Bryan Injaian has been worked in and with restaurants his entire career. This native Mobilian attended the University of Southern Mississippi on a music performance scholarship. After deciding to hang up the violin, he hopped a bus and took off for California. Bryan worked at Yosemite National Park in Food and Beverage. He camped out in a tent for a year before deciding to head back home and finish his schooling in Mobile. He graduated from the University of South Alabama with degree in Hospitality Management.
Over the past twenty plus years, Injaian has worked his way up the restaurant operations chain. His experiences have taken him from breakfast cook at Cracker Barrel to Area Director of Restaurants for Ruby Tuesday and Wintzell’s Oyster House. During his time in restaurant management, Bryan was also recognized by the Alabama Restaurant Association as Restaurant Manager of the Year. Bryan now serves as a District Sales Representative for broadliner Ben E. Keith servicing and cultivating accounts in Mobile and on the Eastern Shore. In addition to supplying restaurants with product, he assists his customers with ways to increase sales, improve operations and maximize profitability through a host of multiple resources that are available through the company. His knowledge of restaurants and the Hospitality Industry is quite the recipe for success.
Ben E. Keith Company is a distributor of food and beverage products founded in 1906. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Ben E. Keith is one of the largest broadliners in the country. The Elba division services our Gulf Coast area and supplies a full line of produce, frozen foods, meats, dry groceries, refrigerated foods, paper goods, equipment and supplies to restaurants, hospitals, schools, nursing homes and other institutional businesses. Ben E. Keith is expanding their footprint into the Southeast. A state of the art warehouse and test kitchen is currently under construction in New Brockton, Alabama to better service their growing customer base. For more information about Ben E. Keith and how they can assist, feel free to contact Bryan at (251) 895-2332 or email:bdinjaian@benekeith.com
A sudden shift in the projected path of Hurricane Irma in 2017 is what landed the John & Effie Lindeman in unfamiliar territory. This Miami family extended their stay and spent the rest of the week exploring the town of Fairhope before returning to South Florida with Fairhope on their mind.
Pittsburgh native Mark Bentz began his career in the food service industry at a famous burger restaurant by the name of Tessaro’s Hardwood Grill in Pittsburgh. Like many, he started out washing dishes and then worked his way up to a kitchen position. He was a loyal employee of Tessaro’s for 14 years before he transitioned into cooking in a private country club north of Pittsburgh. He learned a lot from the chefs that he was surrounded by and benefitted from their knowledge. In 2004, Mark landed on the the Eastern Shore and settled in Daphne. He went to work part-time for Kris Konlon at Cousin Vinny’s. He fit right in and gained a lot of experience from working at the pizzeria. Mark, being a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan and missing the comradery of like individuals, decided to open a place of his own and pay homage to his home city and favorite team. His first restaurant, Bentz’s Pizza Pub opened in 2006. The establishment was nestled right beside Daphne’s largest subdivision and was decorated with all things Pittsburgh. Mark was pleasantly surprised and delighted to find that he just so happened to be among a great number of fellow Steeler fans in the area. In 2014, Bentz was involved in opening a second restaurant in Spanish Fort. And now, just this past weekend, Mark has just embarked upon his third and largest operation in the area. He named his new venture YINZERS BREW & GRILL. The term “yinzer” is used to describe a native or inhabitant of the city of Pittsburgh. Bentz and his managing partner, Kim Paige, are most thankful for the host of friends and family that have been supportive of their efforts. They invite you to come out and enjoy the great view overlooking Mobile Bay, entertainment and opening celebration of Daphne’s newest eatery.
Lenny’s Subs arrived in Daphne in 2007. Andy and Jennifer McGee were familiar with Lennys being that both worked for the company as college students. Since they were knowledgeable with inner workings of the operation and wanted to have a business of their own, they decided to invest in a Lenny’s franchise. Jennifer was from Mobile and she and Andy decided to open and grow their business in Daphne around the same time that Lennys was introduced to the Mobile market.
Leslie and Justin Hanks have both grown up in the food service business. Justin is originally from Fairhope and started working in restaurants before he could even drive. Leslie is from the Pensacola area and got her experience at a young age as well. Her family owns a food/concessions operation and they travel around the Gulf Coast area setting up at festivals and events. They both continued their involvement in food service and in restaurants throughout their teenage years and into adulthood gaining incredible experience from family and local restaurant owners who are passionate about the food they serve. Around this time last year, the couple obtained their food truck license and started researching opportunities that would allow the public to try a taste of Tin Tin’s Rock-N-Roll Food Truck.
Persistence is just part of Nonie Taul’s personality. When this mom’s oldest child, Annie started complaining of frequent stomach aches, Nonie did what any mom would do. After several doctors visits and a noticeable weight loss, Taul’s daughter was referred to a gastroenterologist. Annie was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disorder where the ingestion of gluten can lead to the damage in the small intestine. The dietary changes that took place in the Taul household were also adopted by Nonie. After the omission of all things gluten, Nonie began to notice how much better she felt.
It’s been over twenty years since this duo worked together near the beginning of both of their culinary journeys. Ryan Glass met Chris Litts during his final stage of training after culinary school. Glass did his externship under Litts at the Martini House in St. Helena, Napa County, California.
Chef Jeremiah Matthews’ education, culinary travels and experiences have allowed him to cultivate the kind of food experience that he not only shares with his customers but also with his entire staff. The creativity that flows through his kitchen embraces a philosophy of continuing education, ingredient appreciation and a never ending quest of progression.
Eat Beat 