The Stacked Podcast — where hospitality meets technology. Powered by Lightspeed.

Tonkotsu has gone from six sites to nineteen, with a twentieth opening in Bath, opposite the Roman Baths. Mike, the brand's finance director, has been there since 2017 — and along the way he picked up the systems too, because in a business this size somebody has to.

Chris sits down with him for an unusually honest conversation about what changing technology actually looks like when there's no CTO, no big central team, and no appetite for being sold a dream. Mike talks through the POS move to Lightspeed — one site, then four, then all of them — and what having live sales on every phone changed for his area managers and GMs. He explains how weekly stocktakes went from counting for counting's sake to a variance managed inside the week, how wastage got below 0.9%, and why his team still builds the rotas themselves rather than buying a platform that can't match what they've got.

There's a straight answer on AI too. Mike's seen invoice automation get rebranded as AI, likes what it might do for rotas, and has one warning worth the price of admission: be careful that AI doesn't become the accountant everyone used to blame for running the business off a spreadsheet.

Plus: the £1m electricity quote, the NI threshold, 20% EBITDA a decade ago versus fighting to stay flat, vibe-coded tools built by operators, and why if someone actually phones your restaurant you probably want to speak to them.

IN THIS EPISODE

(01:49) Six sites to nineteen, and Bath makes twenty

(02:39) The Tonkotsu story: Ken, Emma and the first ramen in Soho

(04:11) The systems they've never needed to replace

(05:13) AI, or automation with better branding?

(06:28) What Covid actually fixed

(08:33) Utilities, Ukraine and a £1m electricity quote

(10:12) Live sales on every phone

(11:23) The weekly estimate that checks the monthly accounts

(12:32) Stock: from month-end surprises to managed variance

(14:14) Wastage below 0.9% — and ops fixing a blip in-week

(15:50) From reporting last week to forecasting next week

(17:04) Build it yourself: the rota tool that out-featured the vendors

(19:36) And when to buy instead: handing ordering over

(21:09) The POS journey: one site, then four, then all of them

(26:14) Rolling out nineteen sites without drama

(27:39) When to pilot — and when not to touch anything

(28:47) Delivery after the peak

(29:44) AI: self-building rotas and the accountant problem

(32:02) Advice to a finance director about to change systems

(34:31) The AI wave in guest comms — and why phone orders are different

(36:27) Bath, opposite the Roman Baths

POWERED BY LIGHTSPEED

This episode is powered by Lightspeed, the platform behind the POS rollout Mike talks through.

https://www.lightspeedhq.com/uk/

ABOUT THE SHOW

The Stacked Podcast sits down with the operators, founders and tech leaders shaping how hospitality actually runs — restaurants, cloud kitchens, hotels, pubs and everything in between. No hype. No sales pitch. Just honest conversations about what's working, what isn't, and what's coming next.

New episodes every week. Follow so you don't miss one.

