A deep dive into how chefs, culinary directors, and operators merge trend data, sensory research, seasonality, and storytelling to build craveable, repeatable menus. Where do you spot trends first—and how do you know they fit your brand identity? From long-term trends vs. fads to the phases of the R&D process and the eternal marketing-vs-operations balance, this session breaks down what modern menu innovation really takes.

Forget broad culture talk. This panel goes straight to the “how.” Learn practical programs for understanding your core guest, creating emotional touchpoints, and accelerating guest-driven decisions across menus, marketing, and operations. From brands with big data to those building insight from scratch, we’ll dig into the tools, habits, and cross-functional collaboration that turn guest understanding into loyalty-building action.

QSR magazine's popular CEO to CEO series hits the stage with a candid conversation between two industry leaders. No moderator. No filter. All insights.

The right tech shouldn’t replace hospitality, but amplify it. This panel breaks down how operators are using AI, automation, scheduling tools, and guest data to deliver faster, warmer, more personalized service. From pay-at-the-table and kitchen optimization tools to speed-and-accuracy measurement and smart staffing, we’ll explore the systems that actually move the needle. We’ll also tackle the loyalty dilemma—native POS vs third-party—and how emerging brands can vet partners without costly missteps.

Modeled after QSR Magazine’s CEO to CEO series, this fireside chat-style session will bring together senior leaders from NextGen Casual brands for a candid conversation, giving attendees a direct look into life leading from the top and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.

Presented by: RR Donnelly

Presented by: Rokt US Corp

How are digital touchpoints shaping hospitality? What is “phygital?” What’s the true state of omnichannel? However you break it down, restaurants have more avenues and channels to engage with guests than ever—but reaching them and taking them along for the ride is never an easy process.

Presented by: Tesoro XP

A great business must be endearing to be enduring. To create loyal customers who become raving fans, you need an emotional connection. Leaders often lead with logic, but customers and employees make decisions with emotions. In this keynote, Kevin Paul Scott will unpack the four core emotions of your customers, and how to balance emotions and logic in sales and marketing. He will share why emotional connections lead to greater ROI and how to achieve this in an authentic way.

Learn why guests are gravitating back to warm, chaotic, personality-driven environments like diners and other legacy brands, and how restaurants can lean into emotional memory without becoming gimmicky.

Learn why guests are gravitating back to warm, chaotic, personality-driven environments like diners and other legacy brands, and how restaurants can lean into emotional memory without becoming gimmicky.

In the restaurant world, everything moves fast. But great operations still depend on well-trained, motivated frontline teams. In this session, Scott Greenberg introduces 30-Second Leadership, a simple coaching approach designed for the realities of the restaurant floor. Learn how to turn everyday interactions with crew members into quick but meaningful coaching moments that improve performance, strengthen culture, and support retention. You’ll leave with a practical tool you can bring back to your organization to help operators build stronger teams and deliver better guest experiences.

Grab your passport and collect stamps (and swag) as you explore trends, tables, perspectives, and insight from around the globe, hosted by QSR and FSR’s Women in Restaurant Leadership platform. Everyone is welcome. Find your community and inspiration in this all-inclusive bash to elevate, educate, and empower restaurant leadership from every level and walk of life.

Like last year, we'll give attendees an early, exclusive look at the fastest, most accurate, and best customer service drive-thrus in America.

Victor Fernandez, chief insights officer at Black Box Intelligence, will unveil the first look at the 2026 BBI Total Rewards Survey—which features submissions from 150-plus restaurant brands- exclusively at this conference. Marrying the survey results from trends in BBI's proprietary Restaurant Performance Network, this session will provide the most-up-to-date and definitive view on the state of the restaurant labor market. We’ll cover: pay and base compensation for hourly and management roles; Bonuses, variable pay, and benefits packages that are winning the talent battle; Turnover, staffing, training/orientation, and employee demographics—and how leaders are connecting these to retention and financial performance. This will be the official launch of the 2026 Total Rewards Survey results, with insights and commentary available here before they’re released anywhere else.

