EVENTS

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

“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

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 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 look-

For a full recap of MURTEC, check out the MURTEC Content Hub at hospitalitytech.com/murtec

“Excuses paralyze...If we own failure and do not allow circumstances to stop us, we find success,” Jon Taffer said during his keynote address. RTN Start-Up Alley finalists, judges, and sponsors Comcast and Intel join HT’s VP & Publisher, Abigail Lorden, onstage.

ing into solar capabilities, with strategically placed AC/HVAC to make room for solar panels on the roof, or even covering parking areas with solar.

Brands Leverage Ghost Kitchens to Boost the Bottom Line

When it comes to ghost, host and dark kitchens, it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. The ghost kitchen panel presented a unique mix of brands - all on stage connecting the dots for restaurants looking to diversify business models, expand into new markets, embrace virtual brands, and grow topline revenue.

Geoff Alexander, President and CEO of Wow Bao, took the industry by storm with his dark kitchen concept, selling the brand out the back door of existing restaurants (and other ghost kitchens), exploding to more than 600 locations at the end of 2021. In fact, Wow Bao was presented with HT’s Industry Hero Award for its brand that lets restaurants leverage their restaurant as a dark kitchen. (See page 31.) According to Alexander, the most important thing to consider when looking to diversify is capacity.

“We all have the infrastructure. We all have capacity. Eighty percent of sales come from 20 percent of the menu. If you limit those items, you can create a second brand,” he said.

Michael Beacham, President of Kitchens at Reef Technology, oversees the ghost kitchen that has 180 brands and 8,500 locations throughout North America, Europe and the Middle East. “Proximity to the customer is key,” Beacham explained. “Better, cheaper, faster delivery is going to happen, as well as expanding your customer base.”

Kitchen United CEO Michael Montagano agrees that location matters. “We focus on creating our own Kitchen United mixed channel, which powers 25-40 percent of all volume through our centers, allowing consumers more choice to order from multiple brands under one roof,” he said.

When it comes to winning mindshare and market share, according to Alexander, he (along with a vast many others) rely on third-party delivery providers. He admits being part of a small competitive set (Asian rather than pizza or wings, for example) helps his brand rise to the top. “We don’t own the customer data. Everything we do, we try to drive people directly to Wow Bao. We collect customer data via our portal.”

Montagano indicated the need for brands to be thoughtful about marketing, reaching people where they live and work. “By offering a micro-marketplace, a blended mix, we drive people back. And our order rates tend to be high because of the variety. It’s all under one ticket, one transaction fee, one delivery driver. We are trying to drive more incremental volume through hybrid marketplaces and brands.”

Beacham predicts disruption is on the horizon, pointing to sky-high gas prices and third-party delivery fees. “How much will consumers pay for delivery? There are only so many fees that can come in. We’re headed for some disruption in all of that. Those that are flexible and adaptable will prevail,” he said.

Delivery Disruptors

ClusterTruck and El Pollo Loco, two brands with two very different delivery models, took to the stage to share their disruptive solutions in a fastpaced firechat.

Andrew Rebhun, VP and Digital Officer at El Pollo Loco, shared the lowdown on its drone delivery pilot with Flytrex. Rehbun told a packed house they tapped into the magical delivery drone formula via multi-departmental partnerships, “getting everyone on board to believe in a new path forward.”

There was ample time for exploring the exhibit hall that featured dozens of exhibitors.

It’s no secret restaurants are struggling with delivery. During the pandemic, Rebhun admitted they leaned into the delivery players, and that doing business with them was a huge part of staying viable. He also admitted labor was a constant challenge, and at times they had to turn off some order modes due to not having enough staff to run orders out to customers.

Out of the chaos came a healthy, here-to-stay delivery-on-demand revenue stream, so they found a way to deliver profitably for the business — while minimizing labor challenges.

“We’re proud of the work done overall,” he said, adding that El Pollo Loco doesn’t own the drones, there’s no tipping and no fuel surcharges. “Consumers receive nickel-and-dime fees (ordering delivery normally), and we take that away with our version of drone delivery.”

Brian Howenstein, COO at ClusterTruck, explained the Indianapolis-based company’s point of difference: “We are both a software company and a restaurant operator. We run the kitchens ourselves, we built the tech stack ourselves.”

