FSR NextGen | Track 7

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.