QSR’s Digital Disruptors returns for its fourth year, showcasing trailblazers transforming the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industries through innovative digital solutions. This list recognizes leaders and companies that are setting new standards in customer experience, operational efficiency, and technological advancement. As the restaurant landscape continues to evolve, particularly in the wake of growing demand for off-premises dining and digital engagement, these disruptors are driving significant change and redefining what’s possible in the industry.
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Pictured is Christine Schindler of PathSpot.
Chrissy Ouellette
Vice President of Sales & Business Development, Touchpoint Restaurant Solutions
With over 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry, Ouellette’s deep-rooted passion began as a carhop on roller skates at Sonic when she was 15, and has evolved into a successful career in restaurant technology. She recently joined Touchpoint Restaurant Solutions to “bring them to market in a big way,” she says, focusing on payment processing, POS systems, and now loyalty integration. “Loyalty has to work seamlessly across all ordering interfaces,” she emphasizes, noting that this is the core of Touchpoint’s platform.
By providing a unified solution, Ouellette and her team are trying to help operators reduce vendor fatigue—a growing issue in the restaurant space as operators juggle numerous tech vendors. “Consolidation due to vendor fatigue is a real thing,” she says, predicting that the next six to 12 months will see a shift towards platforms with natively built products, reducing the need for multiple vendors.
A streamlined approach to loyalty not only simplifies operations but also increases efficiency and reduces costs for restaurants overwhelmed by the complexities of managing various tech solutions. Ouellette is confident that consolidation will continue to gain traction as restaurants seek smarter, more efficient ways to integrate technology. “We are looking to target the 50-plus location QSR/FC segment, really doubling down on drive-thru. Right now we are running with a lean team as we build the foundations to put together a rock star sales team,” she says.
Callin Godson-Green
Food Safety Customer Success Manager, SmartSense by Digi
From earning her Master of Science degree in Food Safety Management in Dublin to heading up food safety for a growing fast-casual restaurant brand, Callin Godson-Green is uniquely positioned to shape the future of food safety. Her background also allows her to clearly translate food safety legislation, directives, and initiatives into actionable goals and product functions for the development of compliance solutions. Godson-Green serves as the Food Safety Customer Success Manager at SmartSense by Digi, where she plays a pivotal role in helping foodservice operators automate their food safety protocols. “With today’s capabilities in IoT, AI, and remote management, the scope of impact that tech-empowered food safety practice can have is growing immensely,” she says.
In her experience, the perception of restaurant technology has shifted positively in recent years. Take the process of creating and maintaining temperature records, for example. In the past, food safety professionals were adept at judging the veracity of written paper records. When automated processes for collecting temperature data first came out, the sentiment was distrust around the new digital records, Godson-Green explains. However, the consistency in record keeping associated with automated records has proven its case. “Not only has IoT-enabled condition monitoring removed redundant tasks from restaurant employees, but the centralized visibility it provides has empowered food safety professionals with management capabilities previously unheard of,” she says. “The role of the COVID-19 pandemic made this even more apparent. Food safety professionals no longer need to physically travel to their store locations to have influence over the steady improvement of food safety practice across the footprint of their brands.”
Looking forward, Godson-Green believes AI-powered cameras that monitor employee food safety behaviors and advanced traceability systems will be the next big tech trends for the restaurant industry. These tools will not only enhance safety protocols but also streamline operations, making food safety practices more efficient and effective for QSR brands.
Jen Kern
CMO, QU
Qu CMO Jen Kern leads marketing efforts for the company that pioneered the “unified commerce platform” for the fast-casual and quick-service restaurant sectors. Qu provides cloud-native, data-driven solutions designed to streamline restaurant operations across POS, kiosks, drive-thru, kitchen management, direct delivery, and mobile reporting. Kern joined Qu in 2019, just after the company rebranded from Gusto and launched its first unified platform iteration. She played a crucial role in shaping Qu’s positioning to move “Beyond POS,” helping restaurants reduce operational complexities, improve system stability, and fully control their guest data. Despite initial challenges, the company thrived during the pandemic, launched AI-powered products, and expanded partnerships. Today, Qu supports significant brands like Jack in the Box and GoTo Foods, and Kern is particularly proud of the company’s charitable work with CORE, which supports restaurant employees and their families during difficult times.