The delivery-only restaurant has created something unique when it comes to food delivery in an industry struggling to reconcile skyrocketing delivery demand with margin-crushing price tags.

The ClusterTruck model boasts under 10 percent delivery costs, a high-performance ghost kitchen, well-compensated, happy delivery drivers, an impressive tech stack allowing the company to promise food will never be more than six minutes old. With a short delivery window, no order batching (your food isn’t held hostage while drivers deal with other deliveries) and a slick app, ClusterTruck operates eight locations.

“We are a vertically integrated service. We are not on third-party platforms. It’s all ClusterTruck from top to bottom,” Howenstein said.

Sherri Landry, CMO of CEC Entertainment, shared her experience with virtual brands and off-premises demand.

Start-Up Alley Returns

Restaurant Technology Network’s Start-Up Alley made its triumphant return to MURTEC and featured 17 technology start-ups. The judges included Phil Crawford, CTO, CKE; Astrid Isaacs, CTO, Bloomin’ Brands; and Tom Seeker, CIO, Earl Enterprises.

The five restaurant tech finalists took to the main stage for a pitch slam and attendees were able to cast their votes live for their favorite: CRM and customer engagement platform Bikky; COGS-Well 3’s restaurant inventory control and recipe management; Curbit, the central nervous system of a modern digital restaurant; Hello meter, a computer vision solution for drive-thru and dining rooms; and digital marketing platform Targetable.

WATCH: Hellometer’s winning pitch (and more great content!) on the MURTEC Content Hub. hospitatilitytech.com/murtec

MARCH 9

Keynote Panel: IT Gets Real with Artificial Intelligence

Restaurants are getting smarter, thanks to artificially intelligent solutions being deployed in areas like the drive-thru and kitchens. Three tech-savvy restaurant leaders took the stage: Justin Ackerman, Director, Dunkin’ & Baskin Restaurant Technology for Inspire Brands; Dan Simpson, CEO of Taziki’s Mediterranean Café; and Phil Crawford, CTO of CKE Restaurants.

Each panelist agreed that AI should be used as much as possible to automate mundane or physically difficult tasks, so that staff can focus on the business of true hospitality and gain real-world experience with cutting-edge technologies. The hope is that the restaurant industry can attract new talent, and retain and promote staff in meaningful ways, while the robots do the dirty work.

Golfers took to the links on Day 1 for a friendly round of golf. Lisa Acero from Inspire Brands received one of the Top Women in Restaurant Technlogy awards.

At a Dunkin’ location in Rhode Island, AI is being tested in the drive-thru. Ackerman admits being fascinated by watching the AI learn and grow. “The machine has all the data and it knows exactly how to inject orders into the point-of-sale ... It’s getting better as it goes.” He also revealed that accuracy is very good.

At Taziki’s, Simpson said they were settling for 36 percent accuracy with curbside, pickup and delivery times. “What has worked for a long time isn’t working anymore. Sales, labor, food ordering, general predictive analysis is just not getting us there.” After tapping machine learning (ML) and AI modeling, accuracy times jumped to 74 percent, thanks to a mix of expectation management, throttling across channels to optimize labor and altering how the kitchen was staged.

In the near-term, Ackerman believes BOH will yield the most bang for their buck when it comes to ML/AI investments. “We’re in the very early stages, looking at camera-based AI inventory. We can instantly tell customers what we’re out of for the day. When we automate that, it takes tasks away and frees up labor to better serve customers.” He believes voice and camera are the next frontiers. “This technology can help redeploy labor and help you find people (recruiting). And we can bring in tech to help manage the back office,” he said. Showing franchisees how technology can alleviate pain, like the ongoing labor shortage, is a real win.

Crawford agrees that AI allows a plethora of data to become actionable. He’s evaluating internet of things (IoT) solutions to create smarter kitchens and partnering with manufacturers to ensure kitchen equipment delivers real-time metrics, which can affect waste, consumption and overall guest experience. “We’re doing things in the drivethru, like automated drink dispensers, and looking at Flippy for mundane tasks. I believe leveraging robotics will be a true game-changer for the future; it will make our brands relevant again,” he said.

Simpson stressed, “None of this is about displacing the workforce. If we’re successful, we’ll have enough to keep growing, position staff to do more high-value actions, and add more units.”

Virtual Victories

Three thought leaders behind some of the industry’s leading virtual brands took to the stage to share their triumphs, their challenges, and to share what’s next in this red-hot segment of the restaurant industry.

