THE RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY REUNITED IN LAS VEGAS MARCH 7-9 FOR A MURTEC LIKE NO OTHER By Robert Firpo-Cappiello, Angela Diffly and Anna Wolfe
Innovative restaurant operators and their transformative technology solutions took to the stage for three days of networking and collaboration. Day one kicked off with an afternoon round of golf and a series of educational sessions on data privacy, business intelligence, leveraging automation, blockchain and cryptocurrency and more. All three days featured ample time for attendees to network, see the latest technology solutions and have one-on-one meetings with dozens of technology vendors. MARCH 8
Keynote: Jon Taffer on Technology, Labor & the Kitchen of the Future Award-winning hospitality legend and television personality Jon Taffer delivered a thought-provoking and inspiring MURTEC keynote address. Taffer shared that he has “learned more from failure than I’ve ever learned from success … I found the common denominator of failure: an excuse. Excuses paralyze. They stop growth every single time. If we own failure and do not allow circumstances to stop us, we find success,” he said. Taffer explained how he and his team leveraged technology to create Taffer’s Tavern: a technologydriven kitchen of the future, which has no raw protein, no hood, and cooking times under six minutes. “While everyone is cutting front-of-house (FOH) labor, we focused on back-of-house (BOH),” he explained. “By minimizing the BOH payroll burden with technology, we increased human connectivity in the FOH. The future of our industry is technology. I created it because of you. Your technologies
“By minimizing the back-of-house payroll burden with technology, we increased human connectivity in the frontof-house. The future of our industry is technology.” —Jon Taffer, in his March 8 MURTEC Keynote
helped me achieve this objective.” In his unique, high-energy style, Taffer shared that he remains bullish on restaurants. “The door has never been wider for us,” he noted. “… Lick off the wounds. Get rid of excuses. Restaurants are packed. Restaurants are packed! That’s all that matters to us right now. Seize this opportunity. There will never be a better one. You will become a superstar or a bum. It’s up to you.”
Brinker’s Bold Moves Wade Allen, SVP, Head of Innovation at Brinker International took to the stage with Abigail Lorden, HT’s VP and co-founder of RTN, to share the driving forces behind Brinker’s cutting-edge technology. Allen shared lessons learned from its pilot with Bear Robotics. Rita the robot is hosting, seating and doing other tasks at 10 locations. Rita may be added to 50-100 locations in the near future. Rover technology and drones are especially attractive for restaurants looking to crack the delivery code. Brinker is leaning into Flytrex, piloting drone delivery in a couple of locations. “We’ve been very impressed with what they’re able to do. Realistically, we see sizable drone delivery within our grasp in 3-4 years, hundreds maybe thousands of deliveries,” said Allen. “Is it drone delivery-as-a-service? Are they taking off from the roof? We’re not sure yet, but we’re actively seeking to figure it out.” When it comes to sustainability, Brinker is lookFor a full recap of MURTEC, check out the MURTEC Content Hub at hospitalitytech.com/murtec
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