Agenda 2023

Join us for a Community Give-Back Party, where for one hour we will create care packs (such as hand wipes, toothbrushes, hand sanitizers, water, snacks, tissues and feminine products) for the Lotus House, the largest women’s shelter in the nation that has the capacity to shelter over 500 women and children nightly. They not only provide meals and beds to those in need, but also therapy services, parenting classes, medical and mental healthcare, job readiness training, homework help and so much more.

We’ll then celebrate the opening of the Summit with cocktails, appetizers and live music.

In this session, you will hear four short, thought-provoking talks that will leave you challenged and inspired.

• How Restaurant Brands Can Help Meet Food Insecurity Needs | Bryce Fluellen
• Workplace Shortage? There’s an Untapped Labor Pool | Blaine Hurst
• Why NFTs, Why Now? | Steve Lieber
• The Digital Dance: Sustaining Digital Innovation | John Laporte

Operators hear pitches all the time about products and services that will grow their business, but where’s the proof? We’ve got it right here.

This session includes four 15-minute presentations, each featuring one vendor and one operator sharing the how, when and ROI behind recent rollouts.

• Eggs Up Grill & Bikky
• Jason's Deli & Upside
• McDonald's & Paradox
• Chatmeter

Join us at Ball & Chain in Little Havana, one of Miami’s premiere bar and lounges.

Ball & Chain is a historic Miami live music venue and restaurant dating back to 1935. The restaurant boasts fabulous Cuban fare, and the bar features themed cocktails from renowned mixologists.

We’ll enjoy cocktails, delicious food, a live band and salsa dancing.

This private dinner party is included with your Summit registration at no additional cost. Transportation will be provided. First buses leave at 5:30 for the 15-minute bus ride.

Grab your breakfast and join us for small group discussions about some of the most pressing issues facing restaurant operators today. These informal group discussions allow attendees to learn from one another’s mistakes and successes.

Brain Exchange topics:

• Employee Retention & Recruitment | Sponsored by Payactiv
• Innovating Through Restaurant Virtual Auditing | Sponsored by Auxis
• Middle-of-House Automation | Sponsored by Kitchen Brains
• Mobile Tech + Employees | Sponsored by Workstream
• Successful LTO Marketing Strategies | Sponsored by Vya
• Tech Talk | Sponsored by OfOne

Millennials taught us that customers wanted personalized experiences, but Gen Z is taking that to a whole new level. In fact, 58% will pay more for products targeted to their personalities, but only if you can get them to order, which might be a problem, considering that they are the generation least interested in dining and ordering out.

According to NPD Group, people between the ages of 18 and 24 ordered from restaurants 218 times on average between February 2021 and February 2022. When Gen Xers were that age, in 2002, they patronized restaurants 284 times apiece in a year. And when Millennials were that age they went to or ordered from restaurants 244 times in the course of a year.

This session will dive into what your brand can do to entice this younger cohort, such as leaning into more personalized messaging and delivering real-time, convenient experiences.

Data is everywhere, and can come in many forms and flavors. The most successful franchises realize the importance of data in driving impactful decisions. But leveraging data to drive critical decision making doesn’t need to be as complex as it seems. What if you could get your data to make the best marketing decisions for your locations — automatically, and without you even knowing? Join us asJR Hopwooddiscusses ways to harness your data to automate day-to-day decisions that can maximize unit revenue, loyalty, and efficiency.