Andre Vener, Founding Partner, Dog Haus Worldwide; Aaron Noveshen, Founder & CEO, Starbird Chicken; and Sherri Landry, Chief Marketing Officer, CEC Entertainment shared their very different and very successful approaches to virtual brands.

Best known for its Chuck E. Cheese brand, CEC launched its virtual brand, Pasqually’s Pizza and Wings in 2020. To appeal to more mature palates, the flavor profile and ingredients were elevated.

Leveraging Third-Party Marketplaces

“We got into the virtual brand business really by looking at what opportunities there were, how to reach more customers, how to get digital real estate,” explained Noveshen.” … How can we show up on five screens versus just one DoorDash screen? And how do we optimize our search engine?”

Also setting out to leverage the third-party marketplaces and how consumers order from them, Dog Haus launched virtual brands in 2019.

“When you go into a Dog Haus brick-and-mortar, you see our menu with five different categories: dogs, sausage, burgers, chicken, plant-based. But when you are ordering on the third-party delivery, you could only have a couple of search words,” Vener explained.

Dog Haus’ five different virtual brands are posi-

Wade Allen shared Brinker International’s bold tech moves.

tioned under the Absolute Brands’ banner and represent its menu and different dayparts: The Impossible Shop for plant-based items, Bad Mutha Clucka for Nashville Hot Chicken, Bad Ass Breakfast, etc.

“We created these virtual brands only to be in a ghost kitchen. And then the pandemic happened,” explained Vener. Dog Haus then asked its franchises if they wanted to launch these virtual brands from their kitchens. “Everybody did it, and within two months, our same store sales were back to normal,” Vener said. “It was the lifeline for our brand during the pandemic. And in 2021 we were up 34 percent, and that’s only because The Absolute Brands carried it.”

At Dog Haus, 55 percent of its sales are from off-premises orders, 18 percent are from alcohol. This is reflected in the new store design. “We’re actually making a bigger footprint of a bar, little less tables on the outside and having a second line for the kitchen in the back. Because the advantage of having the virtual brands is that you can toggle them on and off,” Vener said.

Off premises and dine-in will coexist, agrees Landry. “You’ve got two parts of the business growing. And so we believe that we have an opportunity to fill in the gaps where we already are,” said Landry. HT

Shawn Walchef, Founder of Cali BBQ Media, encouraged attendees to lean into social media.

Wow Bao, BentoBox Receive HT’s Industry Heroes Awards

HT presented its Industry Heroes Awards to New York-based restaurant management platform BentoBox and Chicago-based Wow Bao and its dark kitchen concept.

The Industry Heroes Awards recognize both restaurants and technology suppliers who truly went above and beyond in the face of closed dining rooms and lockdowns, to help restaurants pivot and continue to serve customers, support employees, and remain in business.

More than 600 restaurants have signed on with Wow Bao and its dark kitchen concept that allows restaurants to easily add a virtual brand to their operations. “Wow Bao is proud and honored to have been able to help so many restaurants these past 18 months, and we are very excited for the continued innovation and evolution of this new dining segment,” said Geoff Alexander, President & CEO, Wow Bao, pictured left.

BentoBox’s solution includes the ability for restaurant users to add online ordering and delivery to their websites, a musthave during the past two years.

“BentoBox is honored to be recognized as one of Hospitality Technology’s Industry Heroes alongside so many incredible innovators in the restaurant industry,” said Krystle Mobayeni, Co-Founder of BentoBox. “We would not be in this position without the trust, support and collaboration from our incredible restaurant partners. We are deeply committed to serving the hospitality community and are eager to continue helping restaurants accelerate growth and thrive for many years to come.”

MURTEC 2022 Top Women in Restaurant Technology Awards

Women who are the driving force behind some of the biggest and most successful and innovative brands are among the sixth annual class of honorees.

BY ANNA WOLFE, SENIOR EDITOR - RESTAURANTS

Hospitality Technology is profiling each of the 10 winners in-depth on hospitalitytech.com/ topwomen22. Here is an overview.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Regina Jerome

Senior Vice President of Information Technology, UNO Restaurants Regina Jerome, a 25+ year veteran in multi-unit hospitality IT, joined Uno’s in 2019 with the goal of helping the company update its legacy IT systems. Her mission: to rip out an outdated IT stack and replace it with more modern, data-driven systems. Jerome accomplished at Uno’s in 18 months would have taken five years somewhere else, her colleagues say.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Mary Melvin

Director of Restaurant Technology for Checkers and Rally’s Restaurants Mary Melvin is spearheading the QSR’s use of AI in the drive-thru to create a seamless ordering experience for guests.

