Shawn Walchef  hosted another Rising Tides Live conversation ahead of the National Restaurant Association Show Show, this time focused on what attendees hope to take away after the event. Operators, consultants, creators, and technology leaders shared lessons from the show floor, from discovering new AI tools and restaurant tech to building real relationships through meetups, dinners, and spontaneous conversations. The biggest theme throughout the discussion was that NRA is more than a trade show. It is a place where the hospitality industry comes together to learn, connect, and create opportunities that continue long after Chicago.

Listen to the replay of the latest room where the participants discussed community service and follow Cali BBQ Media to keep up with the latest and join the rooms to tell your story and have your voice heard.

Every Wednesday and Friday at 10am PT, Shawn Walchef hosts the Rising Tides Live room streaming with StreamYard on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more. Leading voices in hospitality, and otherwise, from near and far join to discuss all things business and much more.

In this Pitch the Tide session, Teresa Gilman, founder and CEO of Brainstack.app, shares how her recruiting background led to building an AI-powered hiring platform for restaurants and hospitality operators. Brainstack.app helps restaurants speed up hiring through AI interviews, soft skills assessments, and candidate screening tools that help managers quickly identify strong candidates while reducing the time spent on early-stage interviews. By allowing applicants to interview anytime through a simple QR code process, the platform creates a faster and more flexible hiring experience for both operators and job seekers.

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With Laura Wilber and Elizabeth Doss filling in for Shawn Walchef, this Rising Tides Live conversation explored the power of acting on generous impulses and why meaningful relationships in hospitality often begin with small moments of initiative. The discussion focused on showing up for people before expecting anything in return, creating opportunities through consistency, and building community through genuine connection. From personal stories about mentorship and career growth to lessons on networking, leadership, and service, the episode highlighted how generosity can become a long-term strategy for both business and life.

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In this Pitch the Tide session, Christian Hilty, VP of Partnerships at DeliverThat, shares how the company evolved from a college delivery startup into a nationwide catering delivery management platform built specifically for restaurants. DeliverThat helps operators streamline catering fulfillment through a combination of delivery orchestration technology, nationwide driver coverage, and integrations with major restaurant platforms. By supporting setup-focused catering delivery, real-time delivery visibility, driver management tools, and flexible fulfillment options, the platform helps restaurants protect high-value catering orders, improve operational efficiency, and create a more reliable guest experience at scale.

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Shawn Walchef led this Rising Tides Live conversation focused on the National Restaurant Association Show, where operators and creators shared how to get the most out of one of the biggest events in hospitality. With so much happening, the group emphasized a simple truth: success at NRA comes down to showing up with intention. From planning key meetings to staying open to unexpected connections, the real value is not just in what you see, but in who you meet and how you follow up. You do not need to do everything. You just need to show up ready to engage and make it count.

Listen to the replay of the latest room where the participants discussed community service and follow Cali BBQ Media to keep up with the latest and join the rooms to tell your story and have your voice heard.

Every Wednesday and Friday at 10am PT, Shawn Walchef hosts the Rising Tides Live room streaming with StreamYard on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and more. Leading voices in hospitality, and otherwise, from near and far join to discuss all things business and much more.

In this Pitch the Tide session, Darren Spicer and Justin Andrews introduce Cowboy Mud, a coffee-infused barbecue rub built from a third-generation family recipe and designed to stand out both on the shelf and in the wild. Packaged in a distinctive dip can for portability and brand identity, Cowboy Mud blends premium ingredients like Hawaiian sea salt and specialty coffee to create a versatile seasoning that works across proteins, vegetables, and even unexpected applications like popcorn and cocktails. Positioned as more than just a spice, the brand aims to live at the intersection of food, lifestyle, and storytelling.

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Mike Bisceglia again filled in for Shawn Walchef on Rising Tides Live, guiding a meaningful conversation around the power of showing up every day. Joined by operators, creators, consultants, and entrepreneurs, the group shared how consistent effort often matters more than perfect execution. From attending events, building businesses, and learning new technology to being present for family, health, and personal growth, each story pointed to the same truth. Progress is usually built in ordinary moments, not dramatic ones. Whether it is five minutes or five hours, showing up with intention creates momentum, trust, and opportunity over time. The takeaway was clear: success is less about waiting for the perfect moment and more about continuing to show up for what matters most.

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In this Pitch the Tide session, Mary Pillow Thompson shares how Zignyl helps restaurants turn hard work into real results. By giving teams live sales goals, real-time progress tracking, and shift-based incentives, the platform helps employees know what winning looks like while the shift is happening. Built for operators who want stronger performance and lower turnover, Zignyl combines forecasting, labor planning, and motivation tools to increase profits, improve retention, and create better shift execution across every location.

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Mike Bisceglia filled in for Shawn Walchef on Rising Tides Live, leading a thoughtful conversation on how small decisions can create lasting impact in business and life. Joined by operators, founders, and entrepreneurs, the discussion explored the often overlooked moments that shape long-term outcomes, from saying yes to new opportunities and building better habits to making timely decisions and trusting your instincts. Stories of career pivots, personal relationships, leadership lessons, and daily discipline revealed a common theme. Major change is rarely one giant moment. It is built through consistent small choices. The takeaway was clear: the decisions that seem minor today often become the turning points you recognize later.

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In this Pitch the Tide session, Jegil Dugger, CEO of Pye, introduces a flexible self-ordering kiosk platform designed to help restaurants improve labor efficiency, reduce wait times, and modernize the guest experience. Built for businesses ranging from food trucks to enterprise brands, Pye combines integrated hardware, payment flexibility, and POS connectivity into one adaptable system. By supporting cash and card payments, loyalty features, menu automation, and real-time upselling, the platform helps operators increase revenue while creating a smoother ordering experience for every guest.

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