The coronavirus pandemic has slammed the brakes on restaurant momentum and permanently altered the foodservice experience. Thousands of restaurants have permanently closed. And the uncertainty that remains—both for the virus and the economic challenges left in its wake—means restaurant operators can never rest easy.
Thankfully, operators are not alone in their struggles. And now more than ever, industry professionals need to hear the voices of their peers for insight, direction, and support.
With this in mind, QSR launched its Virtual Meet Up series, bringing together exclusive groups of restaurant professionals for education and engagement via Zoom. The first in the series, the Virtual Fast Casual Meet Up, was held in August (view the recap here), and on October 26 at 2 p.m. EST, QSR will host the Virtual Meet Up: Off-Premises, designed for leaders of independent and emerging limited-service restaurant companies to learn more about best practices in off-premises innovation.
“Restaurant leaders have always been collaborative and eager to support their peers, but that’s especially true during the pandemic,” says QSR editor Sam Oches. “With our Virtual Meet Up series, we’re hoping to harness that interest in collaboration and that need for support, bringing together restaurant professionals to meet each other, share ideas, and learn best practices.”
To start the Virtual Meet Up, Oches will moderate a panel with Jonathon Relkin, Director of Off-Premises at Chipotle, and Aaron Noveshen, Founder & CEO of Starbird and The Culinary Edge. The event will then break out into roundtable discussions of six to eight people, allowing participants to network with each other and share their own stories of off-premises success and struggles.
“Off-premises isn’t just a Band-Aid for the pandemic season—it’s the wave of the future for restaurants,” Oches says. “The Virtual Meet Up will create a forum where professionals can discuss ways to maximize off-premises channels for their own businesses.”
Interested in participating in this free virtual networking event? Click here to submit your information. But hurry: This is an exclusive event, and capacity is limited to 50 people. (Note: This event is for representatives of restaurant companies only.)