Kern has observed the restaurant industry’s transformation, especially regarding digital adoption and the growing role of restaurant marketers in tech strategy. She launched the “Restaurants Reinvented” podcast to give marketers a voice on strategy and brand development, and she’s seen the caliber of industry talent evolve significantly since COVID. For Kern, the future is about exceptional guest experiences that go beyond frictionless interactions, with tech as a supporting element rather than the entire solution. Qu’s latest advancement is its Smart Kitchen platform, which features real-time order management and AI-driven insights to optimize kitchen efficiency, furthering Qu’s mission to redefine operational excellence in the restaurant industry.
Philip McGahey
Vice President, Loyalty Sales, Advisors Business Development, Mastercard
The team led by Philip McGahey, representing Mastercard’s SessionM, specializes in loyalty program management for some of the largest retail and restaurant brands worldwide. SessionM’s platform enables businesses to create highly personalized loyalty programs that enhance guest experiences and foster customer retention. McGahey’s early restaurant experience highlighted the impact of technology on service, a field in which restaurants historically lagged behind retail. Over time, however, the industry has embraced technology as a tool for delivering seamless, relevant, and personalized experiences similar to those in ecommerce and streaming services.
The evolution of loyalty programs illustrates this shift: where simple points-based systems once dominated, dynamic, customized loyalty programs now allow brands to engage customers on a more personal level, driving long-term relationships rather than transactional interactions. McGahey believes the next tech trend will go beyond tools and platforms to prioritize empathetic, consumer-centric engagement strategies. This new era of personalization focuses on understanding customer behavior and context, building loyalty based on connection rather than short-term incentives.
SessionM is actively advancing in this direction by helping brands unify their data to bridge the gap between in-store and online experiences. With a 360-degree view of the consumer, companies can break down internal silos and provide timely, relevant engagement, leading to improved consumer satisfaction and brand profitability. This holistic approach positions SessionM to help brands maximize each customer interaction, making loyalty the primary metric of success over revenue alone.
Rhonda Levene
CEO, Ziosk
Rhonda Levene had the opportunity to work within the foodservice and hospitality industry throughout her career, including stops at Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Those F&B roles, as well as consulting gigs, gave her a close-up of the sector from myriad angles. So when she arrived at Ziosk more than four years ago, evolution had brought restaurants to a place driven out of necessity. Tech was front and center as operators looked to open channels of access to reach customers—although it was still in its infancy compared to where we’re headed, Levene says.
She began her career with Ziosk in 2020 as chief operating officer and president before being appointed CEO this past May. Levene now oversees all facets of the company, especially its innovation pipeline and development. Ziosk creates solutions designed to address pressing issues, including Ziosk’s Pro Server Handheld Tablet to simplify operations for servers, Drop and Pay to streamline payment at the table, AI-powered analytics providing real-time insights, and most recently, DigiSite, a location intelligence solution for on- and off-premises.
While Ziosk is often recognized for its pioneering efforts with pay-at-the-table, the company provides a suite of solutions centered on improving the bottom line by optimizing front-of-house operational efficiencies, such as ordering, payment, guest engagement, and loyalty.
If gathering accurate data is the first step, Levene believes access to actionable intelligence drawn from it will be the key differentiator going forward between restaurants that thrive and those that fall behind. That’s why the company is building a proprietary AI engine called Ziosk Intelligence to turn feedback into implemental insights.
Savneet Singh
President and CEO, PAR Technology Corporation
More than six years ago, Savneet Singh joined the board of a sleepy hardware company that sold point-of-sale devices to restaurants. Eight months later, he found himself serving as CEO when it faced a critical juncture. The prior CFO went to jail for stealing money, customers were dissatisfied, employees leaving in droves, and the organization 10 weeks from going bankrupt.
“The acute pain forced me to jump in and try and save the business,” Singh recalls. “And during that time, I learned to love our customers. Restaurants are amazing in that anyone and everyone knows what they do, but few really understand how hard they are to run and how much help they need. I left that experience realizing that in order for this industry to survive, they’d need a partner to find a way to balance being a restaurant of yesterday while becoming a digital business of the future.”
These days, PAR is working to transform the point of sale into a point of engagement. Wherever transactions happen—in-store, mobile, or online—the company wants to turn payments into an opportunity for deeper guest connection. By embedding payments with POS, loyalty, and engagement tools, Singh says, PAR helps operators elevate every transaction into a personalized interaction. “It’s about more than just processing payments; it’s about using them to drive loyalty, enhance guest experiences, and streamline operations all at once,” he says.
And looking ahead, Singh believes the big shift coming is that the market can no longer sustain an ever-growing list of tech vendors.