https://wearestacked.io

Chris is joined by Ally Fraser, SVP and GM for EMEA at Fourth, a business that has been building back of house systems for hospitality for over 25 years. Ally spent 15 years on the frontline before joining Fourth, where she started out implementing purchase to pay and inventory at operators like YO! Sushi and now runs the region.The conversation lands on one uncomfortable number. Research Fourth ran with Peter Martin and the team at Peach found an average 11% margin gap between the top performing and bottom performing site inside the same brand. Same brand. Same systems. Same menu. Ally's argument is that the gap is behavioural, not technical, and that adoption data is the thing that closes it.They also get into the UK legislation squeeze, including operators seeing sick pay costs rise 40 to 50% off the back of the day one change, why forecasting took hospitality 20 years longer than it took the supermarkets, how automated scheduling actually works, and why nobody wants a machine placing their food order just yet.Chapters01:10 Intro and Ally's route from frontline to Fourth02:54 Fifteen years, six roles, one company03:34 What Fourth actually does, and why the demand forecast sits at the centre04:55 Why hospitality trailed retail on forecasting by two decades06:21 QSR forecasting at SKU level in 15 minute increments07:36 The UK legislation squeeze: day one sick pay, VAT, the Fair Work Agency09:09 Why compliance failure gets blamed on the tech supplier11:38 Where AI actually shows up in the product12:50 How automated scheduling works, step by step14:20 The bit nobody talks about: humans have to trust the schedule15:26 Sweat your tech, before you sign another contract17:15 What best in class operators do differently18:04 Adoption by sector: QSR strong, pubs and casual dining around half, hotels lowest20:24 Benchmarking every click, and what good actually looks like21:47 The 11% margin gap between top and bottom site in the same brand23:12 Vibe coded dashboards, and why operators should not become developers26:08 Suggested ordering, safety stock, and keeping a human in the loop28:08 Quickfire: competitive socialising, the reMarkable, and the one thing she'd fix overnightKey takeaways1. The gap is inside the brand, not between brands. An 11% average margin gap between best and worst site in the same estate means the playbook already exists somewhere in the business. It just isn't travelling.2. Adoption is measurable now. Fourth is capturing every click and benchmarking behaviours. If shift swaps at one site run at 20 a week and another runs at five, that variance can be correlated to site performance and flagged before it shows up in the P&L, not after.3. Legislation is the cost story of 2026. Day one sick pay has pushed some operators' sick pay costs up 40 to 50%. Ally's view is that operators should not have to become legislation experts. That is the supplier's job.4. Rollout of automation stalls on trust, not capability. Fourth could auto send the order. Operators don't want it sent. Same with the schedule that says a 10 to 3 rather than a 10 to 4. The tech is ahead of the confidence.5. Adoption maturity varies by sector. QSR is strongest because the model is repeatable. Pubs and casual dining are sitting around half of what they could be using. Hotels and complex operations are furthest back.6. The best operators resource adoption properly. Change managers, productivity managers, whatever the title. Someone owns it, gathers feedback and iterates.

Brava Hospitality just hit 103 sites, posted its record sales week, and acquired Riding House Café.

Underneath it sits a loyalty and subscription engine most operators are still arguing about internally.

David Broom, CIO at Brava Hospitality (Prezzo Italian, Jamie's Italian UK, Pronto Pasta), joins Chris Fletcher to open the numbers up.What we cover:

• Over 500,000 app members in 14 months, growing 5,000 to 10,000 a week

• 8 to 10% of weekly revenue now driven by a loyalty offer, and still climbing

• Why app customers convert on a shallower discount than any other channel, and what that does to margin

• The kids subscription at £1.99 a month, 7,500 subscribers, and why it drives three to four times the visit frequency

• Order and pay stuck at 5% of covers, and why David is relaxed about it• Running all of this on an ageing till estate without saying no to marketing once

• Gifting subscriptions, Father's Day prepaid pints, and treating hospitality like proper commerce

• Ship a good first version, operationalise it, then build it bigReach out to David on LinkedIn if you want to dig into how they did it.The Stacked Podcast. Operator first, vendor agnostic, no commissions.

This week Chris sits down with Ruth Carpenter, Sales and Marketing Director at Black Rock Restaurants, the Brighton based collection behind Burnt Orange, The Salt Room, Coal Shed, Tutto and new pub concept The Crazy Goose. Ruth rejoins the show (she was number 32 in the harem, now back at 210) fresh from three and a half years at Pizza Pilgrims, where she helped grow the business from 16 to 31 sites.

They get into what it actually takes to market six premium brands at once, why the Pizza Pilgrims one big campaign model does not translate, and how Ruth has gone properly old school by building a network of the 100 most loyal customers per site and getting under the skin of what they want.

The tech chat is a good one. Ruth talks through inheriting the stack, why Airship does the CRM job, and how bringing in EDGEY took cost per customer from £55 down to £11 in three months, all trackable and wired into SevenRooms so there is no arguing about ROI at board level. Plus why she picked Glu for gifting and loyalty, and the recurring theme of the episode: you are buying into people, not just tech.

