A 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry, Steven Chan brought the mind-spinning energy of Asian sidewalk eating to Atlanta with Tin Drum Asian Kitchen in 2003. His urban upbringing in Hong Kong inspired the pan-Asian restaurant concept that now has 11 locations throughout the Atlanta area. As the company’s founder and CEO, Chan spearheads the vision for Tin Drum and serves as the chief designer of the brand.

Chan champions the legend of the Tin Drummer, the tale of a young man who became an unsung hero of the community by the simple act of serving people and showing hard work alone can make a difference. In Tin Drum, Chan imagined a place where the everyman is served delicious and comforting food on the go by Tin Drummers. Thus, Tin Drum was born at Georgia Tech Technology Square – a serendipitous location that serves students of Chan’s alma mater along with Atlanta’s Midtown residents. By 2011, the brand began franchising.

Formally trained as an architect at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Chan excels at ideation and design in the hospitality typology, believing it plays an irreplaceable role in human and societal connectivity. His passion is on full display at Tin Drum, where guests instinctively feel the hustle and bustle of a classic Hong Kong-style curbside café. For the future, Chan believes in continuous research in order to keep the brand fresh from the ever-changing retail revolution.

Under Chan’s leadership, Tin Drum’s mission is to team with fellow franchise partners in bringing great, affordable food in an enticing environment to Atlanta and the Southeast.  Chan is also a co-founder of Pancake Social, an all-day brunch concept with its debut location at Atlanta’s famed Ponce City Market.

Chan is a lifelong music and architecture aficionado. He passionately explores buildings while listening to the music of David Sylvian, constantly drawing stimulations to enhance human experience within his projects. At home, Chan spends much of his time reading in his gallery.