Latest news with #restaurantmarketing
Entrepreneur
22-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How Las Vegas' Refined Hospitality Group Got Its Start
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Before there were lines out the door, Alexandra Lourdes and Steve Jerome were just trying to solve different problems. Lourdes, then a Ph.D. student at UNLV, had started collaborating on campus events with her friend Lin Smith Jerome, who was married to Jerome and would soon become her closest creative partner. At the time, Jerome was running a high-end steakhouse and needed to boost foot traffic. He asked Lourdes and Smith Jerome to organize a happy hour at the restaurant. The event packed the patio, and it lit a spark for a new business. The happy hour worked so well that the restaurant wanted more — weekly events, full-on marketing support, a real partnership. There was just one issue: Lourdes and Smith Jerome didn't technically have a company. So they made one. That night, Smith Jerome filed the LLC paperwork. Lourdes mocked up a logo at the dining room table. Suddenly, they were in the restaurant marketing world, prioritizing storytelling, community and in-person energy over traditional ads. What started as a one-off collaboration quickly became The Refined Agency — and eventually, the foundation for Refined Hospitality Group. Related: How An Unmarked Dive Bar in Vegas Became One of America's Must-See Destinations — Within 3 Years of Opening Bouncing from coffee shop to coffee shop with their laptops, Lourdes and Smith Jerome eventually thought, Why not just create one we actually like working in? They brought Jerome in as a partner, and their idea became Café Lola: part creative hub, part coffee shop and the first concept the three of them built together. Building on that momentum, they launched Saint Honoré — a boutique doughnut shop tucked into a hard-to-find parking lot, where they decorated pastries by hand and hoped someone would come in. "We were throwing more doughnuts away than we were selling," Jerome says. "One customer would trickle in. That was it." Lourdes decided to document what life looked like as a small business owner. "I ended up doing a day-in-the-life [video], and I just started filming everything I was doing, decorating doughnuts, and that video blew up to like a million views," she says. "All of a sudden, I became a storyteller." Lourdes has since grown her audience to more than a million followers on Instagram and 2.5 million on TikTok. Related: This Restaurant Tech Cost Him a Client — Then Changed Everything for His Business Built different, built together Jerome will be the first to tell you he's not on social media. He prefers to let the food and hospitality speak for themselves. But he also knows the power of what Lourdes does with a phone and a story. "She brings people in. I try to keep them coming back," he says. That line isn't just a catchphrase. It's how Refined Restaurant Group works. Lourdes leads content and community, drawing audiences through authentic storytelling. Jerome handles operations, quality and guest experience. They don't compete for the same role. They complement each other in every one. Related: How This Massive Food Company Turned Its Fleet of Trucks into Rolling Billboards — And the Lesson It Teaches About Brand-Building That clarity has allowed them to stay small, fast and deeply connected to their guests. Refined doesn't need corporate approval to pivot. If a menu item isn't resonating or a customer comment surfaces something new, they can adjust the same day. New ideas come from staff, followers and sometimes their own kids. The gap between idea and execution is often just 24 hours. The team's agility shows in the concepts they've built: five Café Lola locations, two Saint Honoré shops (also home to their pizza spinoff, Pizza Anonymous), the fried chicken brand 3 Little Chicks, and two full-service restaurants, Sorellina and Emilio's, each a tribute to their families. What ties it all together isn't a cuisine. It's a point of view. They care about quality. They care about speed. And they care about the people on both sides of the counter. What started as a happy hour experiment and a quiet doughnut shop has become a model for how to build something bigger without losing your voice. They didn't just grow a restaurant group. They built trust, one story at a time. Related: Jon Taffer Teamed Up With This $300 Million Franchise Company to Build Something Bigger Than Restaurants About Restaurant Influencers Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point-of-sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience. Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about Toast. Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.
