Although uncertainty still abounds with COVID-19, how can you ensure that your restaurants are 100% prepared for the new dining norms? What are the changes that need to be made to accommodate new regulations and ensure the best possible customer experience? Panelists will discuss:

• Changes to hiring, education and benefits to provide more sustainable environments for workers

• Design, layout and environment changes to meet new safety and distancing requirements 

• Getting customer feedback on the dining experience and what they are looking for moving forward

• Providing outdoor options when possible and what that might look like

Covid-19 accelerated three to five years of technology adoption into just six months. Technologies like contactless payment, mobile web, and QR codes — all that were experiencing slow and steady growth pre Covid-19— are now commonplace and unarguably the ordering standard moving forward.

This session will discuss how the acceleration blurred the lines between both on-premise and off-premise ordering and physical commerce systems (ie: POS terminals) and digital ordering systems (ie: mobile web ordering). Mobile ordering has become the new battleground for brands, and we’ll show you how to implement it correctly to gain a technological edge.

As off-premise dining becomes a must, how are you redesigning your store layouts to accommodate a massively expanding delivery and pick up business? This transition is easier for some brands than others. Some are just preparing for more volume, while others are adding these elements for the first time and a more comprehensive overhaul is needed. In the session panelists will focus on:

• The concessions they are making to accommodate delivery and pick up for the first time or to handle increasing pick-up and delivery rates

• Achieving contactless carryout/curbside delivery and how to educate customers and staff on this feature

• The changes that have been made on the employee side from staffing plans to education to technology

• Ideas for best accommodating off-premise guests without sacrificing the in-dining guest experience

• Omni channel tech implementations to better meet customers where they are

• Creative alternatives to on-premise dining like cocktail and meal kits

Creating a seamless omnichannel experience for your customers is not just a nice to have, it’s imperative in today’s environment. How can you be omni-present, engaging with customers across multiple platforms and catering to their unique dining preferences?

Hear how one chain is amping up their omni-channel offerings and walk away with ideas for how to:

• Leverage social platforms to drive awareness and increase customer loyalty

• Create mobile friendly engagements and apps that are super convenient for the customer

• Ensure IT systems are upgraded for more seamless integration across all digital channels

• Find an omni-channel loyalty platform that help you to better track and communicate to your customer base

Jeff Fenster, CEO, Everbowl, will talk through the changes they made during the Pandemic from a new app to new delivery provider partnerships. Learn about the employee experience and what they have done to provide retraining, reassurance and a clear career path for their employees during this difficult time. Jeff will discuss the opportunities that they are seeing and their plans for the future of Everbowl.

With the increasing demand for delivery, many restaurants are experimenting with virtual restaurants or ghost kitchens to decrease overhead and provide more food options for delivery. Hear how the 42 year old restaurant Franchise, Shari’s is testing a new brand and menu items through a ghost kitchen concept. John Iannucci, COO, Shari’s will share his insight into:

• Key reasons to explore a ghost or virtual kitchen concept for your restaurant
• The research that must be done prior to launching to determine menu, branding, location etc.
• Should you use an existing kitchen from one of your restaurants or a ghost kitchen
• Lessons learned from the first year of business

Today, the employee experience is trickier than ever. While we still live in an environment of uncertainty, and in some cases fear, our employees need to feel like leaders care about them personally.

Hear how one Brand is making employee engagement a priority, and implementing a program to give their leaders the tools to succeed under unprecedented circumstances:

• Leverage partnerships with employee engagement solution providers
• Present a case for engagement and the ROI
• Structure learning to be easily accessible and bite-size
• Place practical application at the forefront

One of the greatest challenges of a delivery-first world is replicating that feeling of trust and hospitality that customers associate with dining at their favorite local restaurants. What does a customer-centric experience look like without the smiling staff and beautiful interior to reinforce your brand values? Find out how the largest deliver-first restaurant group in the US, Salted, is bringing trust into a digital-native world. 

• Why we should all reject the terms "dark" and "ghost" kitchens
• What lessons can we learn from D2C e-commerce companies in other categories
• How do we achieve profitable unit economics without a dine-in business 
• The single most important metric you should be looking at when determining the sustainability of your delivery business