customers daily, while her ready-to-drink matcha products are distributed in more than 120 retail locations.
Diana Montano
Diana Montano is the owner & Founder of Sobre Masa, the Brooklyn restaurant and tortilleria dedicated to Oaxacan cuisine and heirloom corn. Raised in Oaxaca, she learned the art of nixtamalization from her mother, a respected restaurateur, and grew up milling corn by hand. Since co-founding Sobre Masa with Zack Wangeman in 2020, Montano has helped introduce traditional Mexican corn culture to New York through house-made tortillas, tamales, and other dishes rooted in her heritage.
Zack Wangeman
Zack Wangeman is the chef and co-owner of Sobre Masa, a Brooklyn restaurant and tortilleria dedicated to Oaxacan cuisine and heirloom corn. After training in acclaimed kitchens including Per Se, Jean-Georges, and Major Food Group’s The Pool, Wangeman returned to the food traditions of his native Oaxaca through a series of Brooklyn pop-ups. He later co-founded Sobre Masa with Diana Montano, where the pair showcases handmade tortillas, tamales, and traditional nixtamalization techniques using heirloom corn sourced from small-scale Mexican farmers.
Nicolai Mlodinow
Nicolai Mlodinow is the founder and executive chef of Class Act Dining, a Chicago-based hospitality concept he co-founded with CEO Shreena Amin in 2017 on the tenets of community, cuisine, and connection. What started as dinners for fellow students at San Diego State University later found a home in Chicago, where guests gathered around a single table for multi-course meals. Mlodinow has trained in the kitchens of Michelin-starred restaurants Alinea and Temporis and today oversees a 16-seat tasting room and speakeasy in Bucktown.
Jordan Anderson
Jordan Anderson is the executive chef and co-founder of Sami & Susu, a New York City restaurant known for its Mediterranean-inspired menu rooted in family recipes. Launched as a roving pop-up with co-founder Amir Nathan in 2020, the concept spent a year delivering meals across the city before opening its permanent home in Manhattan. Prior to Sami & Susu, Anderson worked in the kitchens of acclaimed New York restaurants Olmsted and Maison Premiere.
Danny Mondello
Danny Mondello is the founder of Casa Cugine, a Williamsburg sandwich shop, café, and market inspired by Italian-American food traditions. Best known as the creator of @meals_by_cug, Mondello built an online audience of more than 3.5 million followers across TikTok and Instagram before opening his first brick-and-mortar concept in 2025. A former deli and sandwich shop worker, he has turned his passion for Italian-American comfort food into one of New York’s most recognizable food brands.
Ben Richter
California native Ben Richter founded Wake and Late in 2018 after identifying what he called the “breakfast dilemma”: a lack of high-quality, convenient breakfast options for consumers on the go. Built around premium breakfast burritos made with mostly high-quality organic ingredients, the concept has grown from a single California restaurant into a fast-casual brand backed by $2.2 million in funding and continues to expand across the state.
Annalee Schlossberg
Annalee Schlossberg is the founder and CEO of Bel-Fries, a New York-based concept built around authentic Belgian-style fries served with 16 house-made sauces. Launched only in 2020, the brand grew from a single Lower East Side location to six outlets and a food truck, with annual revenue doubling each year to reach an estimated $2.5 million in 2024. By pairing a highly focused menu with a scalable micro-restaurant model, Schlossberg has positioned Bel-Fries for growth across food halls, stadiums, airports, and other high-traffic venues.
Closing Note
The names featured in this edition of The Restaurant Times Young Owners Powerlist 2026 represent a new generation of entrepreneurs who are creating brands, communities, and new ways of thinking about hospitality. From chef-led concepts and fast-growing chains to mission-driven ventures and culturally rooted dining experiences, each has demonstrated an ability to identify opportunities and execute with purpose.
As consumer preferences evolve and competition intensifies, these young leaders are proving that age is no barrier to influence. Through creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial drive, they are helping define the next chapter of food and hospitality in America.
