Hospitality Hangout | Expert Strategies & Industry Trends from Hospitality Insiders

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” chat with Atul Sood, Chief Business Officer at Kitchen United to explore the multi-restaurant ordering experience. Sood shares his background that included leading global food delivery partnerships for McDonalds during a time Doordash and Postmates were just getting off the ground and UberEats didn’t exist. He had the opportunity to set up global partnerships in the United States, Singapore, Canada, Australia and more. When asked what makes Kitchen United unique, Sood says, “we are front and center where people live and work. We have a front of house in each physical location. So consumers can walk in place an order on a kiosk and take their food to go. We allow for multi-concept ordering.” He adds, “We are excited because we've been around for four years now and we've learned a lot.”Sood says when asked about Kitchen United acquiring ghost kitchen developer Zuul, “The ability to acquire a team that was that knowledgeable in the space and that had been pioneers in their own right in New York City was an opportunity that we just couldn't afford to pass up.” Adding, “In addition to getting their technology stack which is very complimentary to ours and really the driver behind this infrastructure business.” Sood talks about food halls and Kitchen United’s partnership with Westfield Malls, he says, “It's been in a test for nearly nine months now ten months now and really what we're doing is we're enabling two different groups of customers to get access to the food court and other restaurants around them all.” He adds, “the first group is people who live close by who used to have to commute into the mall to get the food, now they can get it through delivery and by the way we make the delivery process a lot easier for the driver instead of having to park go into the mall go up the escalator.” To hear about Zuul Market consolidating group ordering technology, how the delivery process was streamlined and Kitchen United’s partnership with Kroger supermarkets tune in to this episode of Hospitality Hangout. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” chat with Geoff Alexander, President and chief executive officer, to explore using dark kitchens to generate revenue. . Alexander talks about how he started back in 1993 with the privately held restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants that Rich Melman launched in 1971. He says that Lettuce Entertain You has created over two hundred and twenty different brands in its fifty years, currently operating about one hundred and sixty restaurants among sixty different concepts. “I’ve worked on twelve different concepts, give or take, in my tenure with Lettuce. It’s coming up on twenty-nine years in May.” Adding, “In 2009 I took over the concept of Wow Bao, a three unit brick and mortar store in Chicago serving steamed asian buns, potstickers and rice bowls.” Alexander goes on to talk about introducing self ordering kiosks, mobile desktop ordering, food trucks, and then getting involved with consumer packaged goods. Alexander talks about Wow Bao’s growth, saying how the brand opened up fully automated restaurants with no front of house people, where the food came through automatic LED computer monitors. Since April 2020 through today they have opened over four hundred and fifty dark kitchens across the country and are on track to break five hundred by the end of October 2021. When Alexander was asked about ghost kitchens, he defines them as a space that does not have a storefront and a dark kitchen is the areas in a restaurant that are dark right now, an area in your kitchen that you are not utilizing. Alexander says about how Wow Bao’s model was built that they have the ability to allow restaurants to turn the lights back on or start using that area of the kitchen that was dark before. He adds, based on the revenue that they can help operators generate and the profits they can bring to the bottom line. “They’re able to keep the lights on, keep people employed and that’s how we use the term dark.” says Alexander. To hear about Wow Bao’s early insight to grow the brand, what Alexander has to say about technology, and third party delivery, check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Clayton Wood, Chief Executive Officer at Picnic, to explore solutions for solving labor shortages and automation in food preparation. Wood says when asked to share about himself, “So my background I'm a mechanical engineer by training, I've worked in a bunch of industries including Aerospace renewable energy agriculture, robotics and after a series of startups, Picnic is really where I want to be.” He adds, “you know Picnic is a combination of my passions, robotics creating new businesses and really helping customers be more successful.” Picnic is very focused on our customers and that's why it exists, says Wood. He explains that Picnic is not building technology for technology's sake and that they really want to help customers, knowing everybody in food service needs help these days.Wood says, Picnic is the intersection of how you can apply technology in a way that improves customers' operations that helps them be more successful. In Addition, they are really focused on food service, the jobs are hard, and Picnic is here to make it easier for the workers. When asked to share more about Picnic, Wood says they are in food preparation automation and there are not too many companies in this space. Adding that Picnic started with pizza, it is one of the most popular foods on the planet and they are discovering that restaurants are having a hard time finding workers. To hear about how Picnic is transforming the world of food preparation to automation innovation, check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” chat with Carissa De Santis, chief information officer at Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants to explore hospitality technology and what’s in the pipeline for Dickey’s Barbecue. De Santis talks about building Dickey’s virtual brands, the interest from franchisees around Wing Boss, and the decision to bring it to brick-and-mortar. They recently opened their first location in Dallas, where they have their virtual food menu and a full bar. Dickey’s