“Franchisees and corporate operators simply won’t keep paying for more and more vendors, especially with rising costs elsewhere with labor and food,” he explains. “The complexity is overwhelming for employees, and it’s expensive to manage. The next trend is vendor consolidation, where restaurants will look to fewer tech providers that offer broader solutions, simplifying operations and cutting costs. Brands are going to demand tech that is extensible and readily integrates more of their needs—streamlining vendor relationships, reducing complexity, and delivering real results.”
Matt Tucker
Head, Tock
After two decades in e-commerce and enterprise software, Matt Tucker joined Olo as president and COO, guiding the company from a 10-person startup to its public market debut by 2021.
Now, Tucker leads Tock, an all-in-one platform for reservations, events, and table management, serving over 20 million guests in the hospitality space. Tock helps restaurants drive revenue, increase covers, and enhance customer engagement by adapting to the fast-evolving needs of the industry.
Tucker has witnessed restaurant technology evolve from basic reservation systems to sophisticated platforms like Tock, which leverage data, AI, and automation to boost customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Early in his career, POS systems were not cloud-based, and front- and back-of-house solutions were disconnected. Today, integrated tech stacks support restaurant operations, driving sales, margins, and innovation.
Tucker sees personalization as the future of restaurant tech, helping operators use data insights to meet specific goals. He points to intelligent agents, which make decisions based on their environment, as a promising solution for deeper data mining and personalization. Tucker believes this technology will enhance the dining experience by making it more dynamic and customizable, countering the notion that tech detracts from hospitality.
Under Tucker’s leadership, Tock is taking a big-data approach, expanding beyond traditional bookings. Its Multi-Experience Tables (MXT) feature allows restaurants to manage and monetize diverse experiences, maximizing space utilization and revenue potential. He is careful to avoid over-engineering, investing in both tech and user experience to simplify the lives of operators and their guests.
Vishwa Chandra
Vice President of Enterprise Restaurant Partnerships, DoorDash
As an executive at DoorDash, Vishwa Chandra is no stranger to the advancement of delivery across every category of the restaurant industry as brands embrace and scale their digital offerings.
He has spent his entire career working with food, starting with McKinsey & Company advising restaurants and grocers on strategies to streamline their digital and operational channels. While the industry has evolved significantly, he says one thing remains the same: the ability for brands to foster a trust-based relationship with their customers and positively impact their lives, despite changing needs and behaviors.
Now more than ever, delivery plays a pivotal role in the guest experience, with first-party delivery becoming the next frontier in building direct relationships with customers. Meeting guests where they are, whether through channel or food innovation, is crucial, and Chandra believes restaurants will need to focus on optimizing engagement across digital platforms and touch points.
Technological advancement at DoorDash includes the DoorDash Commerce Platform, a suite of five new customizable products to help merchants grow their in-store and online channels. Additionally, DoorDash has built a flexible digital ad service that allows restaurant partners to effectively market themselves, regardless of size. Based on customer feedback, DoorDash continues to innovate by leveling the playing field for brands in the digital world and giving them the tools they need to drive sales, improve operations, and meet the needs of today’s customers.
Sophia Goldberg
CEO and Cofounder, Ansa
Sophia Goldberg is a passionate payments professional, helping build solutions at the intersection of merchants’ pain points and better customer experiences. After cofounding Ansa, a modern stored value platform that allows companies to launch branded digital wallets, she dove deep into the restaurant industry to better understand how closed-loop payments can increase the stickiness of their best customers while keeping backend costs down. She says Ansa customers have seen a 30 percent increase in frequency spending from customers who use their digital wallet balance.
The pandemic accelerated the use of digital payments, but it also hiked up costs for operators significantly. Goldberg says it’s getting more difficult for brands to stay on top of customers’ minds, but as restaurants continue to invest heavily in their technical infrastructure, data platforms, and personalization, they are now in a better position to overcome these hurdles.
Goldberg believes QR codes and scanners may soon be obsolete due to the normalization of contactless payments, providing a pathway for alternative solutions like digital wallets to gain traction and improve the guest experience. As more than half of Americans use alternative payment methods, she expects digital platforms to become more common.
Ansa recently announced its latest product, Ansa Anywhere, which enables brands to accept in-store payments without any new hardware or integrations. This tap-to-pay solution is currently rolling out across the country, and she is excited to see how it will drive the adoption of digital wallets and increase customer loyalty.
