Sage Restaurant Group

A dedicated team member of Sage Restaurant Group since 2008, Megan McGinness ensures guests experience genuine Midwestern hospitality at Toasted Oak Grill + Market in Novi, MI, located in metro-Detroit. She encourages staff to exceed guests’ expectations through exceptional and attentive service, which adds to the Michigan-centric restaurant’s focuses on all things local. “My overall approach to management is to create a united team that is willing look for creative ways to improve the business,” she says. “My style is direct, honest, and accommodating. I like to encourage people to make their own decisions and then support them throughout the process.”

McGinness identified the potential of empowering one’s team when she first began her restaurant career with Sage Restaurant Group. As a wine steward at Urban Farmer in Portland, OR, she was encouraged by her managers to unite her love of hospitality with her penchant for wine, discovering how to guide guests and offer selections that complemented the menu and please people’s palates.  She also had the opportunity to help build the wine program to highlight Oregon’s distinctive offerings and increase Urban Farmer’s visibility as a destination for great local and regional wines.

In 2010, McGinness helped open Toasted Oak, developing the adjacent wine market concept and overseeing the build-out. Soon after, she stepped into the senior restaurant manager position at The Corner Office in Denver, CO. While in this new leadership role, she had the opportunity to train and mentor a new manager. “To teach someone to rise to another level is so inspiring, and it keeps me growing and challenging myself,” she says.

McGinness served as director of operations at Second Home Kitchen + Bar in Denver from November 2011 until rejoining Toasted Oak as general manager in January 2013. During her tenure, she introduced and executed original promotions to boost the restaurant’s profile. Most notably, she collaborated with the executive chef to create a partnership with the American Lamb Board, launching the Shepherd to Chef Program that highlighted Colorado lamb on the menu.

Aside from keeping tabs on the latest local winery, distillery, and brewery news in her spare time, McGinness enjoys spending time outdoors fishing, hiking, and snowshoeing. McGinness’ passion for hospitality also extends to travel, which includes visits to the Willamette Valley, where she helped plant a friend’s vineyard in 2006.

For Brian Kanak, the flavors of Michigan are reason enough to come home. After working in Philadelphia for eight years, the Great Lakes State native returned in 2010 and soon joined Toasted Oak Grill + Market in metropolitan Detroit, helping to develop and execute the pasture-to-fork philosophy embodied in the French-American bistro dishes. “The menu is full of fresh, clean flavors that capture the essence of Michigan’s farms,” says Kanak, who stepped into the executive chef role in February 2013 after working as sous chef and executive sous chef. “My goal is to interpret those products in such a way that they make our guests happy. That’s how you know you are doing it right.”

An experienced leader and manager, he also firmly believes the success of the restaurant lies in nurturing his kitchen staff. “I love hearing our staff’s ideas, theories, and philosophies,” he says. “I’ve hired them because I trust their abilities and value their input. I might be the conductor, but the cooks who produce the food are the ones who deserve the standing ovation.”

Prior to Toasted Oak, Kanak was executive chef of Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center (now the Wells Fargo Center). There he oversaw the Cadillac Grille, a private-membership restaurant located on the club level, as well as the catering for sporting and other events at the arena. Before that, he worked for restaurateur Stephen Starr at Buddakan and El Vez. Additionally, Kanak worked with the Capital Grill group as both a sous chef and corporate trainer in markets including Troy, MI;  Philadelphia; Kansas City, KS; and Tyson’s Corner, VA.

Kanak’s interest in the restaurant industry began when he was 15 and would regularly dine at Ginopolis’ in Farmington Hills, MI. The owner, Peter Ginopolis, particularly inspired him with his dedication to outstanding service, taking time to really interact with guests. Kanak took a position as a dishwasher in a local restaurant, working his way up to server before the general manager suggested he try stepping behind the stove. It didn’t take long for Kanak to “completely fall in love” with cooking and embark on his career path. “Since I did not go to culinary school, I was so lucky to have some amazing chefs take me under their wing and share their passion, as well as some very patient friends who were my taste testers and allowed me to experiment in the kitchen,” he says.

Kanak lives with his wife and 4-year-old son in Novi, MI. In his spare time, he can be found on the fairway, working on his backswing.