renaissance schaumburg
The 2023
Digital Transformation In Fast Casual and QSR Summit
June 13 -14 2023
Chicago, IL
2022 Agenda
June 8, 2022
Join us June 7th for the pre-event cocktail reception from 6:00 to 7:00pm
7:50 am - 8:00 AM
Opening remarks
8:00 AM - 8:35 AM
Opening Keynote
Andy Hooper
CEO & Founding Partner
Hart House
The New Dining Experience: The Rise of Drive Throughs, Curbside Pickup, and Third Party Delivery
- Building your Off-Premise Strategy by Design, not Default
- Finding your Arbitrage in Rise of Digital Adoption
- Transforming your Mindset for an Age of Digital Transformation
8:35 am - 9:10 Am
Plenary
Shawn Lalehzarian
President & Founder
The Red Chickz
How to Effectively Leverage Social Media as a Marketing Platform
- Understanding the different platforms, their audiences, and how best to use them
- Best practices in developing content that attracts meaningful engagement
- Using social media to heighten brand awareness and improve customer relations
- Leveraging the immediacy of social media as a source of power for your brand
9:20 am -10:30 am
Open Networking
10:35 am - 11:10 am
Sessions
Andrew Chau
Co-Founder & CEO
Boba Guys
A Glimpse into the Fast Casual and QSR Experience of the Future
- Shifting from a reactive to a proactive approach to better position ourselves for the industry rebound
- Reimagining Covid as an accelerator for innovation through the impressive growth of dark and virtual kitchens
- Examining some of the QSR and fast casual prototypes that have emerged as a direct result of the pandemic. What’s worked and what hasn’t?
- What does future fast-casual growth look like and what technologies and solutions will help you get there?
Jodie Conrad
CMO
Fazoli’s
Developing the Right Loyalty Program in the “New Normal”
- Building an agile and innovative loyalty program that stands out from the rest
- Navigating the ecommerce world to create unique perks that coincide with the changing customer buying behavior
- Understanding how to incorporate mobile ordering solutions, delivery and onsite pickups into your loyalty program
11:15 am - 11:50 am
Workshops
John Poulos
Talent Development Executive
CrunchTime!
Restaurant Operations Unlocked: Using Learning & Development Insights to Drive Results
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As the labor shortage continues and turnover rates seem to increase every month, you need to uncover every operational efficiency available to you while investing in team development and retention
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We’ll discuss the most demanding challenges you face today and share our plans for helping you to overcome them by combining operational data with learning and development insights
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From optimizing labor schedules, to correlating team knowledge with financial results, to proactively prescribing training when deficiencies are identified, we’ll explore a host of opportunities that will positively impact performance and retention
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Join us to learn how to unlock the secrets of optimized operations through advanced analytics that correlate financial performance, inventory management, labor scheduling, and training outcomes
Margo Silverman
Customer Marketing Manager
LunchBox
Investing in the Right Digital Ordering Platforms for your Business Model
- How third party marketplaces have cornered the market on online ordering
- Understanding ordering technology to ensure you are able to attract and maintain first party guests
- Identifying a complete solution that is intuitive and creates a positive user experience for both guests and employees
- Keeping streamlined operations in mind when choosing and deploying your digital ordering platform to protect profits
11:55 am - 12:30 pm
PAnel
David “Rev” Ciancio
Co-Founder CMO
Handcraft Burgers and Brews
Julie Wade
Senior Director of Marketing
Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe
Adam Golomb
President & CMO
Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar
Andy Hooper
CEO & Founding Partner
Hart House
Avi Goren
CEO & Co-Founder
Marqii
Using an Omnichannel Approach to Effectively Reach Guests and Improve the Customer Experience
- How are we effectively reaching guests now that the customer’s buying habits have changed?
