FED Global Thought Leadership 2022

As restaurants emerge from the pandemic, they still face mountains of challenges that will continue to impact how they design and build their locations. Given that the FED Summit is a mashup of the FE&S and rd+d audience, topics we will explore how will these factors impact site selection, design development and more. How has the way consumers want to use restaurants changed? How can you determine when adding technology will provide the right return on investment? How do you provide a top-notch guest experience with less labor? What role can adaptive kitchens play in concept development?

New Horizons for Restaurant Development

Brooks Kirchheimer, Wayne A. Schick, Josh Zadikoff

Over the past three years the restaurant industry has changed in ways that were once considered unimaginable. How will operators adapt designs and equipment selections to do more with less labor? How will changes in consumer preferences, work habits and more impact where operators look to open their restaurants? How will operators use technology to efficiently meet the needs of both on- and off-premises customers? This panel of operators spanning a variety of segments and geographies will address these issues and more during this presentation.

Ed Doyle

The Magic of Experience-Based Foodservice Design

Ed Doyle, President, RealFood Hospitality, Strategy and Design

Bring a new ruler to this session because we’re changing how you measure the success of your design efforts. Move far beyond the "will it fit" thinking that anchors our industry to the past to a new metric of crafting and redefining experiential dining for the future of hospitality. Building upon heightened consumer expectations, operational headwinds and the evolving mindset of today's workforce, rethinking design is paramount in planning the foodservice spaces of tomorrow.

Meghan Daro

Innovation Drives Transformation in the Commercial Kitchen

Meghan Daro, Vice President, Consultant Services, Middleby

Innovation is the norm in the commercial kitchen, not the exception. Want proof? Look at all the ways commercial kitchens have evolved over the years to meet changing consumer preferences for both food and service styles. Yet the introduction of increased automation to solve current and future challenges for operations spanning all segments remains of critical importance. That’s because these emerging solutions can help operators make effective use of what labor they do have while also enhancing their environmental profiles.

Juan Martinez

Tech Talk: When Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?

Juan Martinez, PhD, PE, FCSI, Principal, Profitality

Given the challenges operators face today, specifically the ongoing labor challenges that show no signs of abating, the benefits of automation continue to become more and more attractive. For automation and other advanced technologies to truly be worth the investment, though, implementation must solve business problems operators face.

Jason Wange

T-Shirts, Tears & Barking Dogs: How COVID Opened the Door to Authentic Mental Health Conversations

Jason Wange, Founder, Foodservice Powerplant Network

As members of the hospitality industry, we set big goals and we work hard to serve the industry and customers we love. Yet this commitment to give our all for others and the drive to perform at our highest levels are often achieved at the expense of ourselves and those we care about. The greatest plans in the world don't matter if the people - our teams, our peers, and our industry at large - remain unaware of and unable to support the emotional and mental health and well-being of those in our care.

Simon Lohse

Modern Technology: Delivering Benefits to Operators and Customers

Simon Lohse, Executive Vice President, RATIONAL North America

How can modern technology help meet the varied challenges that operators face today? Today's challenges include skill and labor shortages, rising material and utility costs, increased demand for quality in individualized menu offering, as well as increasing diversity in delivery methods and increasing hygiene requirements.

Jill Ventura

Flexible by Design

Jill Ventura, Director of Restaurants, Core States Group

In order to remain relevant in the eyes of the consumer, today’s restaurant concepts need to be more in tune with their clientele than ever before. To do so, operators need to be able to adapt not only when it comes to menu composition but also with design, real estate selection and more. When getting their food some customers may want to drive up while others will prefer to walk up and some will want to dine on premises. This session will explore how operators can remain flexible by design to adapt to customers’ preferences

Lauren Chipman

Investing in Community: What's Next for Main Street?

Lauren Chipman, CEO, Chipman Design Architecture

After analyzing new habits developed from the pandemic, this session will forecast what's next for Main Street and Central Business Districts throughout the country. It's not a matter of David vs. Goliath, but how one-off restaurants and large chains can learn from one another to grow and succeed in this next wave of development.

Mike Kostyo

Five Ways Customers Have Changed the Way They Think About Restaurants

Mike Kostyo, Trendologist and Associate Director, Datassential

Customer expectations and the way they want to use restaurants have never been static. Pair that with the ongoing labor crunch, supply chain shortages and wild price increases and you have a dynamic unlike the restaurant and foodservice industries have ever experienced. The dynamic nature of today’s challenges requires some of out of the box and collaborative thinking by operators and their supply chain partners.

Rohini Dey

Moving Forward Together

Maureen Slocum & Rohini Dey, Ph.D, Vermillion Restaurateur & Founder, Let's Talk Womxn

DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) is the ubiquitous current catchphrase of our workplaces. While the intent is positive, results can be slow, and the way forward is often murky and stymied. In this interactive fireside chat, two dynamic and lauded women business owners who are unafraid of failure and have created enormous positive change will share their experiences and offer insights on building collaborative cultures.

Caetie Ofiesh

Doing Well by Design

Caetie Ofiesh, Director of Design & Consulting, Just Fare

In a world where doing good business and doing good often seem at odds, Just Fare sees another way and this session will go under the hood and discuss this organization’s people-first approach to foodservice operations and design. The session will dive into the tangible ways Just Fare balances profit with people, planet and community by measuring and tracking progress while making delicious meals and designing terrific spaces for culinary teams.

Mott Smith

Get Cooking in Record Time: How Adaptive Kitchens Save Time and Money for New Brands

Mott Smith, Co-Owner & CEO, Amped Kitchens

There has been an explosion of multitenant food facilities over the last decade – from high-end production suites to entry-level shared kitchens and ghost kitchens. Savvy operators and designers have found creative ways to get the most out of multifunction kitchen spaces – “adaptive” spaces that can be optimized for CPG, commissary and foodservice applications.

Gazing Into the Crystal Ball: The Future of Restaurant Design

Gazing Into the Crystal Ball: The Future of Restaurant Design

Joseph Vajda, AIA, LEED bd+c, Principal, Aria Group

There have been extraordinary changes in the hospitality sector over the last couple of years. Now that we have settled into a new reality, what does this mean for the future of restaurant design? This session will take a look at how interior design is evolving and adapting to meet the ever-changing challenges operators are facing.

Karen Malody

Right Here. Right Now. Right Future.

Karen Malody, Founder/Principal, Culinary Operations

From the current macroeconomic challenges of the day to the disruptions of the past two years, there’s no shortage of distractions that can cause us to take our eyes off the “now” ball and fret about what the future may bring. Despite all this chaos, the fundamentals of foodservice have not changed. The so-called new reality is nothing new. Reality shifts constantly.

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