Elsewhere they cover the £2 million Salt Room refurb (driven by data showing the audience had aged with the brand), making premium dining accessible without a race to the bottom on price, merging sales and marketing into one team, and a proper honest take on AI. ChatGPT as the hardest working colleague on the team, but everything gets a human lens on top, and stay curious.

Closes on the best sign off this podcast has ever had. Chill out, follow the plan, stay true to who you are.

Topics

• Marketing six premium brands with a small team
• The 100 loyal customers strategy and guest segmentation
• Paid social done right and proving ROI (£55 to £11)
• The tech stack: Airship, EDGEY, Glew
• Merging sales and marketing
• The Salt Room £2m refurb and repositioning for a younger audience
• Accessibility versus price
• Using AI without losing the human lens

Guest
Ruth Carpenter, Sales and Marketing Director, Black Rock Restaurants. Say hi on LinkedIn (Ruth Carpenter) and check out Black Rock Restaurants.

Your team doesn't think about ops, people and culture as separate problems. They just want to know when they're working and where to find stuff. So why do most hospitality businesses still run their workforce across six or seven different apps?

This week Chris sits down with Gregers Knudsen, founder of Monotree, the employee "front door" app that pulls comms, learning and operations into one place for multi-site hospitality. Gregers came up through Planday and built Monotree off the back of watching businesses with 1,000+ employees run their entire company on Facebook groups and WhatsApp.

They get into why that's a problem, how you actually move a workforce off WhatsApp, and what changes when your engagement data finally lives in one place. Plus the open API, customers building reports straight into Claude, and a smart idea on capturing what people know before they walk out the door for good.

Honest, operator-first chat about the bit of the stack everyone has and almost nobody has properly fixed.

A few lines that stuck:

"Good tech is just when you don't really think about it."

"We want to be the heavy use guys."

"If your providers don't have an open API, switch them now. Your data is your precious thing."

Find Gregers and Monotree at monree.com, on LinkedIn, or just at dinner. He eats out a lot.

This episode is supported by Lightspeed. EPOS and payments built to keep service flowing when the patio's packed and the game's on every screen.

Chris sits down with Shamik Mojaria, who marks his first year at Crunchtime, to dig into what it really takes to run consistent, efficient operations across a hospitality estate. They get into why years of grabbing the best available tech has left many operators with fragmented, disconnected systems that create more problems than they solve, and why the conversation is shifting firmly toward unified back office solutions.

With the World Cup as a backdrop, they talk through what unpredictable demand actually looks like on the ground, why that 15 minute halftime window can make or break a venue, and how good forecasting changes everything. They also get into what practical AI means in a hospitality context, why ROI is still the hardest question in the room, and how brands like Cafe Nero have used Crunchtime for nearly a decade to digitise and scale their operations.

If you're running multiple sites and still logging into six different systems to get a picture of your business, this one's for you.

Lorraine Copes, Founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality

Chris sits down with Lorraine Copes, founder of Be Inclusive Hospitality, for a proper chat about the people side of the industry. From bringing Shake Shack to the UK to procurement boards at Gordon Ramsay Group and Corbin & King, Lorraine has built a 24-year career, then walked away from the "proper job" to build something with purpose. Six years on, BIH has trained 2,000+ leaders. We get into the data on who makes it up the chain, why confidence beats everything, and the gap between what boards say about people and what they actually do.

• From logistics to leadership. The "safe" degree, falling into hospitality supply chain, and pushing into procurement for the wins and the impact.
• The Shake Shack effect. Danny Meyer, "Setting the Table" as her ops bible, and the lesson that stuck: take care of your people and they take care of your guests.
• Why she pivoted. Not away from procurement, but towards purpose. She never once said "I want to be an entrepreneur." She wrote the plan in her garden, took redundancy, and went for it.
• Be Inclusive Hospitality, six years in. Launched June 2020 into a sector finally ready to listen. Two halves: training leaders on inclusion and belonging, and an upward social mobility arm running mentorship, scholarships and education.
• The Better Hospitality Campaign. An industry-wide survey looking at the consequences of what's happening, plus a leadership committee building a set of standards. Report drops end of September.
• The numbers. Entry level is the most diverse part of the industry, the boardroom rarely reflects it. Hospitality has the ingredients to be the best, if it builds real career pathways.
• Confidence, courage, clarity. The three things that show up when Lorraine coaches leaders, with confidence at the top. Why she refuses to call it "imposter syndrome."
• The board-level gap. It always comes back to people. Investing in them costs little and lifts every KPI you sweat over.