Today’s full-service dining rooms have to feel good, photograph well, and move guests seamlessly through an experience worth sharing outside your four walls. This session explores how lighting, music, pacing, and spatial flow work together to shape craveability, amplify brand personality, and turn every corner of your restaurant into a connection-driven, camera-ready moment that keeps guests coming back (and posting about it).

Long-term retention starts with who you bring in and how you set them up to thrive. This session explores how top operators hire for alignment, onboard with intention, and create clear paths for growth so team members feel supported long before they hit the floor. We’ll connect the dots between employee experience and guest experience, unpack why satisfaction can’t exceed what your team feels internally, and share practical ways to build hospitality from the inside out.

QSR magazine's popular CEO to CEO series once again hits the stage with a candid conversation between two industry leaders. No moderator. No filter. All insights.

Beverages are becoming one of QSR’s strongest levers for traffic, margin, and brand differentiation—and where major growth industrywide is taking shape, from big chains jumping in to upstarts signing huge deals. This panel will bring together senior leaders to discuss how signature drinks, flavor innovation, pricing strategy, and experiential beverage programs can reinforce brand identity, elevate perceived value, and unlock incremental revenue across dayparts.

Instead of the traditional “server + busser + bartender” model, many restaurants are shifting to service teams built around strengths, pacing, and collaboration. This panel breaks down how role clarity, communication patterns, and table support roles can reduce burnout and improve hospitality quality across the dining room.

Whether opening unit No. 2 or 200, the real test of a brand is whether its identity holds as it grows. This session digs into how emerging and scaling concepts protect their core DNA while expanding into new markets, new formats, and new guest expectations. We’ll unpack the “portability” question (where does your concept truly fit?), and how to localize without losing yourself. From menu tweaks to design flexes to franchise vs. corporate growth paths, operators will share where they invest time, money, and energy to scale with intention.

Just as we have for the past three years, our WiRL platform hits the stage to gather women executives from around the industry for a conversation on how to elevate, educate, and empower. They’ll share stories, advice on how to supercharge your career, and provide inspiration to a new generation of leaders.

Five powerhouse women from QSR's biggest brands are sharing the stories, strategies, and advice that got them here—and how they're paying it forward.

From career pivots to culture-building to navigating growth, hear from Kelly McCutcheon (Whataburger), Nancy Combs (Shake Shack), Devon Croom (Chick-fil-A), Somia Farid Silber (Edible Brands), and Maria Valero (Papa Johns) on what it really takes to lead.

copy: Step away, stretch, and connect. Browse the sponsor marketplace and strike up a conversation with a fellow operator.

Following our QSR conversation, four visionary women from FSR's most dynamic brands continue the movement—sharing the stories, strategies, and advice that got them here.

From venue operations to brand storytelling to navigating growth, hear from Melissa Fry (Twin Peaks), Taylor Glode (Popstroke), Jen Kaufmann (Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurants), and Anne Rollings (Watershed Hospitality Concepts) on what it really takes to lead.

Discount fatigue is real, and the old playbook of “buy one, get one” no longer builds lasting loyalty. This panel explores how QSR leaders are shifting from transactional rewards to emotional connection, using data, personalization, menu engineering, and brand storytelling to deliver value that guests feel.

Back for its third year, this high-energy session brings together the industry’s most forward-thinking beverage minds for a fun, interactive dive into what’s next behind the bar. From Gen Z–driven NA innovation and premium trade-offs to large-format sharables, crafted coffees, protein cold foam, dirty sodas, pairings, and even emerging THC beverages, this panel unpacks the trends reshaping beverage programs nationwide. Expect real talk on state regulations, operational realities, legal considerations, and cost implications—plus practical ideas you can take home and pour into your menu tomorrow.

This session digs into how restaurant leaders turn mission statements into daily practice, from choosing the right partners to designing surprise-and-delight moments that feel authentic, not performative. Panelists will break down how purpose informs decision-making, shapes culture, and builds emotional equity with guests and teams alike. You’ll walk away with tactical frameworks for activating your “why,” and measuring its real impact.

Step away, stretch, and connect. Browse the sponsor marketplace and strike up a conversation with a fellow operator.