Chris Crichton
SVP of Growth, Restaurant & Convenience, Bounteous
Chris Crichton was introduced to technology the way many early job hunters are—as a teenager working the drive-thru window. Crichton began his foodservice career as a 15-year-old at Taco Bell. He put on an outdated headset and microphone and tried to navigate the line of cars snaking through. Naturally, Crichton has observed significant—to put it lightly—changes in tech since. But the past five years in particular, he says.
“During the pandemic, restaurants made major investments in front-of-house technologies to accommodate the rise of online ordering and curbside pickup,” he notes. “Now, technology is shaping back-of-house restaurant operations, too. Brands are using AI for everything from inventory management to scheduling optimization, analyzing customer feedback, cleaning and maintenance, and more.”
At Bounteous, Crichton witnessed a number of trends across the industries the company serves and is using those captured insights to guide clients. Specific to quick service, he expects restaurants to take a page from retail, where you’ll begin to see more guest-facing experiences that incorporate “store modes,” allowing brands to create targeted experiences for on- and off-premises customers.
Bounteous frames innovation through both “Big I” (doing better things) and Little I” (doing things better) buckets. “We push both forward, and of course, AI plays a big role,” he says. “We’re working on some exciting AI technology that has ‘little I’ value for QSR brands when it comes to back of house [smoothing operations, empowering crew members with data, training staff, and better managing inventory.] We’ll have more to offer our client partners in these areas soon.”
Jarrett Nasca
Chief Marketing Officer, GRUBBRR
Jarrett Nasca spent nearly two decades in the sports and entertainment industry. During that time, one element of the business underwent fast evolution: the venue experience. The cost of going to events continued to rise, yet attendance waned for many. So sports properties began to evaluate ways to enhance guest experience in an effort to substantiate the exuberant cost of tickets. Food and beverage service was one corner of focus. Operators, Nasca says, recognized if guests were required to pay a premium for F&B, they should also have an enjoyable ordering experience.
“To that end, many venues began to implement kiosks to augment their ordering process to minimize friction and decrease wait times,” he says. “The intent was to supplement traditional food counters with kiosks to increase throughput and expedite order preparation.”
As a result, customers could spend less time in line and more viewing whatever event they opened their wallets for. This trend was becoming prevalent in other industries as well, such as airports, banks, grocers, and, yes, restaurants.
The pandemic validated that business, generally speaking, Nasca continues. But especially in the universe of restaurants, which needed alternative ordering channels to meet guests on their own terms. That reality accelerated the growth of kiosks and other self-ordering solutions.
In 2020, Nasca met the GRUBBRR team, a company specializing in self-ordering and automated solutions that’s ecosystem includes kiosks, kitchen display systems, order progress boards, digital menu signage, mobile ordering, online ordering, and more.
The group was seeking an executive to lead their go-to market strategy. Nasca recalls being impressed by the tech and vision and goal to disrupt the way commerce was conducted.
He entered the fray in the thick of perhaps the industry’s most vivid paradigm shift on record. “The restaurant industry has traditionally been laggards in embracing new technology,” he says. “Restaurants have largely operated in a similar way for years, yet the industry has begun to recognize the importance of embracing technology to create operational efficiencies, drive revenue, and improve the customer experience. There has been a shift as restaurants are investing in new technology, yet implementing new solutions requires operators to adjust their workflows. Restaurants need to be equally vigilant about modifying their processes to maximize the value of their new technology as they were about deciding which technology to purchase. It’s not enough to merely invest in new solutions, businesses need to ensure they make any necessary operational adjustments to maximize the value of new technology. “
GRUBBRR has since developed an implementation guide that’s nearly 100 pages of key learnings and best practices. It continues to add new integrations and features as it works to help operators best leverage the tools available.
Savannah Schmidt
VP of Marketing, Lunchbox
Savannah Schmidt, VP of Marketing at Lunchbox, has been instrumental in transforming the company from a bold, rebellious startup to a polished leader in the off-premise restaurant technology industry. Since joining the company in its early days, Schmidt has guided Lunchbox through a significant pivot. Originally catering to small and medium-sized brands like Bareburger and Foxtail Coffee, the company shifted its focus upmarket, providing enterprise solutions to major brands like Firehouse Subs, Biscuitville, and Paris Baguette.
