Ryan Salame

Ryan Salame is passionate about the restaurant business, and it’s making a difference in Lenox. This Sandisfield native reinvested the money he made in Bitcoin and as CEO of Bahamas-based FTX Digital Markets, and created Lenox Eats, a marketing banner under which he operates his growing number of Lenox restaurants. In 2020, Salame purchased Firefly and the Olde Heritage Tavern. In 2021, he bought Cafe Lucia, The Scoop, the old Athena’s Pizza, and another vacant property. When all is said and done, Salame will own six restaurants having had invested more than $5 million. “I find this so admirable,” says Jane Blanchard, longtime Firefly supervisor. “Despite the small profit margins in the restaurant business, his passion drew him in, and he is employing a growing number of people.”