News

Top 100: Tom & Eddie's No. 8

February 17, 2012

8. Tom & Eddie's

Chicago / No. of units: 3

Former McDonald’s executives Ed Rensi and Tom Dentice met in 1966 when they both worked as McDonald’s managers. Rensi ended his career there in 1998 when he retired as the company’s CEO, a position he held since 1984. Meanwhile, Dentice retired in 1997 as executive vice president.

Rensi and Dentice remained friends and in August 2010 opened their first fast casual gourmet burger joint in Lombard, Ill. By the end of the year, two more units opened. Both have put their own money into developing the concept and have a third silent partner invested as well.

To research their core menu item, they visited more than 100 burger concepts, eating their way through menu and concept development. The two also spent eight weeks using the kitchen at the College of DuPage Culinary Arts Center, in Glen Ellyn, Ill., as their own private dining room, pulling people off the street to sample the fare and working, in total, 640 hours serving meals. Overall, the pair served 1,200 entrées and 3,300 menu items.

“We’ve put a lot of detail into every essence of the restaurant,” Rensi said.