Meet The Genius Behind The McGriddle, Stuffed Crust Pizza, And Other Fast Food Classics
You may not know it, but Tom Ryan has invented some of your favorite fast food menu items. If it weren’t for the three-time MSU graduate with a background in food science and a Ph.D in flavor and fragrance chemistry, we wouldn’t have Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust Pizza, the McGriddle and McFlurry from McDonald’s, or Quizno’s Steakhouse Beef Dip Sub. To top it off, Ryan is also the co-founder of Smashburger.
He’s like fast food’s Tinker Hatfield—Nike’s legendary former product designer and current vice president of design—who created classics like the Air Jordan 3s and 11s, the Nike Air Max 1s, and the Air Huaraches. Ryan has a special mind for the crave-worthy and the delicious. But how did this fast food genius get his start?
Ryan was hired by Pizza Hut in 1988 after helping Pillsbury perfect its frozen pizza dough. Before that, he’d sharpened his skills at Duncan Hines, Folgers, and Jif. The idea for Stuffed Crust Pizza came to him after being told by the company’s then COO that, “Everything that can be done in pizza has been done.” He’d go on to invent the Meat Lovers pizza, the breadsticks, chicken wings and Sicilian pizza, among others, in effect proving the COO’s presumption wrong.
After making a name for himself, Ryan took his talents to McDonald’s to head its Worldwide Chief Concept Office. There, when tasked with increasing breakfast sales, he created the McGriddle, followed by the McFlurry, the Fruit N’ Yogurt Parfait, and the iconic Dollar Menu.
Along with his educational background, Ryan has a keen ability to read and respond to social trends. The Fruit N’ Yogurt Parfait, for example, was introduced during the mid-90s, before yogurt became popular in America. To make it more palatable for Americans, he made yogurt more appealing by giving it a vanilla pudding flavor.
Ryan then took his talents to Quiznos, making two of the company’s most popular menu items: the Steakhouse Beef Dip and the Prime Rib Sub. With the experience he amassed over the years, he was ready for the biggest challenge of all, which was launching his own fast food chain.
Ryan opened Smashburger in Denver, Colorado, in 2007, helping kick off the smashburger trend that has taken America by storm in recent years. In 2018, he sold the company to Jollibee Foods Corporation, finalizing a three-part acquisition that began in 2015 with the purchase of a 45% stake, before increasing its stake to 85% in 2017. The total cost of acquiring Smashburger was $445 million.
Today, there are over 400 Smashburger locations worldwide, and Ryan is officially solidified as one of fast food history’s most important figures.
