Rye Restaurants is a partnership between Todd Ginsberg, Jennifer and Ben Johnson, and Shelley Sweet. Todd Ginsberg is a 2014 and 2015 James Beard Foundation Semifinalist for Best Chef, Southeast and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park, New York. He started his career at The Dining Room at The Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta under Joel Antunes and Bruno Menard. He also led the kitchens at Asher in Roswell, Georgia as well as Madison's in Highlands, North Carolina. Later he spent time at Lucas Carton in Paris and at Alain Ducasse in New York. Upon his return to Atlanta, he worked for Concentrics Restaurants hospitality group, serving as chef at both TAP and Trois. Ginsberg was the chef at Bocado from its opening in 2009 until partnering with the Johnsons and Sweet to open The General Muir in January 2013 at Emory Point.

The Johnsons, husband and wife, opened West Egg Café on Atlanta’s Westside in 2004. Both Jennifer and Ben are former attorneys who practiced law in Atlanta for nearly 7 and 11 years, respectively, before embarking on a second career in hospitality.

Shelley Sweet found her passion for the restaurant industry after graduating college and working in graphic design, beginning her restaurant career at West Egg when it opened in 2004. She joined Concentrics Restaurants in 2006, serving as a manager at Two Urban Licks, Assistant General Manager at Murphy's, and ultimately as General Manager of TAP until 2010. She was the opening General Manager at Hugh Acheson's Empire State South and rejoined West Egg in 2011. She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier International Atlanta Chapter and recently served on the Georgia Restaurant Association Board of Directors.

In 2014 the Georgia Restaurant Association honored Todd, Jennifer, Ben, and Shelley as Restaurateurs of the Year and, in 2018, StarChefs recognized them as Rising Star Restaurateurs. Rye is honored to have been included twice in the inaugural Atlanta MICHELIN Guide in 2023 and again in 2024 — Fred’s Meat & Bread (Bib Gourmand) and The General Muir (Recommended).

The Rye Restaurants family consists of The General Muir, TGM Bread (which bakes bread for all Rye Restaurants, farmers markets, and many other restaurants in Atlanta), Fred's Meat & Bread and Yalla in Krog Street Market and Wood's Chapel BBQ in the historic Summerhill neighborhood of Atlanta. (West Egg is a half-sibling, a collaboration between the Johnsons, Sweet, and Chef Andrew Smith.)