Barbecue is currently operating in forty-four states and De Santis talks about expanding internationally. When asked if Dubai is loving barbecue, De Santis said, “they’re 100% loving barbecue over there” adding “they were actually our first international debut as a franchisee and partner there.” De Santis says Dickey's just opened a second location in Japan and first in São Paulo, Brazil. De Santis talks about Dickey’s early hospitality tech foresight, saying that part of their original tech stack started out with reporting and analytics, collecting all of the data on their customers and transactions. Smoke Stack is Dickey’s Barbecue custom data platform, it was started almost a decade ago. De Santis shares what their tech stack looks like today on this episode. To hear about Dickey’s Barbecue successful loyalty program, the growth since its launch, her thoughts on technology and scams, and what is next for Dickey’s check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout. Dickey’s is offering a special deal to the Hospitality Hangout Listeners. Use code HHFREE3 at checkout and get 3 free Sausages with any $100 purchase on this link at Barbecue at home by Dickey’s.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” chat with Brita Rosenheim, Partner at Culterra Capital and Venture Partner at Better Food Ventures to explore restaurant technology.Rosenheim got started with an interest in the food world and left banking, she went to Italy to get a Masters in food communications. She is an investor and advisor, sharing her excitement for the innovation in technology. Rosenheim talks about the Restaurant Tech EcoSystem map and how the selection is made for the map.When Rosenheim was asked about the rise of technology in regards to new categories being added to the map, she says food safety and quality was given recognition, which had historically been part of operations. Rosenheim adds, most of the pandemic trends are more of the same, it’s not completely new innovation and the biggest shift is really adoption versus full on new technology.Rosenheim addresses the ghost kitchen trend saying it is here to stay much like meal kits. “It’s a new concept and it is disrupting the way things are done, it’s shifting peoples minds about how operations can be managed,” adds Rosenheim. “It still needs to figure out the right business model and the right users.”When asked about categories losing steam, Rosenheim says it’s not becoming less important but search and discovery, reservations, and event management has a little slice on the wheel because there has been consolidation. She adds that five years ago those were the largest categories...now most of the efforts have turned to optimizing back of house.To find out what category Rosenheim thinks will be the shrinking next and her thoughts on robotics, tune in to this episode of Hospitality Hangout. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators. And to keep listening, check out The Hospitality Hangout podcast on Spotify!This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” take the show to the first in-person trade show, FSTEC 2021 where restaurants and technology connect. Schatzberg and Frischling chat with Wade Allen, senior vice president, head of innovation at Brinker International, Inc., Derek E. Canton, chief executive officer and founder at Paerpay, Sterling Douglass, co founder and chief executive officer at Chowly, Inc., and Marcus Viscidi, VP, Enterprise Sales - National Restaurant Association Show & Foodservice Conferences at Winsight, LLC.Allen talks about what he is looking to learn from the show, saying that he looks for organizations that inspire him and are doing things not in the traditional way, adding companies that can truly change their business. Allen says he is looking at new technology in loyalty programs to delivery drones to the future of POS. He talks about Brinker International’s development of virtual brands and launching them.Derek Canton from Paerpay stops by to talk about being on the market place floor at FSTEC. Paerpay is a contactless payment platform for restaurants and Canton shares what’s new at the company. He says the number one thing he wants the audience to know about Paerpay, can get their customers up and running in an hour. Tune in to hear Canton’s quick fire answers.Sterling Douglass of Chowly, who has been on the show before chats with the guys about technology change for restaurants and consumer adoption having an impact. A lot of technology that has been around has finally been picked up, like QR codes and delivery technology. Douglass says that he is excited to see the maturity in virtual restaurant space as well. To learn more about Chowly’s partnership with Google, listen to the show.The last guest to stop by to chat, Marcus Viscidi from Winsight, LCC, he talks about putting together the first in-person restaurant trade show, FSTEC 2021 since the pandemic and answers quick fire questions.To hear more from all of the guests that stopped by Hospitality Hangout at FSTEC 2021, check out this episode. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy'' and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy'' chat with Chris Campbell, CEO at Review Trackers to explore the importance of restaurant reviews.  Campbell founded Review Trackers over ten years ago and helps over fifty thousand restaurants in thirty-five countries track and manage their customer feedback from websites like Google, Facebook, and Tripadvisor.  When asked about what he thinks of restaurant operators that don’t pay attention to customer reviews, Campbell says “operators are crazy, if you think about things that can influence your business and have major ripple effects, reviews is one of the biggest things.” Adding “Ninety-one percent of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.” Campbell was asked in reference to Yelp and according to Review Trackers, where a majority of reviews are coming from today, he shares that it depends on the market you are in, but adds the reality is Google is winning. Campbell says, Google, Facebook, and Tripadvisor, all just growing multiples faster then Yelp. “Ninety Five percent of people start their search on Google,” says Campbell. You can listen to Campbell address Yelp’s importance in today's competitive review platforms on this podcast. In regards to sales, when Campbell was asked how reviews and responding reviews help search engine optimization, he says that reviews are the leading factor in influencing how you appear on a google map ranking. Adding reviews is the thing that influences your ranking the most. To hear Campbell’s advice for restaurant operators that don't have a review tracking system in place and how you can start making your business better, tune in to this episode of Hospitality Hangout. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators. And to keep listening, check out The Hospitality Hangout podcast on iTunes!This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Tom Pickett, Chief Revenue Officer at DoorDash, to explore delivery and virtual cloud kitchens. Pickett is responsible for building out restaurant partnerships from big chains to mom and pops helping them become successful. Pickett says, “for the last year and a half we really have been working very closely with merchants to help them navigate the challenges of the pandemic.” He adds a stat saying that restaurants that have been on DoorDash are eight times more likely to still be around today than those not on DoorDash. In terms of what DoorDash is seeing, Pickett says, “a big acceleration in delivery, delivery has become a more prominent part of business and they find the most successful are treating it like a new line of business.” Another highlight is the operations experience of getting delivery in and out of your restaurants and Dashers love to go to the restaurants that are efficient and get them out of there quickly because they are able to make more money when operators are moving out deliveries.Pickett talks about Storefront, a DoorDash product that takes their online ordering capability and makes it available for restaurants for free to put on their own website. Underutilized kitchen capacity is a great opportunity for virtual brands and the cloud kitchen space. Pickett says that virtual brands and kitchens are a way to expand in a very cost effective way, using the power of delivery platforms. Delivery is at the center of these and DoorDash works very closely as a consultant for restaurants. To learn more about all of the new partnership programs, daily payouts for merchants, and DashPass, a subscription program for consumers, tune into this episode. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators. And keep listening, check out The Hospitality Hangout podcast on Spotify!This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “The Finance Guy” chat with Paul Allen, President and Cofounder at NextBite, to explore delivery only brands for restaurants across the country and how they can add value for these operators. Allen breaks down Ordermark and NextBite saying they are obsessed with developing technology and brands to help restaurants thrive, and that is their focus. He adds, what makes the company distinct from ghost kitchen and commissary model businesses is that NextBite exists solely to help existing restaurants. Allen discusses the differences in working with traditional and non traditional kitchens in reference to celebrities versus chefs. NextBite focuses on authenticity, brand authenticity and says that the celebrities need to be committed to the success of the brand, be involved, and care about the food. “It really has to be a partnership and there has to be something genuine beyond it when it comes to a celebrity,” says Allen. He adds, “that you can’t replace a restaurant that has built a reputation over the years with a new celebrity brand.” When Allen was asked how NextBite addresses marketing the brands, he talks about it being stage dependent and how it changes as the brands grow. He says, the secret sauce for NextBite exists in the technology, the operations, and its relations to marketing. Hear what Allen has to say about operations, training, supply chain, and technology being the meat and potatoes that drive efficiency and profitability. Plus, why data operations and technology drive marketing efficiency. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators. And to keep listening, check out The Hospitality Hangout podcast on Spotify! Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com

In the latest episode of Hospitality Hangout podcast, Michael Schatzberg “The Restaurant Guy” and Jimmy Frischling “ The Finance Guy” chat with Marty Hahnfeld, Chief Customer Officer at Olo, to explore the future of delivery. “The things that are happening within our business right now happened a decade ago in the hotel industry,” says Hahnfeld, and the industry felt like they needed to deliver without understanding all of their options to have food delivered, letting an oversized number of consumers shift off direct business and shift off to the market places, adds Hahnfeld. Hahnfeld says, for any brand that doesn’t invest in serving their loyal customers directly, it could be rough days. Citing two-thirds of all restaurant transactions are consumed off premise, of that two-thirds only sixteen percent of those transactions are delivery. When discussing what types of things an operator can do to make sure they are set up correctly, Hahnfeld talks about what Olo can offer. He shares how Olo’s platform has a solution called Expo, a tablet-based software focused on enhancing the front-of-house workflow in restaurants. Hahnfeld talks about how Olo addresses deliveries in regards to urban vs. suburban markets, and says suburban delivery has been proven to work, although there is a cost problem, investments will continue to improve handoff and delivery. Olo focuses on their platform supporting delivery long term and Hahnfeld gives his take on ghost kitchens, virtual kitchens, delivery kitchens, and the idea of restaurants aggregating. To hear about Olo’s success and it’s process of going public, check out this episode of Hospitality Hangout. Click here for more recovery and relief information for restaurant, hospitality and food service operators.This syndicated content is brought to you by Branded Strategic Hospitality. Episode Credits:Produced by: Branded Hospitality MediaHosted by: Michael Schatzberg, JImmy FrischlingProducer: Julie ZuckerCreative Director: Adam LevineShow Runner: Drewe RaimiPost Production: Three Cheers Creativewww.thehospitalityhangout.com