BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS: Fast Casual Executive Summit 2025

Fast Casual Executive Summit just concluded in Austin, TX.

They describe it as “the premier gathering for top-level restaurant executives looking to innovate, connect, and elevate their brands. Through interactive sessions and invaluable networking opportunities, attendees gain the knowledge and insights needed to lead their brands into the future.”

This is a show for proactive brands and proactive thinkers. They also have a built-in dinner and networking event. If you want to make great connections, put it on your agenda for next year.

There was a TON of great content. I tried to capture as many takeaways as I could.

Want some awesome LSM tactics? A lot of them were shared on a panel called "Local Store Marketing Tips, Tricks and Tactics" hosted by Mike Magerl from Trabon Group with a panel of expert marketers that I was honored to be a part of.

It all starts with operational excellence. If the store is kicking butt, marketing helps — but if guests are leaving bad reviews, as Seth Larsen from Cheba Hut put it, "don’t sell tickets to the sh&t show."

How do you know if guests are happy and you’re achieving operational excellence? Use a guest feedback tool (I like Ovation ) to ask every guest how it was, analyze your reviews, and make sure someone at the store level (franchisee or GM) replies to every review.

Find community leaders and voices, invite them during your opening, get them to taste your food, and find ways to support that community. Some places to start: the fire department, local PTA, chamber of commerce, the high school cheerleading team, town hall.

What’s the most valuable marketing move you can make at the local store level? Capture guest contact information. If you have a guest’s email or phone number, you can get them to come back, download your app, join loyalty, follow you on social — and more.

I shared my playbook for this on our panel: offer people something like a free entrée or $5 off their first order in exchange for their name and email address. I recommend using a landing page to collect data and Meta traffic ads to drive traffic to it, along with QR code window clings.

Then Kylee Arreaga from Mo'​ Bettahs and Jose A. Gonzalez from datawrkz shared what their average numbers look like on a new store opening.

This gives you an idea of what their ad budget looks like to build out a CRM pre-opening.

Props to Tammy Lucich from Taco Mac Restaurant Group for sharing a number of great tactics that increase catering:

Ask AI. How many medical offices are around here? What charities are based in this zip code? What are the most popular restaurants in this town?

If you need to learn more about your store, one of the fastest, easiest ways to get a decent clue is by asking AI.

On an excellent panel about creative social media strategies, there were a lot of incredible insights shared.

“People care about what others have to say about the brand more than the brand.” - Christopher J. Ramirez , Dog Haus

=> Couldn’t agree more! Getting your guests, your team, and influencers to share about your brand is imperative and should be an always-on marketing channel.

“Content has more engagement when it’s community-based. A guest’s birthday, high school graduation, etc.” - Tom Carr Chicken Salad Chick

=> Couldn’t agree more! Franchised locations should have a Facebook location page (not just a brand page), and the content they should focus on is exactly what Tom said. All other content should come from corporate.

"Anything we give away through social has to run through loyalty. Anything we do through marketing goes back through loyalty.” - Jason Morgan , Original ChopShop

=> Couldn’t agree more! Give to get! They give you their contact information and then you are happy to give them an offer.

3 Tactical Takeaways from the panel:

Sounds like a tall order, right? It was. I was honored to moderate a panel called "Digital Bite: Fueling Growth Through Online Engagement & Smart Promotions" where we promised attendees tactics to improve each of the above.

I had an AWESOME group of panelists that shared amazing tactics.

Here are some quick hits:

Three ways to optimize for local search

Focus on building segments that grow habits, not change them. Example: how do you get a guest from 2 to 3 trips instead of trying to convert a lunch-only guest into dinner?

The best way to grow first-party sales is to have an easy-to-use order system.

Three third-party optimization tactics:

If you were at #FCSummit, what did you take away?

Do you need help with any of this? Send me an email: [email protected]

— Rev Ciancio

WHAT DOES REV DO?

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