At just 23, Schmidt was tasked with maturing the Lunchbox brand to appeal to enterprise-level clients. This shift has paid off, positioning Lunchbox as a leader in off-premises solutions, specializing in web, app, catering, aggregator, marketing, and loyalty systems. Schmidt’s strategic leadership has turned Lunchbox into a thought leader within the industry, driving community-focused initiatives like Top 30 Women in Food, Top 30 Movers & Shakers in Catering, and Cater Council Networks, which focus on fostering industry-wide innovation and collaboration.
Under Schmidt’s guidance, Lunchbox has moved away from traditional product marketing, concentrating instead on creating valuable resources for restaurant operators. This emphasis on community and thought leadership has been a key driver of the company’s success, delivering a high ROI while helping enterprise brands expand their off-premises operations. Schmidt’s vision has positioned Lunchbox as a critical partner for restaurants looking to bridge the gap between in-store and off-premises dining, especially in the high-potential catering segment.
Aaron Nilsson
CIO, Jet’s Pizza
Jet’s Pizza chief information officer Aaron Nilsson has played a pivotal role in driving the company’s remarkable 428 percent digital growth over the past five years, combining what he calls a “balance of art and science” to elevate Jet’s technology to match the quality of its famous Detroit Style pizza. With a focus on innovation, Nilsson and his team have implemented cutting-edge technology that has transformed the customer experience. Jet’s was the first restaurant brand to scale customer-facing AI with a text-based ordering platform developed alongside a local startup. This same AI engine powers the brand’s fun and engaging “Jet Man” phone bot, which currently handles 23 percent of all orders.
In addition to AI, Nilsson has overseen major upgrades to Jet’s web presence, customer messaging tools, analytics, and behind-the-counter technologies, creating a seamless and integrated system that has driven impressive business results. Under his leadership, Jet’s has become a pioneer in the restaurant technology space, leveraging advancements that are reshaping the industry.
With a background that includes leading digital transformation efforts at Domino’s, Nilsson has seen firsthand how technology can redefine the customer experience. He believes the next big trend in restaurant tech is moving beyond AI into hyper-personalization—enabling brands to connect directly with individual customers rather than just broad segments. Jet’s is already preparing for this future by overhauling its online ordering, app, loyalty, and CRM platforms to create more personalized and meaningful connections with its customers.
Allen Beck
Director of Off-Premise and Catering, Costa Vida
Allen Beck, director of off-premise and catering, entered the restaurant technology space during the height of the pandemic, a period that demanded immediate digital transformation. Tasked with overseeing Costa Vida’s martech stack, Beck embraced the challenge, quickly adapting to new technologies that would help the brand navigate a rapidly changing industry. Since then, Beck has witnessed the dramatic evolution of restaurant technology, from online ordering systems to customer engagement tools that have revolutionized how restaurants operate and interact with guests. He’s been at the forefront of leveraging these digital tools to streamline operations and drive growth, creating a more efficient and customer-focused experience for Costa Vida.
Looking ahead, Beck sees AI-driven personalization as the next big tech trend that hasn’t yet been fully explored in the restaurant industry. While AI is already a hot topic, Beck believes its true potential lies in using advanced algorithms to predict individual customer preferences, optimize real-time menu suggestions, and customize promotions based on behavior and context. However, the real challenge for restaurants is understanding how to deploy AI effectively across different areas of their business, from inventory management to guest engagement, to create scalable value.
Currently, Beck and his team are focused on implementing Voice AI in Costa Vida’s call center. This new technology automates responses to common inquiries, freeing up customer service representatives to handle more complex issues. By reducing labor costs and streamlining the ordering process, Costa Vida aims to improve both operational efficiency and the guest experience, ensuring more personalized and effective customer support.
Alice Cheng
Founder and CEO, Culinary Agents
Alice Cheng’s early roles in hospitality ignited a passion for helping others overcome job-seeking and hiring challenges. While attending college, Cheng took a temporary mailroom job at IBM, which launched a 13-year career in technology, working across operations, sales, and marketing. Her tenure at IBM included collaborating with Silicon Valley firms like Netflix on tech-driven growth strategies, giving her firsthand experience in driving innovation.
Cheng’s deep connection to both industries inspired the creation of Culinary Agents, a platform that provides hospitality professionals with the career tools and resources they need to succeed. She recognized a gap in the market—while she had access to tools and guidance to build her own career in tech, she felt hospitality workers lacked similar support. Culinary Agents now fills that gap, helping individuals define and navigate their careers in hospitality with the same level of support enjoyed by other industries.