• Restaurant: Akoko on Berners Street
• Tech that earned its place: Fixr (the expense tool Chris put her onto)
• Best advice: Find your tribe

• bihospitality.co.uk
• lorrainecopes.co.uk
• LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok: Lorraine Copes and Be Inclusive

This episode is powered by Lightspeed. The EPOS and payments platform built to keep service flowing when summer gets busy. Don't just keep up with the rush, own it with Lightspeed.

What we coverQuickfireFind Lorraine

Loyalty used to mean a stamp card and a prayer. Not anymore. This week Chris sits down with Rubén Recio Nogales, VP of Business Development at Como (now Como Sense), to unpack what modern customer engagement really looks like, and why most operators are sitting on a goldmine of data they're not using.

Como describes itself as a data company that specialises in customer engagement. It sits between your operational side and your CRM, pulls in every transaction (identified or not) and surfaces the insights that actually move the needle. Think 3,000 lapsed members targeted in two clicks, or spotting the customers one stamp away from a reward who'll react to almost anything you send them.

Rubén and Chris get into penetration rates (why 15 to 30 percent is normal and how one client hit 80), why loyalty members consistently outspend everyone else, and the frontline staff who quietly make or break the whole thing. They also look ahead at WhatsApp marketing, automated segmentation, AI driven reporting, and the holy grail Live Nation are chasing: card tokenisation that identifies the guest with zero friction at the till.

Honest, practical and refreshingly free of hype. If you're an operator with data you don't know what to do with, this one's for you.

Key talking points:

• Why "loyalty" got a bad name, and what's changed
• Penetration rate explained, and why 80 percent is wild
• The two click campaign and reading customer behaviour
• WhatsApp marketing: massive in the Middle East, heading to the UK
• Card tokenisation and frictionless loyalty (the Live Nation play)
• Where AI fits: segmentation, reporting and machine learning
• Why your GM matters more than your software
• When to change systems, and when to leave a good thing alone

Guest: Rubén Recio Nogales, VP of Business Development, ComoFind Rubén: LinkedIn (Rubén Recio Nogales). Como are also on the Stacked marketplace.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Intro and Lightspeed
• 01:05 Meet Rubén, single parenting and 19 year old cucumber dramas
• 02:18 Spain to the UK, an ice cream stall in Westfield
• 03:01 What Como actually does
• 04:25 Acquired by Global Payments, what the name means
• 05:09 The state of hospitality tech
• 08:06 Why the old loyalty schemes failed
• 09:24 The value exchange and the Starbucks lesson
• 11:00 Penetration rate and business insights in two clicks
• 12:29 The Nando's chilli effect
• 15:31 AI and machine learning in the product
• 16:11 Como across 50+ countries
• 17:26 WhatsApp marketing and cultural differences
• 21:02 Loyalty members spend more, and why
• 23:07 Penetration rate explained, and the 80 percent client
• 24:52 The frontline staff who make loyalty work
• 27:20 Should you switch systems? An honest answer
• 30:47 Live Nation, tokenisation and the frictionless holy grail
• 32:47 How to get hold of Rubén
• 33:41 Chris leaves his daughter at the vets

Visha Kudhail has spent nearly two decades in marketing across Channel 4, Thinkbox, Google, Pinterest and Square, where she and Chris first crossed paths on the hospitality side of the business. Now she has written a book on authentic marketing, and this episode digs into what authenticity actually means once you strip away the buzzword.

