Sept. 25, 2026

BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FS/TEC 2026

#FSTEC just concluded in Dallas, TX.

They describe it as “FS/TEC has been the premier event for over 30 years, where forward-thinking restaurant operators meet cutting-edge technology. In just three transformative days, attendees discover cutting-edge solutions, connect with top industry executives, and tackle real-world challenges head-on."

The show helps drive enterprise-level thinking and understanding with a focus on technological advancements and innovations. It's a good one if you are into improving your business through technology.

Here are my KEY TAKEAWAYS:

ROAD SIGNS TO SUCCESS

During a presentation from Technomic called the "State of the Industry Trend Session Through the Eyes of Technology," the data masters presented a lot of stats on where we are at as a business. It's a moment to take in the industry trends and changes from a top level. I found the most value in their key implications roundup.

Cultural relevance beats trend chasing.

When your brand matters to your guest, you build a connection that's stronger than any LTO you can create. The best place to start is by understanding what your guests want and getting them more of it.

Operational consistency is non-negotiable.

For sure, this is a massive challenge for us, making sure the experience is the same on every visit in every store. What I might suggest is not aiming for consistency, but shooting for operational excellence by aiming high.

Agility is a competitive advantage.

Building off of 1. above, if you understand what your guests like and want more of, the ability to get that to them in a timely and relevant manner is a great way to innovate. Our head of brand growth at Salad House, Tim Banos, likes to quote Seth Godin frequently: "find products for your customers rather than finding customers for your products." Ask me about our stackers menu if you want an example.

Employee experience drives guest experience.

I've been hearing this a lot lately from execs at successful brands. If your team likes working there and with each other, it will carry over into a better experience for your guests.

VENDORS OR PARTNERS?

We're at an interesting crossroads in the restaurant business. We now have access to AI tools like Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT that allow brands to visualize data in ways they've never been able to before, create customized reports from various data sources and even build their own tech.

Some people are even saying that in a couple of years, restaurants may not even need SaaS because they might be able to build their own.

I personally spent a lot of time at this show talking to vendors I'm currently using across the various brands I'm working with, giving them feedback, telling them what I'm looking for and finding out where they are going.

A collaborative partnership is always better.

Which brings me to my point... empower your vendors to be better partners by doing three things:

Share with them what you find valuable and helpful about their solution. This helps them know what's working.
Ask about their product roadmap. Understand what they have coming so you know if you might need it, and give them some thoughts on how you might use it so they can help build it better for your needs.
Share your roadmap. If they know where you are going and what you need, you'll both get where you want to go quicker and better.

And with that, my new favorite question to ask vendors is, "How soon do you think you can build this?" And I'm finding that vendors are WAY better at being software developers than brands. ;-)

WHAT'S WORKING WITH MARKETING... RIGHT NOW

We'll go quick hit on this since each of these really could be their own newsletter, but after asking all my marketing friends what is working, what is not working and what to do next, here's a roundup.

Better Segmentation

We hear a lot about personalization, but really what we are talking about is what makes one guest take an action. It's not about writing Suzy a different email than Billy.

It's about knowing that Suzy likes to order through the app and gets the same thing every time, so you can watch if her habit changes and hit her with a message that gets her to come back. And it's about knowing that Billy is gluten-free and that's why he orders the same thing every time, because maybe he doesn't know you have other gluten-free options. And the same for the other 3% of your celiac guests...

Guest Data

I asked about 40 marketers, "What's one guest acquisition tactic that you know is working?" and honestly, no one had a strong "magic button" answer. Seriously. But everyone agreed on one thing: they are focused on acquisition tactics that include capturing contact data. If you don't have their phone number or email, it's tough to bring them back in.

Retention

Dovetailing on 2. above, acquisition costs dollars and retention costs pennies. If you get 'em through the door, get 'em coming back. Get hyper-focused on getting to 3 trips, but do it in a time that makes sense for your model. A full-service steakhouse is going to have a different customer journey than a coffee or beverage model. Make sure it is measurable and creates habit. Don't be afraid to incentivize if you can prove growth in lifetime value.

As a quick example, we recently learned at Handcraft Burgers & Brew that first-time incentivized guests, on average, have a 2.6x higher LTV than guests who came in without an incentive. That's pretty intense.

Tell a Story

I get asked a lot of questions about social media. I clearly create a lot of content. At a show like FSTEC, there really isn't a lot of talk about it. Multi-unit and enterprise marketers are HYPER focused on CRM marketing, mostly because it's measurable at the cash register. What I am hearing and seeing, though, is that social media is an important channel in your overall marketing mix, and it's best used for storytelling more than anything else.

Said another way, if your content looks like an ad, it's an ad. If your content is about who you are, why you do it and who you serve, it's likely to get more attention from your guests.

Influencer Marketing

Dovetailing on 4. above, working with content creators is a great way to get your story out there, create additional awareness and have fun letting others tell your story.