Cheng has witnessed dramatic changes in the restaurant tech space. Where once only a few large companies dominated, providing limited solutions, the landscape has transformed with the rise of startups and disruptors focused on solving specific challenges. These new players have empowered businesses of all sizes to operate more efficiently, leading to a more innovative and dynamic industry.
Currently, Cheng is excited about AI’s ability to unlock human potential by automating operational tasks, allowing hospitality professionals to focus on elevating guest experiences. Culinary Agents is leveraging this trend with its latest project, HospitalityCareerPaths.com, which offers career insights, skills gap identification, and resources to guide hospitality workers in their growth.
Allison Page
Founder and Chief Product Officer, SevenRooms
Allison Page leads the development of technology that is reshaping the hospitality industry. SevenRooms is one of the leading CRM, marketing, and operations platforms designed for restaurants, hotels, membership clubs, sports and entertainment venues, wineries, breweries, and more. Serving over 13,000 clients globally, SevenRooms enables businesses to turn every guest interaction into a personalized experience, driving loyalty, increasing revenue, and streamlining operations.
As chief product officer, Page is responsible for the company’s product roadmap, focusing on solutions that address the specific challenges of hospitality operators. Her mission is to empower these businesses to deliver hyper-personalized experiences by leveraging data that results in higher guest retention and increased profitability. SevenRooms’ platform collects guest data, automates marketing efforts, and improves operational efficiency through its comprehensive suite of products, including CRM, reservations, waitlist, table management, and revenue management. By offering these tools, SevenRooms helps hospitality operators forge deeper relationships with their guests and create better experiences that keep them coming back.
Page’s path into restaurant technology began when she and her cofounders identified a gap in how restaurants managed guest relationships. They realized that without systems to track guest data, hospitality businesses were missing opportunities to personalize service and build loyalty. Today, the industry has transformed, with data becoming a critical component in optimizing both guest experiences and business outcomes.
Looking ahead, Page believes the next big tech trend will involve AI transforming the in-person dining experience. While AI has been widely discussed for its applications in marketing and digital touchpoints, Page sees tremendous potential in using AI to hyper-personalize service within the four walls of a restaurant. From anticipating guest preferences to suggesting menu items in real time, AI could fundamentally enhance how restaurants deliver hospitality.
SevenRooms is currently focused on launching its Text Marketing product, which will allow restaurants to engage with guests more effectively while tracking the ROI of each message. This new innovation is just one of the exciting developments in the pipeline as the company continues to drive the future of hospitality technology.
Eric Lam
CEO, Berry AI
Berry AI CEO Eric Lam has built his career at the intersection of restaurant technology and AI. He started in POS hardware, gaining insight into the unique challenges operators face, before moving into a Silicon Valley startup that specialized in AI cameras for checkout-free store technology. By combining his expertise in restaurant tech and vision AI, Lam founded Berry AI, which is revolutionizing the way restaurants leverage visual data to improve operations.
The restaurant technology landscape has evolved significantly since Lam entered the field. He notes the biggest shift has been the push toward more integrated, open platforms. Restaurant systems are becoming less siloed, allowing for more data sharing and cooperation between technologies, ultimately creating more value for operators. Lam’s focus with Berry AI is on using vision AI to streamline operations and improve efficiency, especially in the quick-service restaurant space.
Looking ahead, Lam believes vision AI will be the next big trend in restaurant tech, but it’s not being talked about enough. Vision AI has evolved significantly, becoming more accurate and affordable, but many still view it through the outdated lens of facial recognition or its early, less effective applications. Today’s vision AI offers a host of practical, operational use cases that can quietly revolutionize restaurant operations—automating inventory counts, verifying hold times, maintaining store cleanliness, and ensuring compliance with brand standards. Lam envisions this technology as a “visual companion” for store managers, running quietly in the background to enhance operational efficiency.
Berry AI is currently focused on creating more integrations across the restaurant ecosystem. Lam emphasizes that cameras capture real-time, unfiltered data that traditional software can’t. By integrating this data with other restaurant systems, Berry AI can unlock immense value for operators. For instance, restaurants can adjust cook quantities, update menu boards, and manage wait times in real time based on actual store congestion levels. This focus on integration allows Berry AI to serve as a “source of truth” for what’s really happening in-store, driving smarter, more efficient operations.
Keith Correia
CIO, Portillo’s
As CIO, Keith Correia focuses on leveraging innovative technology to elevate operations, streamline processes, and improve the overall guest and team experience. His mission is to ensure that technology boosts the essence of the Portillo’s brand, whether customers are dining in or enjoying their meal through off-premises channels.
