The Restaurant Technology Guys Podcast brought to you by Custom Business Solutions

Hey, welcome to the podcast where I, talk to amazing entrepreneurs and innovators who are changing the world with their ideas and products. In this episode, I chat with Osayanmo Osarenkhoe , the founder of ClearCOGS, a startup that uses AI to help restaurants optimize their food preparation and reduce waste. We discuss how he came up with the idea, what challenges he faced along the way, and what his vision is for the future of food service. Tune in and get inspired by his story!

Check them out at AI Ops and Reporting for Restaurants | ClearCOGS | United States

Today I have a special guest with me: David Eha from Restaurant Technologies Inc. He's here to tell us how his company helps restaurants with oil management. You know, that stuff you fry your food in. Turns out, it's not as simple as you might think. There are a lot of challenges and risks involved in handling, storing, and disposing of oil. That's why Restaurant Technologies Inc. offers a smart solution that automates the whole process and makes it safer, cleaner, and more efficient. Sounds awesome, right? Well, let's hear more from David himself. David, welcome to the show!

Check them out Restaurant Technologies Inc. | Cooking Oil Delivery & Recycling for Commercial Kitchens (rti-inc.com)

Join Jeremy and Olga Lopategui where they talk about restaurant loyalty and how to maximize your brand message. 

After 15 years in brand marketing and international franchise marketing at Pizza Hut, KFC and TGI Fridays, Olga noticed that restaurant chains were getting proficient at collecting customer data, yet the skill of using that data for marketing seemed to be lacking in many organizations.  Restaurant Loyalty Specialists, a boutique loyalty consulting firm, was founded right then.  

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We offer expertise in Loyalty and CRM for restaurant chains. The key principle is simple: find out what your guests already like, then give them more of that - at scale - to drive sales. Our clients range from 20 to over 800 locations. We work with any modern loyalty and CRM platforms, although most clients utilize Punchh, Paytronix, or Personica. 

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Olga was born in Moscow, Russia, and has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and the US in the course of her career. She holds a Harvard MBA and a Georgetown LLM.

Website link: https://www.restaurantloyaltyspecialists.com/
Meeting booking link: https://calendly.com/olga-lo/intro-or-networking-meeting?month=2022-06

In the ever-evolving landscape of the hospitality industry, the demand for exceptional experiences is at an all-time high along with record high staffing shortages. Over 500,000 jobs remain vacant each month. Corwin Carson, the visionary CEO of United Robotics Group, sees a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the staggering job vacancies and the need for efficient and seamless service with cutting-edge advancements in robotics and automation. United Robotics Group's pioneering vision embraces the notion that technology can be a catalyst for change rather than a threat to human livelihoods.

By combining the precision and reliability of robotics with the warmth and personal touch of human interaction, they aspire to create a harmonious balance that elevates the industry to new heights. As they strive to fill the void in a job market hungry for skilled workers, the company's transformative endeavors hold the promise of reshaping the industry, empowering both employers and employees alike. With Corwin Carson at the helm, United Robotics Group is poised to lead the charge in revolutionizing the future of the hospitality sector. Check them out here United Robotics Group - The CobiotX company

For a Full Transcript of the Show Click Here

Join Jeremy and Founder of Veggie Grill T.K Pillan where they talk about the shift from technology startup to becoming the largest plant-based chain in the country. 

In 2006, investor partners T.K. Pillan and Kevin Boylan began looking for the next big restaurant idea. Around the same time, the duo were personally experiencing the tremendous health benefits of a plant-based diet and were becoming more informed about the inhumane and unsustainable factory farming methods used to produce meat and dairy products. So, driven to take a stand and change American food culture for the better, the two teamed up with culinary expert Ray White to start Veggie Grill, a vegan restaurant based in Irvine, California. Today, as the largest plant-based QSR restaurant chain with 35 restaurants and 700+ team members across the country, Veggie Grill has empowered millions of customers to not only try vegan food, but to crave it. While all locations have been strictly corporate-owned up until now, the Veggie Grill brand is officially launching its franchise opportunity and giving entrepreneurs the opportunity to join the runaway leader in the exciting plant-based movement. Since being founded in 2006, Veggie Grill has expanded to include locations in California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York City. 

After years of widespread adoption, plant-based foods are expected to continue comprising a bigger share of menus, growing from a $29.4 billion market in 2020 to more than $162 billion in 2030, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Legacy players in the QSR industry are also starting to take notice, with franchise brands like KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King following the lead of brands like Veggie Grill by rolling out plant-based options.

In addition to catering to consumer demand for healthier options, Veggie Grill also aligns with the urgent trend towards adopting more environmentally friendly meal options. According to a study by the Good Food Institute, plant-based meat both emits 30% to 90% less greenhouse gas and causes 51% to 91% less aquatic nutrient pollution than conventional meat. 

The Veggie Grill menu includes soups, salads, bowls, sandwiches, burgers and desserts — all made using 100% vegan, plant-based products. Thanks to its position as an innovative leader in the vegan quick-service restaurant industry, Veggie Grill also has exclusive access to the latest and greatest in plant proteins and made-from-scratch culinary inspirations and works closely with industry leading suppliers. 

For a Full Transcript of the Show Click Here

Join Jeremy and Zack where they talk about why most feedback systems fail and how Ovation has changed the feedback game. 

Voted the #1 guest feedback platform in a nationwide RestaurantOwner.com survey, Ovation starts with a 2-question survey, is SMS-based survey, and works on- and off-prem. Through frictionless integrations with online ordering platforms and other methods, Ovation allows restaurants to easily resolve guest concerns in real-time, get more 5-star reviews, discover insights to improve, and drive revenue. Learn more at www.ovationup.com

For the Full Transcript Click Here

Randy Sharpe is the CEO of Xperience Restaurant Group (XRG), bringing extensive operational expertise to one of the nation’s leading operators of casual, polished casual, and fine dining brands. Upon joining XRG in 2018, he brought two decades of regional and national management experience at a variety of multi-concept restaurant chains. “I believe in collaboration and partnership,” Sharpe says. “I hire the best in the industry and give them room to do what they do best instead of micromanaging them.”

SoundHound offers an independent voice AI platform that enables businesses across industries to deliver conversational experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary Speech-to-Meaning® and Deep Meaning Understanding® technologies, SoundHound’s advanced voice AI platform provides exceptional speed and accuracy and enables humans to interact with products and services like they interact with each other—by speaking naturally.

Tune in to hear the founder and CEO of ItsaCheckmate, Vishal Agarwal, and RTG’s Jeremy Julian, as they talk about where the future of the digital ordering category is heading, a critically important narrative surrounding restaurant profitability, and how operators can drive incremental sales by taking advantage of that narrative.

ItsaCheckmate is the center of a restaurant’s digital ordering business, allowing operators to control online orders and menus straight from their POS, resulting in higher profits and reduced order errors, and letting them focus on what matters: serving up delicious food and delightful dining experiences. 

ItsaCheckmate proudly works with 20,000+ global restaurant locations (including Wendy’s, Five Guys, White Castle, Arby’s), 50-plus POS systems, and 100-plus ordering platforms including UberEATS, DoorDash, Grubhub, and many more.  

Additional topics this podcast episode touches on include why month-to-month pricing structures can be a win for technology companies versus the traditional annual contract, and how to further drive kitchen efficiencies with technology.

To learn more about ItsaCheckmate, visit www.itsacheckmate.com