Five Ways Customers Have Changed the Way They Think About Restaurants

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. To do so, restaurant and design professionals will need to look beyond their own backyards to adapt customers’ changing demands. This keynote presentation will provide context and food for thought around these challenges and will help everyone begin plotting their course for the future.

Mike Kostyo, Trendologist and Associate Director, Datassential

Mike Kostyo 150x200 At Datassential, Kostyo oversees the company's seven TrendSpotting magazines, custom client publications, and he leads trend immersion tours and ideation sessions across the country. Kostyo was a recurring guest on Fusion TV's "The AV Club Show"; has been featured on WGN Radio, CBS Radio, and Gimlet Media's "Why We Eat What We Eat" podcast; is regularly featured in newspapers and magazines; speaks at numerous conferences across the country annually; and he was a judge on Food Network's "Eating America." He has a master’s in gastronomy from Boston University, plus certificates in the culinary arts, baking arts, wine, and artisan cheese production. In his spare time he teaches cooking classes and co-founded a monthly food swap in Chicago.

Photos of the Event

Testimonials

The FED Summit was just the right timeframe, just the right speakers and just the right team to make it all happen. I reunited with and made new friends and have taken away lots of valuable information that will help shape and impact my future success.

Zee Moussa, Culinarian & Owner, ZeeTheCook, LLC

The FED Summit is easily one of the best – if not THE best – conferences I’ve ever attended.

Adam Deutschmann, General Manager, Bargreen Ellingson

It was refreshing to attend a conference where both the networking opportunities and the content were equally important. The sessions tackled provocative issues that will impact the future of the food industry and I've had multiple meetings and events that came solely from contacts I made at the FED Summit.

Mike Kostyo, Trendologist & Associate Director, Content, Datassential

The 2022 FED Summit was a great insight into the current state of not just the equipment world, but the restaurant industry as a whole. I really enjoyed hearing from designers sharing their real life successes and failures, equipment experts sharing what is really working, and from restaurant owners/managers to what their teams enjoy working with.

Brooks Kirchheimer, Co-Founder & Co-Owner, Hearth and Hill, and Leave Room for Dessert Eateries

The FED Summit was very thought-provoking and insightful. I came away with great ideas for my customer base to contemplate.

Drew O’Quinn, President, Singer T&L

I loved the diversity of types of leaders in the room; we all grow by learning from other channel segments. Great speakers, useful content, thoughtful dialog with attendees - excellence in every aspect!

Brad Pierce, President, Restaurant Equipment World

I absolutely enjoyed attending my first FED Thought Leadership Summit! It was the right mix of networking opportunities and insightful, thought-provoking content from expert speakers.

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

To say that this old guy learned a lot of new, timely industry information is an understatement. I came away from the event saying to myself that this is one conference that can’t be missed, and I am already hoping that I get another chance at attending next year.

William J. Caruso, FFCSI (PP), President, CS Enterprises, LLC.

The FED Summit is so well put together. Both the content of the program and the opportunity to interact and collaborate with industry peers is on point. This conference is a home run for me and I always leave with new ideas and some new industry connections to help grow my business.

FED Global Thought Leadership 2022