Correia’s journey into restaurant technology is unconventional, starting with 15 years in restaurant operations before moving into IT. His hands-on experience in the field gave him a deep understanding of what works and what doesn’t in a restaurant setting. While working at Dairy Queen, Correia helped overhaul the company’s sales platform, which led to his first CIO role. His background in operations made the transition to IT natural. It allowed him to focus on implementing solutions that work for both team members and guests.
Over the past few years, the restaurant technology landscape has changed, particularly during the COVID pandemic. Digital initiatives, such as third-party delivery, have become a core part of the business model. Correia stresses the importance of thoughtfully integrating these digital components without sacrificing the high-quality, consistent guest experience that Portillo’s is known for.
Looking ahead, Correia believes drone delivery could revolutionize the food industry and offer a new level of convenience and customer service. While the technology isn’t ready for widespread adoption yet, it’s a trend Portillo’s is closely watching.
Portillo’s is focused on rolling out in-store kiosks across all locations. Correia is proud of how quickly and efficiently the team executed this launch and completed the initial rollout in just two and a half months. The kiosks offer a unique, image-driven way for guests to interact with the menu, making it easier for newer customers to understand and explore Portillo’s offerings. This innovation not only builds the guest experience but also contributes to incremental sales, making it a win-win for both the brand and its customers. The kiosk rollout reflects Portillo’s commitment to innovating quickly while maintaining its high standards.
Ray Gallagher
GM, Olo Engage, Olo
Ray Gallagher is the GM of Olo Engage, a marketing and engagement platform that’s part of Olo, a leading restaurant technology provider offering ordering, payment, and guest engagement solutions. As VP and GM of the Engage team, Gallagher oversees product vision and collaborates across departments to develop cutting-edge solutions that help restaurants enhance guest interactions. Olo Engage helps restaurants by surfacing guest insights, enabling personalized experiences, and driving long-term guest value through its comprehensive data-driven approach.
Gallagher’s growth in restaurant technology started early, working in various roles in hospitality, from busser to senior director of operations services for a fast-growing brand. His experience in both back-of-house and guest-facing operations gave him deep insight into the challenges restaurants face and inspired him to pursue tech solutions that improve processes and guest experiences. Over the years, Gallagher has seen a significant shift in restaurant technology, from a focus on operational improvements to today’s emphasis on using data to deliver personalized, seamless guest interactions. The rise of digital ordering, third-party delivery, and AI-driven personalization has fundamentally transformed the industry.
Looking ahead, Gallagher believes the next big trend will be AI-driven real-time guest interaction. While AI is already being used in chatbots and customer service, the next frontier involves systems that can adapt to a guest’s behavior and preferences in real time. Gallagher envisions a future where a restaurant could dynamically tailor menu suggestions and promotions based on a guest’s previous orders, mood, or even data from wearables (if shared by the guest).
Olo wants to push the limits of its Engage platform. The team is growing tools that enable restaurants to leverage real-time data for strategic decision-making across marketing, operations, and even real estate. The platform’s AI-driven personalization features are proving to be a game-changer, according to Gallagher, and should increase order frequency, guest spending, and overall satisfaction by offering tailored recommendations and promotions that speak directly to individual guest preferences.
Cristal Craven
Global Director of Strategic Partnerships, SynergySuite
SynergySuite provides a cloud-based restaurant management solution that optimizes back-of-house operations for multi-unit restaurants. By helping clients reduce food and labor costs by 2 percent to 8 percent, the company supports restaurants in achieving better profit margins in a competitive market. As global director of strategic partnerships, Cristal Craven builds and maintains relationships with key partners, including POS providers, suppliers, HRIS platforms, accounting systems, and resource management vendors. Her work helps create a seamless operational ecosystem for clients, allowing them to focus on delivering excellent service and food. Craven often jokes that her role is to “make friends and keep them.”
She didn’t originally plan to work in restaurant technology. Coming from a family in the food business—her grandparents ran a Mexican spice and food company in East L.A. for over 60 years—she initially aimed to pursue a career in law advocating for women’s rights. However, after working in restaurants to support herself through school and later managing a fine-dining chain, she transitioned into restaurant tech. Responding to a job ad for an “Aloha Sales Rep” in San Diego, Cristal capitalized on her experience using the POS system in her own restaurants. Eighteen years later, she’s seen the industry shift from simpler, all-in-one solutions to complex tech ecosystems designed to tackle specific challenges in restaurant operations.