- Best practices for maximizing ROI from your text messaging subscriber base
- Improving satisfaction and driving growth through the use of digital advertising, loyalty programs, online ordering, apps, cashless payment, and social media
- Leveraging digital capabilities to drive engagement and customer experience
- Balancing the omnichannel experience between in-person and online/in-app touchpoints
12:40 pm - 1:40 pm
OPEN NETWORKING AND LUNCH ROUND TABLES
Seth Hall
AVP, Enterprise Restaurants
Upside
More Customers, More Problems? Balancing Acquisition and Retention in a labor-Scarce, High-Cost Market
Aubrey Baron
Director of Sales
7Shifts
Building and Retaining a Strong Team
Derek DominoGTM Lead
Bbot
Leveraging Automation to Create Superior Customer Experience
Daniel Estrada
CEO
86 Repairs
Alan Moy
Owner
Viet Nom Nom
How to Take Repairs from Pain in the A** to Problem Solved
Abhinav Kapur
CEO
Bikky
Actionable Ways to Understand and Optimize the Customer Journey for your Brand
1:45 PM - 2:20 PM
Sessions
Ryan Harrison
COO
Zunzi’s
Using Technology to Innovate Guest Experience & Increase Customer Engagement
- Looking at Zunzi’s dual concept set up as a blueprint for the evolving restaurant model
- Understanding how to integrate kiosks and QR codes to align with the shifts in a post-pandemic world
- Identifying the link between the use of technological innovation and improved customer experience
- Building a sense of community by rewarding loyalty program members while giving back to the community through Zunzi Fest
2:25 PM - 3:00 PM
Workshops
Aaron Delgadillo
Head of Customer Success
Workstream
How to Hire Fast and Retain Talent in a Challenging Labor Environment
- How to Hire Fast and Retain Talent in a Challenging Labor Environment
- Leveraging the right tools and technologies to screen candidates and cut down hiring and onboarding times
- Empowering both new and existing employees by giving them easy access to handbooks, training videos, and workplace tours
- Implementing the right change management strategies to build employee engagement and improve retention
Jim Hardeman
CMO
CMX
Matthew Smith
Learning And Development Specialist
Sizzling Platter
Sizzling Platter’s Digital Transformation Journey | Learnings and ROI with CMX
- Sizzling Platter – our brands, and strategy
- Our journey toward digitizing our operations
- How we prioritize initiatives, the tools we use, and what we measure
- The ROI and impact on the business to date
- Our plans for the future
3:10 PM - 4:10 PM
Open Networking
Carissa De Santis
CTO
Friendly’s/BRIX Holdings
Geo-location, 3PV Aggregators and Build Versus Buy Strategies for Mobile App & Online Ordering
Nick Bucciero
Director of Marketing
Bareburger
Leveraging The Metaverse to Bring the In-person Dining Experience Directly to your Customer’s Homes
Julie Wade
Senior Director of Marketing
Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe
Products and Service Innovation – Using Omnichannel Strategies to Drive Growth in a Post-Pandemic World
4:15 PM - 4:50 PM
Panel
Marc Hinson
VP People
Bartaco
Nate Weir
VP Culinary
Modern Restaurant Concepts
Michael Rao
Chief Strategy Officer
Romeo’s Pizza
Fuelling Future Growth with the Right Talent, Retention, and Inspiration in a Post-Pandemic World
- Managing employee motivation and retention to increase customer experience
- Setting new levels of comfort with enforced health, hygiene, sanitization, and safety standards
- Redefining the role and expectations of an employee with a raised minimum wage
- Defining team member performance, encouraging mentorship, and letting go of toxic employees
4:50 PM - 5:00 PM
Closing remarks
5:30 PM
Drinks reception
June 9, 2022
7:50 am - 8:00 AM
Opening remarks
8:00 AM - 8:35 AM
Opening Keynote
Josh Halpern
CEO
Big Chicken
The Intel Inside: How to Create Food Experiences from Branding, Menu Development, Strategy to Operational Execution
- Understanding your pain points and leveraging them as the driving force behind your digital transformation
- Smart innovation – understanding what drives customer satisfaction and deploying the right technology to achieve your goals with the lowest operational costs
- Taking a robust look at the emerging restaurant technologies having the most significant impact on the sector
- Identify market segment – closely looking at the needs and motivations of the various consumers in the marketplace, primarily by considering the array of benefits that they are seeking with a fast food option
8:40 AM - 9:15 AM
Plenary
Zack Oates
Founder & CEO
Ovation
Jon Sherman
CEO
Sticky’s
Case Study: How Sticky’s Built the Best Darn Customer Experience
- Understanding the role that customer feedback plays in building relationships
- What works and what doesn’t when it comes to collecting customer feedback
- How to make sense of your feedback data and convert it into actionable insights to boost resolve concerns, increase satisfaction, and ultimately drive growth
Amber Dodson
Director, Business Development
Botrista
Make The Most Of It: How To Increase Guest Check
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Customers are more interested now than ever in treating themselves to innovative beverages while dining out, according to December 2021 research from The National Restaurant Association
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Updating and/or adding to your beverage menu can increase guest check and drive revenue, but creating such intricate drinks for mass consumption could be quite the challenge given the labor shortage
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This session will discuss how to quench the consumer’s thirst for new options and customization despite fewer workers
9:20 AM - 10:35 AM
Open Networking and round tables
Jason Profitt
Director, Technology
Piada
Leveraging Technology to Create and Seamless Customer Experience
David Jones
CEO and Co-Founder
Blazing Onion Burger Company
Selecting the Right Technology Provider: What Small Businesses should look for in Potential Partners and how to Avoid Costly Mistakes
Ryan Bowersox
CEO
Cultivate Food and Coffee
Laura Gunnels
Vice President, Marketing & Branding
Cultivate Food and Coffee
How to Vertically integrate your Supply Chain to Minimize Disruptions
10:40 AM - 11:15 AM
Plenary
Tom Selementi
SVP Retail
Bluestone Lane
Successfully Integrating QR Code Technology into Today’s Customer Experience
- Looking at how Bluestone Lane used QR code technology to pivot to a fully contactless dining experience during Covid followed by migration into the app experience
- Understanding the role played by QR tech in Bluestone Lane’s concierge ordering experience and how transformational it has been in building brand loyalty through 1 to 1 digital customer relationships
- Case Study: Looking at how the Bluestone Lane team built out the delivery experience through their app and layered technology into the entire customer journey
11:20 AM - 11:55 AM
Workshops
Hope Neiman
CMO
Tillster
Personalize It: What Your Guests Want In The New Multi-Channel World
- How the role of e-commerce and pandemic have accelerated existing trends towards digitization in QSR and fast casual restaurants
- Understanding why customers expect personalized dining experiences from their preferred restaurant brands
- How to leverage the right digital tools and operations expertise to building personalized customer experiences
- Using a multi-channel, customer-centric approach to optimizing customer experiences and generating more profits
Nick Hokanson
Manager, Customer Success
Zenput
Mike Mann
VP of Franchise Services
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers
The key to Growth and Gaining Competitive Advantage: Better Team Execution
In the current environment, where operators are fighting for talent, reacting to fast-changing market dynamics, and needing to lean into (or get sidelined by) the accelerating pace of innovation, one operational lever has become both a major constraint on the business and the path to growth: team execution. Specifically, ops leaders are investing in initiatives that will give them an edge in making store, field and HQ employees more efficient and that will raise the bar on the quality of execution across every one of their stores, even as they add more locations.
