Will Malnati


William Marc Malnati is an American restaurateur, producer, actor and entrepreneur.

Early life

Will Malnati is originally from Northbrook, Illinois. He attended New Trier High School and Cornell University. Malnati grew up in a family of restaurateurs: the grandson of Lou Malnati, founder of Chicago’s beloved pizza empire, Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, and son of current Lou Malnati's owner Marc Malnati.

Career

Hospitality

Following his graduation from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University in 2007, Malnati managed a handful of restaurants and nightlife establishments in Chicago and New York. In 2013, Malnati partnered with two James Beard award-winning chefs Ken Oringer, Jamie Bissonnette, and entrepreneur Doug Jacob to open the New York outpost of Boston's famed Spanish tapas restaurant 'Toro' in Chelsea, NYC. Malnati, along with Bissonnette and Oringer, haves since gone on to open Toro outposts in Bangkok and Dubai.

At Will Media

In 2016, Malnati co-founded At Will Media, a production company for podcasts and other digital content. The company produces and curates high-quality audio presentations and podcasts for entertainers, online personalities and high-profile corporations, including Time Inc, Hearst, Morgan Stanley, The Atlantic, Nico Tortorella and At Will co-founder and Jenna Ushkowitz.
Malnati also hosted his own podcast, The Drop-In, in 2016 and 2017. In each episode, he has a candid conversation with an interesting person in popular culture or leader in entertainment, hospitality and business. Guests have included Chris Hardwick, Sebastian Stan, and Nico Tortorella.

Awards and honors

In 2013, Malnati was named to the Zagat's 30 Under 30 list as an owner of the Chelsea-based American nouveau restaurant Willow Road, and in 2015, was also named Forbes’ 30 Under 30 as a managing partner at Toro.