Title: Executive Chef and Owner
Company: Toasted
Location: Northampton, Massachusetts, United States
Brad Labonte-Banas, executive chef and owner of Toasted, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements, and leadership in restaurants and entrepreneurship.
Now approaching 25 years in the restaurant industry, Mr. LaBonte-Banas has showcased a strong level of ambition and a stunning trajectory to back it up. His first professional experience came at just 16 years old, when he gained experience as a server at Friendly’s Restaurants Group. Not yet set on a direction for his career, Mr. LaBonte-Banas spent time working as a gas station attendant and in a warehouse. He initially pursued work in a kitchen out of necessity; he needed work and food, and a friend who was a bartender informed him that cooks get to eat for free.
Driven by that revelation, Mr. LaBonte-Banas started a job as a line cook at Picadilly Pub. On a whim in 2001, he joined a large group of coworkers applying for a job at Max’s Tavern, a new restaurant opening in the area. To Mr. Labonte-Banas’ surprise, despite having no professional chef experience, he was the only one in the group hired. Following this, he spent time working as a line cook at a number of different restaurants in the Max Restaurant Group, each of which served different styles of food. Mr. LaBonte-Banas embraced this opportunity to learn how to prepare new dishes, significantly improving his core skills as a chef across the next decade. During this period, he also pursued more traditional education, earning a certificate in culinary arts in 2005.
Mr. LaBonte-Banas’ efforts were recognized in 2016, when he became a sous chef at Max’s Trumbull Kitchen. During this time, he learned key lessons about how to efficiently and successfully run a restaurant in a way that makes it profitable. Further growing his experiences, Mr. LaBonte-Banas later contributed as the culinary director of Lyman & Lyman and an executive chef at The Northampton Hotel. These endeavors gave him the chance to learn how to operate smaller restaurant businesses, as compared to the larger, well-established restaurant group of Max’s, as well as the opportunity to develop his own breakfast, buffet and catering menus.
Culminating his professional journey, Mr. LaBonte-Banas opened his own restaurant, Toasted, in 2024. Operating out of a historic building in Northampton, Massachusetts, Toasted serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week, running from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mr. LaBonte-Banas oversaw the creation of the restaurant’s popular menu and leads the kitchen team in service, ensuring a high level of quality is maintained. His leadership style is driven by his extensive experience as both a chef and a line cook, giving him a holistic view of how to keep the kitchen running smoothly, as well as the needs and responsibilities of his employees.
Noted for his achievements in the field, Mr. LaBonte-Banas has received significant praise for his latest endeavor. Toasted won five Reader’s Choice Awards from the Daily Hampshire Gazette in 2025 and was lauded for Best Breakfast, Best Sunday Brunch, Best Sandwiches and Best Wait Staff. Mr. LaBonte-Banas credits his success to his dedication, competitiveness, love for challenge and commitment to doing his job to the highest standard of quality possible. He notes that he has always been ambitious but prides himself on matching that ambition with follow-through. He also emphasizes the importance of team-building and his firm belief that his current team at Toasted is one of the best he’s ever been a part of.
Mr. LaBonte-Banas’ ambitions also extend into the future. Having mastered breakfast and lunch, he will be introducing dinner service and catering options at Toasted in the near term. Beyond that, Mr. LaBonte-Banas envisions continued growth for the restaurant. He aims to open at least two more locations within the next five years.
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