The Simmer

Here’s something different: for the first time, Kristen and Brandon aren’t hosting a guest on The Simmer. Instead, we’re talking trends — good, bad, and ugly — that continue to shape restaurants. In this episode we talk about restaurant tech consolidation, restaurant robotics, and what a new US administration might mean for restaurants and the people who work in them. Thanks for helping to make 2024 a success for The Simmer, see you next year!

Geoff Alexander, the President & CEO of Wow Bao, reveals the intriguing journey of his Asian bun restaurant. Starting in Chicago, Wow Bao has embraced modern channels like vending machines and ghost kitchens. He shares his tech philosophy emphasizing the importance of being first in innovation. The discussion also dives into the challenges of managing a brand across diverse platforms while highlighting strategic partnerships that fueled growth during the pandemic. Geoff’s insights blend technology with genuine hospitality in the evolving restaurant landscape.

Over the last few weeks, foodborne illnesses have killed several people in the U.S., sickening many others. Outbreaks affected major restaurants and retailers from McDonald’s to Whole Foods to Walmart; the offending E. coli bacteria was traced to ingredients including onions, carrots, and broccoli.Christine Schindler founded Pathspot to make restaurants safer, using tech to support health and safety initiatives from hand washing to ingredient labeling. In this episode, we talk about the recent E. coli outbreaks specifically and food safety in America generally, plus how technology helps standardize processes in order to keep us all safe and healthy. Fascinating stuff!

Recipes on the internet have always been bad. They’re hard to find and even harder to mange. Many have tried to find a fix, but few have completely flipped the model on its head. Until now! Lisa Grimm is co-founder and CEO of Roux, which she describes as “the home of food culture.” It’s a place to find, store, modify, and share recipes while giving credit (and cash) to the original creator. (Join the waitlist at roux.app.) In this episode, we cover Roux’s inception and soft launch, plus Brandon and Kristen share restaurant-related news out of the recent presidential election and Wonder’s big acquisition of Grubhub. 

Founder and CEO of Table22, Sam Bernstein, has some incredible news. He just closed a Series A funding round of 11 million dollars. In the latest episode, Bernstein talks about how Table22 is helping restaurants generate new revenue streams and innovatively bring their brands to life, fueling its mission to support merchants, restaurants, and shops in operationalizing unique offerings.

Alice Cheng launched Culinary Agents, a hiring platform for hospitality companies, 12 years ago. Since then, it’s served 2 million users, including more than 50,000 businesses, offering job listings, industry data, and educational content meant to inform and inspire the next generation of restaurant talent.  On this episode, Alice debuts Culinary Agents’ newest endeavor: HospitalityCareerPaths.com, a platform highlighting the professional trajectories of leaders in the industry. (And others, like Kristen.) 

Chef, founder, and industry leader Aaron Noveshen helms San Francisco Bay Area’s Starbird, a chicken concept. Starbird debuted eight years ago hoping to “completely disrupt fast food,” per Noveshen. During that time, the brand has grown quickly, embraced most of the industry’s tech-forward growth tactics — including ghost kitchens, which he still talks about favorably!  On this episode, Noveshen describes the Starbird’s evolution while sharing much of what he’s learned leading a fast-moving, forward-thinking restaurant brand born in the country’s tech epicenter. (Plus, a major QR code-adjacent gripe from Brandon.)

Robert Sietsema has been reviewing restaurants for over 30 years, and he has some thoughts. Specifically, in this episode, he has thoughts about QR code menus (absolutely not), reservations platforms (fine but he'd rather avoid), and social media ("It's putting me out of business."). Plus, Brandon and Kristen hang out in New York and make the restaurant technology introduction of the year.

Tracy Kim, CEO of Dig, a popular East Coast restaurant chain, shares her journey to leadership and insights on the brand’s growth. She discusses the company's rapid expansion, marking its 33rd location, and how they are adapting their business model to meet family dining trends. The conversation also dives into evolving consumer preferences, particularly the shift towards kiosk ordering, and the integration of technology to enhance operations. Kim reflects on overcoming pandemic challenges and the brand's significance in New York.

Reservations are having a moment. So when the biggest player in the game makes big changes to its platform, the industry pays attention. Debby Soo assumed the top role at OpenTable in the summer of 2020, when restaurants were reeling from the sudden onset of the pandemic that changed their business forever. In this episode, we talk about the changes Soo and her exec team have made at OpenTable, working to win back the best restaurants in the country (and abroad) and push a decades-old restaurant technology company into the future.