In its latest revival, the pizza segment has managed to outpace foodservice industry growth by 3X (!) and shows no signs of slowing down. What is this $46 billion market’s secret sauce? In this session, we will explore the competitive advantages that pizzerias and pizza-adjacent operators have leveraged for growth and how you can apply these strategies to your business today.

Which is more important today to drive guest traffic: Creative thinking or Analytics? Each of us lean towards one direction but solving today’s traffic challenges requires the best of both the creative right brain and the data-driven left brain. Come and hear two industry pros: Brad Rukstales CEO, Cogensia and Robin Blanchette CEO, Norton-Creative share real examples of how both analytics and creative strategies are working to improve the guest experience. This will be a spirited, lively interaction and you will leave with specific steps your brand can take to improve your guest traffic.

Rising labor costs and a complex legislative and regulatory landscape on federal, state and local levels add pressure on business performance and bottom lines. Restaurant Operators continue to acknowledge recruiting and retaining employees as the top challenge facing their business. In this session gain insights from the latest workforce data and learn from industry leaders who are changing the paradigm with solutions that drive engagement and retention.

Learning Objectives:

1) Learn the top reasons most employees leave restaurants

2) Understand what motivates employees to come to work for you and stay longer

3) Identify key strategies in training and development to drive retention

All Attendees will receive a copies of the report, “Restaurant Industry 2030” and the “State of the Industry Report”

Guest Loyalty is one of today’s “silver bullet” buzzwords. But whom are you targeting? What data could be used to measure progress and stay in touch with frequent Customers? As it turns out, building loyalty is not easy. In fact, …it’s complicated. With few exceptions, adding a loyalty program and making it successful long term can be two entirely different things. The good news is that there are many ways to frame and build loyalty today. Come hear about best practices from leading Brands, who are building an integrated Loyalty Strategy to stay connected with their guests. 

Labor cost is a critical driver of business success. How can you tell if you are paying too much or too little? How can you learn about the latest offerings in employee benefits? This session will share restaurant compensation and benefits trends and reveal sources that you can use to know how your labor costs stack up!

How do you measure Customer Experience? How does your brand benchmark compared to the industry? What can you do today to improve your customer experience? Join us as we arm you with best practices and technology for maximizing your customer experience ROI.

Every guest experience program is different, but there’s one thing they’re all trying to prove: ROI. Practitioners in the industry are asking, “how can I prove that creating memorable experiences for guests today means improving our bottom line tomorrow?

Join InMoment’s Nate Morley along with clients Savannah Harper (Director of Operations Services for Auntie Anne’s) and Ryan Nowicki (Sr. Director of Operations Excellence & Strategic Initiatives for Dave & Buster’s) as they discuss the “Experience Success Methodology” that helps brands to modernize their approach to feedback, optimize guest experiences, and prove program value at every turn.

Who is going to lead the top restaurant chains in the future? In its annual Power 20 list, Restaurant Business highlighted those future decision-makers—the emerging leaders well-poised to rise through the ranks of their operations and end up in the c-suite. In today's challenging labor market, these are not only the top examples of all-star employees, but the ones that need to be cultivated and inspired. They'll share what excites them, motivates them and keeps them sticking around plus much more. Their insights will provide a roadmap for finding and growing your company's leaders of tomorrow.

The restaurant industry is facing dramatic changes in the coming years. The business is saturated in the U.S., with no room to generate additional sales without taking them from existing locations. It faces new competitors in ghost kitchens that promise new economic models that could undercut existing players. And it faces a dramatically changing consumer that has more choices and more information than ever. All of this is putting operators on their heels and changing the very nature of what it means to be a restaurant.

Jonathan Maze, the executive editor of Restaurant Business Magazine, is the author of The Bottom Line blog and its companion newsletter and is the host of the weekly restaurant finance podcast A Deeper Dive. He gives his overview on the future of the restaurant industry, and how operators can combat these changes.