12:00 PM - 12:35 PM
PAnel
Solomon Choi
CEO
16 Handles
Hannah Lopez
Marketing Director
Bolay
Natalie Wild
Chief Customer Officer
Bite
Ryan Bowersox
CEO
Cultivate Food and Coffee
David “Rev” Ciancio
Co-Founder CMO
Handcraft Burgers and Brews
Understanding Guest Acquisition, Activation and Engagement Best Practices for a Post Pandemic Landscape
- Learn how to use and uncover data to identify, attract and retain new and existing customers
- Outlining omni-channel media strategies – including email, social media, direct mail, and loyalty programs – to drive activation and engagement within your customer base
- Identify patterns in guest behavior to optimize marketing spend, drive operational efficiency and increase ROI
12:40 PM -1:40 PM
OPEN NETWORKING AND LUNCH ROUND TABLES
Jimmy Goldsmith
Sales Engineer
CrunchTime
Using Software Automation to Alleviate the Labor Crunch
Ryan Huffman
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
CusiTECH
How to Seamlessly Rollout New Technology and Upgrades Across a Broad Portfolio of Sites Without Going Over Budget or Over Schedule
Scott Gierach
Director, Ecosystem Development
Apex Order Pickup Solutions
Completing the Digital Journey through Automated Order Handoff
Ted Babcock
Vice President of Menu & Pricing Analytics
Personica
Menu Price Optimization — Best Practices to Combat Inflation
1:45 PM - 2:20 PM
Workshops
Jason Edone
Project Manager
Rosnet
Kerry Trudeau
Systems Manager
Buddy’s Pizza
How the Right Workforce Scheduling Software can Help you get a Handle on Your Labor Costs
- Using artificial intelligence capabilities, to simplify labor budgeting, forecasting, and scheduling processes
- How modern workforce scheduling software can help you save money by accurately monitoring time entry, labor tracking, and payroll integration
- Leveraging mobile-enabled self-service applications to allow employees to quickly view their schedules, submit time-off requests, adjust availability, and issue sick-leave notifications
JJ Mills
Global Director, Customer Success
PredictHQ
Events Impact QSRs and Fast-Casual Restaurants: Unlock Profits with the Right Smart Data
- Understanding how events impact demand
- Understanding why tracking real-world events at the local level is crucial to understanding individual store’s demand patterns
- How to drive revenue and decrease costs with intelligent event data
- Practical use case on how fast-casual restaurants are actually using the data
2:25 PM - 3:00 PM
Workshops
Darien Bates
CTO
&pizza
Enhancing the Customer Experience and Engaging with Guests Through Digitization
- Working with customers and other stakeholders to understand what their needs are
- Redesigning your website and apps to create a more intuitive, streamlined ordering experience
- Standing out among the crowd: how to create apps that drive value for both guests and your brand
John Isbell
VP Learning and Development
Portillo’s
How Mobile Ordering Has Redefined the Customer Journey
- Understanding how the pandemic has changed mobile ordering from a source of steady growth into an essential component of your digital strategy
- Adapting your marketing, point of sale and customer loyalty operations accordingly to keep pace with increasing on-demand customer expectations.
- Examining the impact that consumer’s online needs and expectations are having on the offline experience
- Leveraging your apps to take an all-in-one approach to draw in and maintain new customers
3:05 PM - 3:40 PM
PAnel
Carissa De Santis
CTO
Friendly’s/BRIX Holdings
Jodie Conrad
CMO
Fazoli’s
Ghost Kitchens: Redefining the Delivery Scene, One Virtual Kitchen at a Time
- Understanding what is a ghost or virtual kitchen and how their importance has changed since the onset of the pandemic
- Using ghost kitchens as a vehicle for both launching a new QSR brand or as a means of expanding into new markets
- How to make the model work and best practices to ensure success