“This has been such an exciting project and has significant meaning now in our current environment with labor shortages,” says Melvin. “It’s very rewarding to see the AI project fill a crucial need that is welcomed with open arms from our hardest workers – our operations teams.”

Melvin is bullish about automation and its potential in the restaurant space. “There’s so much being developed with autonomous technology that will provide greater accuracy and efficiency than humanly possible,” Melvin says.

INNOVATOR

Lisa Acero

Director of IT Deployment Services for Inspire Brands Lisa Acero led the team that replaced a 10 year-old POS/BOH system at more than 7,700 Dunkin’ locations. “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, labor disruptions, and supply chain delays, the project hit our timelines and goals,” says Acero.

From a tech perspective, the new system opens up many possibilities — including self-ordering kiosks, line-busting tablets, improving the drive-thru experience and more.

INNOVATOR

Jennifer Giusti

Director, HR Technology at Darden Restaurants Jennifer Giusti’s colleagues credit Giusti for helping to apply technology, including the conversational AI recruiting platform Paradox, to restaurant company’s HR processes.

Giusti is “extremely passionate” about the user experience. “Team members expect their employers to provide the same level of technology that we provide to our guests ... This drives us to continuously look for ways to improve,” she says.

INNOVATOR

Kelly McArdle

Vice President of Information

Technology at bartaco

Kelly McArdle helped to oversee the success of bartaco’s pivot to offpremise ordering. She brought on new technology partners, which transformed

bartaco’s dine-in experience – allowing guests to seamlessly view a menu, place and pay for their order, all from a mobile device. This improves the guest experience while also pushing for higher profitability and more equitable wage distribution across hourly team members.

INNOVATOR

Theresa Schaefer

EVP, Product & Design at Olo Theresa Schaefer was the product manager behind the initial launch of Olo Rails and Olo Dispatch, “two groundbreaking solutions when they debuted and significantly differentiate us in the digital ordering space to this day,” she says.

In the future, Schaefer sees restaurant technology continuing to make the entire experience simpler and more enjoyable for staff and customers alike.

RISING STAR

Laura Beach

Amazon Web Services AWS Laura Beach, Sales Account Executive, AMAZON Web Services - AWS, is passionate about helping her customers achieve their business objectives.

Looking ahead to the future of restaurant technology, Beach is bullish about the long-term impact of AI/ML solutions. “I have seen many of my hospitality and restaurant customers completely transform their businesses through AI/ ML solutions. I foresee that restaurant technology will continue to innovate and utilize more AI/ML solutions,” she says.

RISING STAR

Jen Lesniak

Senior Director of Consumer Products at SpotOn Jen Lesniak is passionate about leveling the playing field for local restaurants, “by giving independent owners and operators …the tools and resources they need to deliver consistently engaging, memorable experiences to their guests at every touchpoint,” she says.

Now and in the future, “mobile devices are poised to play an even more pivotal role in evolving the dining experience,” Lesniak predicts. “I expect to see ... as a diversification of methods used for personalization.”

RISING STAR

Courtney Maxedon

VP of Interactive Marketing, Kahala Brands Courtney Maxedon oversees all digital initiatives for all 29 Kahala Brands concepts’ including off-premise ordering, digital and social media, loyalty, SEO, digital design/development and more.

A pilot with a customer data platform identified the previously “unknown” customers and led to “meeting them where they are” across the digital landscape; they saw a +200% return on ad spend. These results have proven the importance of digital.

RISING STAR

Jessica Valenzuela

CEO and Co-Founder, GoGoGuest Jessica Valenzuela’s love of food led her down a winding path to create a technology solution. “I love being at the intersection where cloud technology, design, and data meet. I’m passionate about creating and growing frictionless solutions for restaurants and their guests,” she said.