One key trend Craven sees on the rise is AI-powered predictive analytics. While AI chatbots and virtual assistants dominate conversations, predictive analytics is quietly revolutionizing how restaurants function. This technology improves inventory management, menu engineering, and staffing by using data-driven forecasting, creating efficiency and profitability gains behind the scenes.
At SynergySuite, Craven is working with her team to roll out suggestive ordering technology that uses machine learning and real-time data to optimize inventory levels and reduce manual ordering. Launching in 2025, this tool will ensure managers spend less time on administrative tasks while keeping popular menu items in stock. In addition, SynergySuite values partnerships as a core strategy. Craven works closely with tech partners to integrate advanced technologies into the platform, ensuring customers receive top-notch solutions that help them thrive in a constantly evolving industry.
Christine Schindler
Cofounder & CEO, PathSpot
Christine Schindler cofounded PathSpot in 2017 to address the critical issue of foodborne illnesses in the food service industry, with a suite of products designed to create a holistic hygiene management ecosystem that covers all aspects of safety and operations in the back of house. It started with the PathSpot HandScanner, the first tool to use spectral imaging technology to detect dangerous contaminants on employees’ hands. It is now an entire dashboard built to optimize cleanliness, improve profitability, drive operational efficiencies, and simplify compliance.
When she began diving into restaurant cleanliness habits, food safety measures relied on manual processes like handwritten logs and signs above sinks. Now, she says the pandemic has accelerated the awareness of data-driven approaches, real-time monitoring, and comprehensive digital solutions to create a culture of cleanliness.
Restaurants can’t afford to risk expensive shutdowns, food waste, insurance hikes, or audit failures, so Schindler predicts a move to complete digitization and an integration of their food safety systems.
PathSpot has released its SafetySuite, an interconnected ecosystem that can be easily monitored from a single dashboard to meet operator needs—it is proactive, data-driven, and seamlessly integrated into daily operations. Schindler is also exploring how AI and machine learning can predict potential food safety risks before they occur and train employees to stay compliant as the FDA continues to roll out new regulations and restrictions.
Ashwin Kamlani
Founder & CEO, High Margin
Kamlani’s journey in restaurant technology began in the summer of 2021. He was deciding where to take his career next. He had sold Regatta Travel Solutions, a hotel reservations tech company, in 2016 and was working for new ownership. Regatta was focused on helping hotels attract direct bookings through their websites with a product that’s capabilities had not been seen before, and boosted direct conversation rates.
It was then Kamlani, inspired by LinkedIn COO Dan Shapero, began recording the “walk-and-talk” videos so many in the industry are familiar with today. He quickly saw the engagement and connections and took that candid storytelling approach to JUICER as the company grew. Over three years, Kamlani shared the ups, downs, and everything in between of developing a fresh tech company in foodservice. “I built a network of friends in the restaurant industry who followed my story,” he shares. “Now that I am no longer with JUICER this network has been incredibly supportive as I define my next chapter and I will be forever grateful.”
“I think we are on the verge of a very exciting moment for the restaurant industry,” Kamlani adds. “I see restaurants making smarter decisions around the technology they adopt, ensuring that there is a measurable impact from their investment. Restaurant companies are taking measures to leverage the huge data sets they have access to to make smarter, more data-informed decisions, and to provide a more customer-centric experience.”
As for what’s ahead, he feels there’s opportunity for operators to use existing technology solutions to create techniques to pull consumers into restaurants, particularly in today’s environment where consumers are seeking value.
“A new startup out of Washington, D.C., called Buzz, for example, is giving bars in the city the ability to launch drink specials and alert consumers based on their preferences, drawing them into the venues during slower hours,” Kamlani says. “There are also some very smart people working on solutions to help restaurants capture direct orders from consumers who want a variety of choices.”
With how many ways data can be used to optimize margins and create personalized experiences, Kamlani says restaurants have only begun to scratch the surface. Many remain too focused on labor and food cost, he says, versus figuring out how to increase top-line revenue. “How restaurants measure performance is another area that should be improved with data,” he says. “A restaurant’s performance can be influenced by so many different factors and identifying why the numbers are the way they are is an interesting challenge. AI models are now at a stage where they can be leveraged to analyze large data sets much faster, and to put more context around the story that numbers alone tell us. I am working on figuring out the best way to leverage my network and skill set to serve the restaurant industry and hope to share more shortly.
