The Last Table of the Night Has an Incentive Problem
Peter Riggs explains why sharing the upside with restaurant employees could change the closing shift, and why even good technology has to survive a busy restaurant.
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The conversation.
Continued.
Thoughtful reads from the people shaping hospitality, technology and the way we work. Explore the idea, meet the guest, then hear the full conversation.
High Performance Starts Before the Pressure Arrives
Ty Bennett connects Ninja Warrior, leadership research and everyday follow-through to a more sustainable way of performing when it counts.
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Your Restaurant Shouldn't Have to Referee Its Technology Vendors
Toby Malbec explains why restaurant technology partnerships have to share responsibility for the operator's experience, from integration to support.
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The Back Office Should Give Restaurant Managers Their Day Back
David Cantu on rebuilding restaurant technology around frontline work, better decisions and the management habits that turn data into healthier margins.
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The Catering Customer Came to Feed People, Not Solve a Math Problem
Hugh Guill and Stephen Klein explore simpler catering orders, stronger direct customer relationships and the operating work behind useful restaurant AI.
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The Closing Checklist Is Part of Your Company Culture
Brasa founder Michel Falcon connects people-first leadership to hiring, clear expectations and the small operating details that make hospitality possible.
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A New Point of Sale Should Change More Than the Screen
Topgolf's Ted Hardy explains how operator involvement, simpler work and disciplined build-versus-buy decisions make restaurant technology useful.
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The Robot Gets Attention. The Workflow Has to Earn Its Place.
Netevia's Vlad Sadovskiy brings robotics, payments and AI into one conversation about how small businesses learn to adopt unfamiliar technology.
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Your Shake Promotion May Be Doing More Than Selling Shakes
P. Terry's Zane Donahoo connects marketing and technology to understand new guests, repeat visits and the work behind a useful campaign report.
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The Tip Calculation Your Team Shouldn't Have to Chase
DishOut co-founder Vaughn Ackman explains why clear tip reporting is an employee experience issue as much as an administrative task.
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You Hired Their Voice. Make Room to Hear It.
Claude Silver explores the everyday leadership choices that let people contribute fully, from meeting behavior to candid feedback and culture addition.
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Give the General Manager Their Attention Back
Patrick Bobrukiewicz of Thrive Restaurant Group explores AI that helps managers understand their operation and spend more time with people.
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A Signature Dish Needs a Kitchen That Can Keep Its Promise
Outback co-founder Tim Gannon connects the Bloomin' Onion, complementary partners and kitchen design to the work of building a restaurant brand.
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Your Team May Have Already Told You Why Customers Leave
Erika Till explains how ignored employee feedback, unclear handoffs and premature promises become customer problems in growing technology companies.
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The Best Sales Question Comes Before the Product Tour
Erik Wetzel of Buyers Edge Platform discusses restaurant sales discovery, consistent execution and coaching a team through rejection without relying on fear.
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Before You Buy an AI Agent, Ask What Happens After the Answer
Chowly co-founder Sterling Douglass discusses restaurant AI, measurable outcomes, human oversight and the difference between a useful workflow and a convincing demo.
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High Expectations Need a Training Plan
Jazmine Charles explains how Disrupt Foods connects an Aces Only culture to training, field leadership, useful data and recognition in its restaurants.
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The Printed Menu Has a Data Problem Behind It
Betsy Davis of Sandy Alexander explains how menu versioning, customer data and coordinated follow-up connect physical restaurant marketing to digital work.
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The Founder Can Keep the Title and Still Need a Different Job
Fred LeFranc explores the leadership shift from supplying every answer to developing people, hearing better ideas and improving the guest and employee journey.
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A Restaurant Community Is Only Useful If People Can Ask the Real Question
Danny Klein shares the early lessons of QSR+: protecting operator conversation, connecting small and large brands, and helping members reach the value they joined for.
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Faster AI Work Still Has to Get Through the Decision Meeting
Jason M. Riggs connects AI execution speed with leadership judgment, clear decision-making and the operating tests behind a restaurant drive-through pilot.
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Your Regulars Shouldn't Have to Introduce Themselves Again
Ryan Volberg explains why restaurant guest recognition depends on getting useful relationship information to the team before the moment has passed.
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Make Ordering Direct Worth the Guest's Effort
Stephen Klein of Saivory explains how better ordering, useful recommendations and customer follow-up can strengthen a restaurant's direct channel.