Forbes
21-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The FoodTech Future: How AI Is Changing The Way You Order Food
Maulik Pandya | Startup Strategist & Tech Entrepreneur | Founder at EvinceDev & Eatance | 23+ Years in Tech Driving AI-Powered Innovation. Ordering food online has become second nature. However, while the number of apps and options has grown, the experience has not evolved with it. Diners and customers still face overwhelming menus, vague promotions, delayed support and unclear pricing. Restaurants often struggle to reach the right audience and retain loyal customers without spending excessively on marketing. That reality is now beginning to shift as artificial intelligence (AI) transforms how we order food and how restaurants connect with customers. From personalized menus to intelligent restaurant marketing, AI is laying the foundation for a smarter and more rewarding food experience. As the founder of a platform built to enhance food ordering and empower restaurants with data, I have seen firsthand how intelligent tools can eliminate confusion, create trust and drive long-term loyalty. Because of this, I believe the future of food is not about fast delivery; it is about meaningful engagement and personalized experiences at every touchpoint. Many diners experience decision fatigue when using food apps. With hundreds of items and generic search filters, the process can become time-consuming and frustrating. Uber Eats uses graph-learning models that study past orders, time of day and location to suggest dishes customers are most likely to enjoy. The goal is not to show more, but to show better. By reducing the need to scroll endlessly, AI helps create a simpler and often more satisfying ordering experience. Many traditional platforms rely on commissions and inflated menu pricing that reduce restaurant margins and consumer trust. There is a rising need for platforms that treat restaurants as partners, not just content providers. According to Business Insider, fast food chains such as McDonald's, Domino's and Taco Bell are using AI-powered demand forecasting to automate inventory, optimize labor scheduling and reduce operational waste. These cost savings create room for more sustainable pricing models, potentially enabling low- or no-commission platforms that maintain profitability without passing costs to restaurants or diners. According to Grand View Research, the global food ordering market is projected to reach nearly $3.79 trillion by 2030. This growth creates opportunities for platforms that focus on transparency and long-term value. Anyone who has attended a concert, cultural fair or stadium event has likely stood in a long line just to grab food. This experience is also being reimagined. With real-time ordering, digital vouchers and AI-assisted kitchen coordination, platforms are helping to reduce service times. In stadium settings, checkout-free and pre-order systems have cut average wait times from around 80 seconds per person to as low as 15 seconds, according to data from Zippin's Stadium Tech Report podcast. One emerging strategy involves mobile-based food vouchers, which allow attendees to prepay and redeem items seamlessly via an app. This not only eliminates lines for guests—giving them more time to enjoy the event—but also streamlines vendor operations and increases overall throughput. Having worked on an event voucher system myself for my company, I've seen firsthand how this approach can result in greater efficiency and happier patrons. Long, static menus can often be inefficient. It's not uncommon for them to overwhelm diners and leave restaurants struggling to highlight the right items. AI is able to organize and display menu items based on what each customer is most likely to want, reducing friction and boosting sales. Whether it is healthy choices, trending dishes, happy hours menus or seasonal specials, the interface adapts to the moment. Research by MoldStud shows that AI-powered menus streamline ordering, reduce wait times and increase table turnover by analyzing customer preferences and tailoring menu displays accordingly. Customers expect the same experience everywhere. According to Reuters, Starbucks is re-sequencing mobile orders with an AI algorithm so guests can start on a phone and finish on another channel while keeping wait times low. Whether starting on a phone, confirming on a desktop or checking updates on a smartwatch, the experience stays consistent and smooth. As the industry spends a considerable amount each year trying to acquire and retain customers, restaurant marketing represents a major opportunity. AI enables behavior-based targeting to improve campaign performance. According to Linearity's marketing insights, personalized marketing campaigns driven by user behavior can boost response rates by around 40% compared to non-targeted messaging. With these tools, restaurants can move away from generic advertising and start reaching the right customer with the right message at the right time, increasing engagement while reducing waste. Customer support can make or break trust. Instead of long chats or email threads, AI-powered assistance can resolve common issues like missing items or change requests instantly. According to Fortune, an initial test of Wendy's FreshAI at a Columbus, Ohio, drive‑thru showed service times improved by 22 seconds on average while maintaining high accuracy, demonstrating how AI can offer faster, more reliable support without sacrificing quality. Only complex cases are escalated to a human agent. This helps restaurants manage service efficiently while giving customers a faster and more reliable experience. The Path Forward The next phase of food ordering is not about delivery speed or app design. It is about relevance, personalization and mutual benefit. While many believe AI replaces the human touch, I believe it amplifies it. With the right strategy in place, restaurants can use this technology to focus on quality, service and branding while giving diners a smooth, enjoyable and personalized journey from order to table. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Entrepreneur
01-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
US Foods CMO on Brand-Building, AI
