Nation’s Restaurant News is the only independent publication covering and serving the entire foodservice industry. From large chains to emerging concepts, NRN keeps readers up to date on the latest information and insights that will help them grow their business. A multiple Jesse H. Neal Award winner that was named Best Media Brand in 2019, NRN’s experienced editorial team sheds light on new and best-in-class technology, corporate strategy, finance, marketing, menu, consumer trends and franchising. Benchmark reports include the annual Top 200 restaurant chain data, the foodservice Power List, MenuMasters, Hot Concepts, Breakout Brands and the Golden Chain awards.
NRN is part of The Restaurant & Food Group by Informa Connect, the leading business-to-business integrated media group. Industry professionals can access Nation’s Restaurant News across multiple platforms, including NRN.com, eNewsletters, data products, live and digital events, podcasts, social media and the feature-packed print magazine issues.
Editors
Sam Oches
Editorial Director
Sam has covered the restaurant industry since 2009, and his insights have been shared in the New York Times, NPR, and CNBC. He’s based in Columbus, Ohio, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
Leigh Anne Zinsmeister
Group Managing Editor
Leigh Anne has been analyzing the foodservice industry for the food group since 2016, and doing it just for fun even longer. She lives in Brooklyn but has been known to call Cleveland, Phoenix and Dallas “home” from time to time as well. In her spare time you can find her at the movies, the library or the Pilates studio.
Alicia Kelso
Executive Editor
Alicia Kelso has covered the restaurant industry since 2009 working for Forbes, Restaurant Dive and FastCasual.com. Her work has also been featured in outlets such as NPR, Good Morning America, Bloomberg and Franchise Asia Magazine. She plays the drums, likes to swim, run and drink beer (usually in that order), and is an avid Michigan Wolverines fan who shamelessly named her cat after Coach Jim Harbaugh. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her wife and son.
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Joanna Fantozzi
Senior Editor
Joanna is a restaurant tech reporter and has been covering the food industry for nearly a decade. Besides NRN, you can find her work in Business Insider, The New York Daily News, Vice and Forbes. She lives in New York City with her husband.
Ron Ruggless
Senior Editor
Ron has covered the restaurant industry since 1992, and he and his work have appeared in the New York Times, Food Network magazine, NPR, CNN and a variety of other publications. He is based in Dallas, and his favorite meal is a house-made Sloppy Joe on a whole-wheat bun with Kettle potato chips and carrot sticks.
Bret Thorn
Senior Food & Beverage Editor
Bret has been writing about food and beverage trends in the restaurant industry since 1999 and has been quoted in the New York Times, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, Eater.com, and elsewhere. He won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal Award for best staff written editorials or columns in all of business-to-business publishing. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he spends much of his disposable income at local restaurants and bars.
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Holly Petre
Digital Editor
Holly Petre is NRN’s Millennial in charge and serves as the brand’s podcast producer. She has five years of experience and lives in New York City with her plants.
Senior Management Team
Joe Donnelly
Group Director & Publisher
Joe Donnelly is an accomplished B2B media executive with nearly 20 years’ experience managing and growing publishing brands in both startups and enterprise growth organizations. Joe was formerly a Chief Financial and Operations Officer and SVP of Digital Strategy and comes to Informa by way of acquisition having sold a leading global tech brand to Informa in 2016 as an equity partner
Susan Szymanski
Sales Director
Susan Szymanski is responsible for the sales and marketing of the Nation’s Restaurant News, Supermarket News, Restaurant Hospitality, Food Management and CREATE brands. She has spent 25 years in foodservice media, research, and events at SPINS, Technomic, Winsight (RB), Reed, and for many years worked with Nation’s Restaurant News launching the brand into the digital forefront. Susan has a proven history of transforming organizations through sales growth, digital prioritization, brand enhancement, integrated marketing strategies and team building. She knows how to pool resources, rally teams and leverage technology. Susan lives in Chicago and is a CIA Fellow, board member and treasurer of the Chicago Chapter of the Les Dames d ’Escoffier and the Lakeside Association.
Jason Bogovic
Direct of Client Success & Solutions
With 15+ years of industry experience with our leading B2B food and foodservice brands, Jason has developed an expertise in matching diverse client objectives/targets with the right solutions to drive successful marketing campaigns.
Monique M. Levy, CMP
Managing Director, Events
Monique has been leading the event portfolio for Nation’s Restaurant News for 20+ years, and was instrumental in the launch of many new events including MenuMasters, Food Safety Symposium, Restaurants Rise and most recently CREATE: The Future of Foodservice. She holds an MBA from the Florida Atlantic University and the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation. She based in the Tampa Bay area with her husband and dog, Rufus.
Christi Ravneberg
Director of Content Integration
Christi has nearly two decades of experience in B2B media, specializing in the restaurant and food retail industries. She leads the development of innovative content marketing and thought leadership products for the Restaurant & Food Group, including a growing data and insights platform. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.
Mark Brandau
Associate Director, Research & Insights
Mark has spent most of his career covering and supporting the foodservice industry, first with a decade of reporting and editing for Nation’s Restaurant News and more recently with insights roles at Technomic, Datassential, and Informa.
Matt Hebberd
Director of Marketing
Based in New England with his family, Matt has worked in journalism and marketing for more than 25 years. In addition to the US, he spent nearly a decade in Great Britain as well – leading marketing efforts for some of Europe’s biggest brands.