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A Neighborhood Brand Has to Keep Showing Up
Rita's marketing leader Carmela Hughley connects community participation, familiar rituals and local execution with a brand people remember.
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An Employee Benefit Has to Fit an Employee's Day
River Health's Kobby Amoah explains the design work behind benefits employees can understand, access and use around the realities of hourly work.
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The Phone and the Front Door Are Competing for the Same Host
Slang AI's Alex Sambvani explains how restaurant voice AI should be evaluated through guest outcomes, useful handoffs and the attention it returns to staff.
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A Better Screen Still Needs a Better Menu Decision
Jason Adams of Creative Realities explains how digital signage strategy connects attention, menu design and measurable customer behavior.
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A Restaurant Marketplace Needs More Than a Better App
Bala Subramaniam explains the marketplace problem behind restaurant ordering and why distribution, selection and incentives have to work together.
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The Dashboard Could See Fewer Drinks. It Couldn't See the Fridge at Home.
Greg Creed explains the customer insight behind Baja Blast and why data needs curiosity, conversation and leaders willing to act.
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The Delivery Robot Needs an Operating Plan Behind the Smile
Coco's Melissa Fahs explains the restaurant handoff, neighborhood relationships and support operations behind autonomous food delivery.
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Does Everyone on the Shift Know What Winning Means?
Mary Pillow Thompson explains why restaurant improvement begins with clear shift goals, useful operating data and a realistic view of automation.
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Your Brand Doesn't Need to Borrow Someone Else's Personality
Brandon Rhoten explains how customer behavior, brand foundations and disciplined testing shape marketing that earns attention and brings people in.
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The Guest Can't Value What the Menu Never Explains
PowerSoul Cafe founder Dina Mitchell discusses clear menu expectations, purposeful staff training and the work behind a restaurant's promise to its guests.
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A Neighborhood Pizzeria Can't Scale by Forgetting the Neighborhood
Carl Comeaux explains how Crust Pizza connects franchise support, local ownership and operational choices to the experience its expansion is meant to preserve.
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One Catering Buyer Can Introduce You to a Room Full of Customers
Crumbs co-founder Kelly Grogan shares how clearer menus, thoughtful packaging and personal follow-up can turn catering into a restaurant discovery channel.
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Catering Needs a Place at the Leadership Table
Jenn Saunders-Haynes explains why catering growth depends on aligned operations, marketing, supply chain and guest insight, not simply a larger online order.
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The Catering Order Isn't Finished When It Leaves the Kitchen
Allen Beck brings an operator's perspective to catering technology, delivery handoffs and the operational details that protect a customer's trust.
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Your Customers May Live Outside the Circle Around Your Restaurant
Christopher Sebes explores more deliberate local advertising, the repetitive work behind campaign launches and the difference between useful targeting and easy assumptions.
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The Drive-Through Employee Is Already Having Three Conversations
Adam Steinman explains why restaurant AI must work for the brand, the crew and the guest, with clear expectations and a practical human handoff.
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A Branded Cup Is Only Useful If It Arrives Before You Run Out
Ramsey and Jamie Gilbertsen explain how their restaurant experience shaped Budget Branders and a more flexible approach to custom packaging supply.
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The Next Restaurant Opening Will Inherit Today's Technology Decisions
Daniel Martinez explains how infrastructure, supplier transparency and repeatable opening processes shape a restaurant brand's ability to grow.
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If Technology Gives the Team Time Back, What Will You Do With It?
Josh Halpern explores how restaurant brands can use technology and operational focus to create the human moments that make guests want to return.
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Before You Hire the Role, Get Clear on the Problem
Toni Ronayne discusses fractional leadership, operational foundations and combining data, expert feedback and direct observation to make better business decisions.
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The Hard Part of AI Ordering Starts After 'I'll Have a Number One'
Jason Riggs examines the menu exceptions, operational handoffs and product decisions behind useful restaurant AI, beyond a convincing demonstration.
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Your Culture Changes Every Time Someone Joins the Team
Jim Knight reflects on Hard Rock, belonging and the way everyday influence grows into leadership, with lessons for building a culture people want to join.
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The Easiest Decision Can Be the One That Keeps a Brand Stuck
Joseph Szala explores how bias, silos and convenient choices weaken restaurant strategy, and how clearer decisions can help teams move forward.
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Before Growing the Franchise, Listen to the People Already Running It
Bill Aseere shares how operating experience, franchisee relationships and foundational changes shaped his approach to leading Whit's Frozen Custard.
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