The CMO of US Foods on why brand consistency matters, how the team brings its brand to life and the ways AI is transforming menu design and marketing for restaurant operators. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Think brand-building is all about logos and hashtags? Diane Hund from US Foods would argue it's much more personal than that. The chief marketing officer of US Foods shared how people, from drivers to sales reps and specialists, bring the brand to life every day. "We don't have a product on a retail shelf with our name on it," Hund tells Shawn Walchef, host of Restaurant Influencers. "Our brand is our people, and how we show up for you every single day." Related: These College Friends Wanted to Sell Better Food. Now, Their Company Is Publicly Traded. It's a philosophy that resonates with US Foods' vast network of over 250,000 restaurant and food operator partners nationwide. Every interaction counts, from a driver making a delivery to a rep answering a late-night call. Those US Foods trucks you see on the road are more than rolling billboards. "When we went public, we rewrapped every single truck," Hund says. "It's about consistency and pride. Every time you see one of our trucks, it's a reminder of who we are and what we stand for." Hund believes that true brand consistency starts on the inside, with every associate representing the brand. "It's about building trust and accountability from the ground up," she says. Related: A Conversation About AI With Sam Altman Blew Their Minds — So They Wrote the Playbook for Businesses That Want to Use the Tech AI in the food service space No modern brand can ignore the digital landscape, and Hund is a big believer in meeting operators where they are. "Digital is where it's got to be," she says. "Our operators are spending time online, and we need to be there with them on Meta, Instagram, YouTube and wherever they're looking for solutions." US Foods is investing in AI-powered tools that help restaurant operators keep up with changing customer expectations. From dynamic menu design to on-brand visuals, Hund's team is helping restaurants create marketing materials that feel authentic and engaging. "We've been making menus for years," she says. "But now, with AI, we can help you design something that's truly reflective of your brand, even if you don't have time for a photoshoot." Hund also talked about the 2025 US Foods Food Fanatic event in Las Vegas, which has two days of education, inspiration and solutions tailored for restaurant operators. "We're bringing operators from across the country together," she says. "It's about more than just products. It's about helping them run better restaurants." When it comes to leadership, Hund's focus is on passion, expertise and a team that understands both food and marketing. "When you bring those two together, you can do some pretty incredible things," she says. She's also optimistic about women's opportunities in the industry. "It's easier than ever for women to succeed," she says. "And if leaders like me and Kelly Esten at Toast can help open doors, that's what we're here to do." Hund's message to restaurant operators is clear: Brand consistency, human touch and digital innovation are not optional. They are the recipe for thriving in today's competitive landscape. Related: His Bakery's Window Got Smashed — But What He Did Next Actually Helped His Business About Restaurant Influencers Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point-of-sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience. Toast — Powering Successful Restaurants. Learn more about Toast. Restaurant Influencers is also supported by NEXT INSURANCE. See why 600,000+ U.S. businesses trust NEXT for insurance. Related: Giada De Laurentiis's Major Deal With Amazon Is a New Frontier for the Chef and Entrepreneur
Associated Press
14-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Benson Fischer – Restaurant Industry Veteran Launches Revolutionary Restaurant Marketing Program
Benson Fischer ZivZo, led by CEO Benson Fischer, launches its restaurant marketing program. With 40+ years of hands-on industry experience, Fischer has owned, operated, franchised, and consulted for restaurants nationwide. ZivZo's real-world expertise drives tailored marketing solutions that deliver proven results, like generating $140K in sales from a $5K campaign. As a certified Toast Partner, ZivZo empowers restaurants with strategic growth tools. Potomac, Maryland - June 13, 2025 - ZivZo, a marketing agency unlike any other, is proud to announce the official launch of its specialized restaurant marketing program, spearheaded by Founder/CEO and seasoned entrepreneur, Benson Fischer. With over four decades of unparalleled hands-on experience in the restaurant industry, Fischer brings a unique and invaluable perspective to helping restaurants thrive in today's competitive landscape. ZivZo's approach is rooted in real-world understanding, not just marketing theory. Benson Fischer's extensive background includes the design, construction, and operation of over 50 restaurants, the successful franchising of one of his concepts, and his role as an area developer/franchisee for Papa John's. He has personally navigated every facet of the restaurant business, from site selection and lease negotiations to daily operations, franchising, and even the manufacturing and national distribution of food and beverage products. This deep, comprehensive insight, further bolstered by his ownership of a commercial real estate brokerage focused on restaurant consulting, sets ZivZo apart. 'I've walked a mile in the shoes of every restaurant owner and operator,' says Benson Fischer. 'I understand the daily challenges, the operational complexities, and the critical need for effective strategies that deliver tangible results. At ZivZo, we don't just offer marketing buzzwords; we offer strategic insights and solutions specifically tailored to the unique needs of restaurants, because we've lived and breathed this industry.' ZivZo's experience directly translates into a proven track record of success. In a recent example, a struggling restaurant partnered with ZivZo for a targeted marketing intervention. After a thorough analysis of their offerings, customer base, and competitive landscape, ZivZo implemented a multifaceted marketing campaign. This campaign integrated organic and paid digital strategies, compelling video content, and a targeted email marketing program. The results were remarkable: within just 30 days, and with a modest $5,000 budget, the campaign generated over $140,000 in restaurant sales – a staggering 28X return on investment. ZivZo is eager to share the full details and results of this campaign upon request. ZivZo's new restaurant marketing program is poised to empower national, regional and local restaurant groups with the strategic guidance and effective marketing solutions they need to achieve significant growth and profitability. ZivZo is also a certified Toast Partner. About ZivZo: ZivZo is a specialized marketing agency led by CEO Benson Fischer, a seasoned entrepreneur with over 40 years of hands-on experience in the restaurant industry. ZivZo offers strategic marketing insights and solutions tailored to the unique needs of restaurants, leveraging real-world operational understanding to deliver exceptional results. Click To Learn About Benson Fischer & ZivZo's Restaurant Marketing: Media Contact Contact Person: Benson Fischer Email: Send Email Phone: (833) 948-9663 City: Washington State: DC Country: United States Website: Source: Ok Omni LLC