We get into the difference between being truthful and being authentic, why trust is the connecting thread through everything, and how operators can stand out in a climate of rising misinformation, AI fatigue and a cost of living squeeze. Visha makes the case that brand is not just the marketing team's job, that you have to earn the right to be in the room with a customer, and that AI should be your sparring partner, not your content machine. Plenty here for marketers, founders and tech vendors alike.

What we cover

• 02:01 Visha's career path from TV and Thinkbox to Google, Pinterest and Square
• 06:20 The book reveal and why she wrote it
• 08:11 Why authenticity matters now: misinformation, political noise, cost of living and only 38% of people eating out
• 10:17 What authentic really means: your words matching your beliefs as an operating principle
• 11:38 Truthful vs authentic, and why even honest brands can feel fake
• 13:32 Keeping authenticity intact as you scale a business
• 14:03 The rise of content creators like Topjaw and why operators lean on them
• 16:37 AI as a sparring partner, and why critical thinking cannot be outsourced
• 18:47 The three tests of a great insight: brand truth, relatability, actionability
• 19:50 Why none of it works if your data is not clean
• 20:51 Building trust, with real examples from Google and Pinterest
• 23:48 Why brand belongs to the whole business, not just the marketing room
• 27:58 Earning the right to be in the room with the customer
• 29:34 The Bread Ahead story and the power of one great piece of customer-led content
• 31:26 Will AI make fake authenticity easier? The Coca-Cola Christmas ad cautionary tale
• 32:47 AI rejection, dumb phones and the cultural shift back to analog and craft
• 34:29 What Visha would build first if starting a brand from zero
• 35:16 Profitable authenticity, with Patagonia, Nike, e.l.f. and Pieminister
• 37:30 Book launch plans and what she hopes it changes
• 40:30 Where to find Visha

A few takeaways

• Truth is being factually accurate. Authenticity is the feeling you create. Brands can be honest and still come across as fake.
• A strong insight passes three tests: is it baked into your brand truth, does it relate to your product, and can it actually shift behaviour.
• Use AI for productivity and efficiency, not as a cost cutting exercise that strips out the people doing great work.
• You always have to earn the right to be in the room with a customer, no matter how big you are.
• Authentic brands that stay true to their values can still drive profit. Patagonia, Nike and e.l.f. are the proof.

About the book

Visha's book on authentic marketing is out 3 June in the UK and the US. It is built as a reusable, practical guide drawn from real strategies and frameworks she has applied day to day, with several chapters on data and a deep dive on how to think about AI.

Links

• Pre-order and find the book via Visha's website
• Connect with Visha on LinkedIn

In this episode, we're joined by Tim from Caffè Nero, Andy from SSP, and John from CrunchTime for a no-nonsense conversation about AI in hospitality. What's actually delivering ROI, what's failed, and what the future looks like for operators on the ground. Less LinkedIn hype, more real talk.

What's Actually Working

AI forecasting is the clearest ROI win — CrunchTime saw adoption jump from ~1% to 50% of locations in 12 months

Caffè Nero is piloting AI-driven stock availability and assisted ordering

SSP is using AI for labor forecasting, trading hour optimization, and upsell recommendations

The Data Problem

Bad data kills AI results — CrunchTime's own support AI was 3% accurate until they cleaned up their data sources

The sweet spot for forecasting data: 400 days (more doesn't meaningfully improve accuracy)

82% of UK operators use tech forecasting, but average accuracy is only 62%

Change Management is the Hard Part

John: The #1 reason implementations fail isn't the tech — it's change management in operations

Andy: SSP is shifting from technology-led to business transformation-led change

Keep humans in the loop — let GMs enrich AI forecasts, not just override them

What's Coming

Voice-based AI for managers: ask your phone for stats or tomorrow's forecast, no back-office report needed

Managers move from the back office to the floor — John's timeline: 5–7 years for widespread adoption

One Piece of Advice Each

John: Pick a small pilot with engaged managers and start there

Andy: Understand the business problem first — don't implement tech for tech's sake

Tim: Find an internal AI subject matter expert; you don't need a Head of AI