Valenzuela’s epiphany led to the launch of GoGoGuest. “As we explored different edge cases … we discovered a common issue - the restaurant industry suffers from disjointed data and a lack of focus. The result is a failure to leverage the right data to understand their marketable audience and align their product mixes with what people are buying.” HT

By: Angela Diffly, Co-Founder, RTN

Red Hot: RTN Events, Publications & Updates

The Restaurant Technology Network (RTN) has been on the move. Not only did we launch a new website and technology specification (see next page), we welcomed new Board members, hosted Start-Up Alley at MURTEC, attended Food On Demand — and so much more.

What A Site!

RTN’s new online home has the same link, but a fresh new face. Members can easily login, as the site recognizes member company email domains. RTN members enjoy first-rights access to technical guidance, as well as event info and updates. Check it out to see what’s new! www.restauranttechnology

network.com

RTN Town Hall: Restaurant-Ready AI

Join us on Tuesday, June 14 at 11 am ET as we host speakers from Inspire Brands, Justin Ackerman, Director, Dunkin’ & Baskin Restaurant Technology, and Steve Lakin, Director, Custom Applications & New Technology, as they ask technology leaders from AWS, ClearCOGS, Fresh Technology, Hi Auto and Paradox questions about real-world AI for restaurants today. All restaurants and RTN supplier members can register & join:

https://ensembleiq.swoogo.com/townhall

Welcome New Restaurant Board Members

RTN is thrilled to announce the addition of the following industry rockstars to its Board of Governors lineup: Michael Haley, CIO at Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants; Clark Matthews VP, IT for El Pollo Loco; Anthony Mejia, VP, Information Technology at Zippy’s; and Zerrick Pearson, CIO at Five Guys. Our Board is made up of seasoned restaurant technology veterans who all share the same passion for technology innovation in the restaurant industry. See our entire Board by visiting RTN’s site under About Us → Board of Governors.

RTN’s Start-Up Alley at MURTEC

RTN’s second annual Start-Up Alley was a huge success. With support from Comcast Business and Intel, RTN showcased 17 top brands, following a fierce competition of nearly 40 applicants. Judges Phil Crawford, CTO, CKE; Astrid Isaacs, CTO, Bloomin’ Brands; and Tom Seeker, CIO, Earl Enterprises, narrowed the field to the top 5, which included Bikky, COGS-Well, Curbit, Hellometer (the winner!), and Targetable. After the live event, RTN produced a Town Hall to showcase the Top 5, hosted by Fred LeFranc, Chaos Strategist & Founder of Results Thru Strategy and RTN Board Member. Catch all the action on RTN’s website under About Us → RTN Updates.

Food On Demand

We covered this year’s Food On Demand show in a big way, featuring brands like Chipotle, Dine Brands, Focus Brands, Red Robin, Olo, Thanx, Lunchbox, Punchh (PAR) and Paytronix. The biggest buzz? Digital hospitality and customer lifetime value as table stakes for any brand’s success in today’s uber-competitive third-party landscape. Also hot? Robotics, automation and AI/ML, coming soon to a restaurant near you. Read more about Food On Demand on our website under About Us → RTN Updates.

Stay Tuned!

RTN continues to grow and thrive, uniting the industry, and producing valuable tech tools for restaurants. To see our schedule of events, visit our website and check out the Events Calendar. HT

For more information about joining RTN, please visit our website and click Join Now to get started. www.RestaurantTechnologyNetwork.com.

RTN’s Customer Record Data Specification: PHASE 1

DOWNLOAD NOW!

RTN Releases Customer Data Record Standard.

Available to the entire industry, this phase 1 release tackles these key challenges:

Collecting fragmented, non-uniform customer profi les

Managing customer data via disparate systems

Maintaining integrity when collecting and handling customer data

Owning the customer, cultivating loyal fans, understanding customer behavior, sparking repeat business

PHASE 1: KEY CONTRIBUTORS

STEVEN M. ELINSON

Worldwide Head of Restaurants & Food Service

Amazon Web Services TIM GUERRIERO

Information Security Program Manager

P.F. Chang’s GEORGE HUTTO

Sr. BI Developer

MOD

MARK MULLINAX

Sr. Business Development Manager

ConsultR ROBERT PETERSON

Area VP, New Business, North America,

Oracle Food & Beverage CHRISTOPHER SEBES

Partner

RTS

Join Us for Phase 2

Help us expand upon the existing Customer Data Record to include customer segmentation information.

SCAN QR CODE TO REGISTER!