#FSTEC just concluded in Orlando, FL
They describe it as:
“FS/TEC 2025 brings together forward-thinking restaurant operators and cutting-edge technology providers for three days of innovation, connection, and transformation. This is more than a tradeshow – it’s the definitive marketplace where foodservice technology solutions meet real-world restaurant challenges.”
This event really does give a crystal-ball view of what’s changing, what’s coming, and what operators need to focus on. Plus, there’s always great solutions on display and plenty of networking.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
BE THE BEST PART OF THE DAY
It might seem obvious (hopefully) that making guests happy is paramount. But also think about how you can be the best part of your team member’s day. If your team is having a great day, it’s much easier for them to help your guests have a great day.
Ideas to spark that:
Celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries
Create employee-to-employee recognition programs
Encourage and act on team feedback opportunities
MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PERKS
Or at least it should. Some of the more proactive, successful, and unique brands experiencing growth (like TikiTaco and Portillo's ) are using their rewards programs for surprise-and-delight moments.
CONTENT HACKING
On an excellent panel about Restaurant Technology, Eric Knott and Tom Kincaid emphasized making UGC a high priority in your social media strategy—and using AI to refresh old content. It doesn’t all have to fall on your team to keep creating new material.
THE 3 THINGS
I was invited to participate in a conversation led by Hamed Mazrouei, CEO and founder of Milagro, and Jim Bitticks, CFE, President of Dave’s Hot Chicken. We discussed three areas of focus that drive restaurant growth: Labor, Margins, and Guest Retention.
If your team sticks around, your margins are profitable, and your guests keep coming back—that’s a concentric circle of success.
Some of the tactics we agreed on:
Get guest feedback on every order, every trip.
Reply to 100% of reviews on Google, Yelp, and feedback tools.
Grow your CRM with guest contact info—this is a north star metric.
Focus on getting new guests to four visits; retention climbs after that.
Consider using “entrees per hour” as a metric for labor costs.
Eric Miller shared even more insights here.
TECHNOLOGY AS AN ADDITION
As expected, there was a lot of talk about technology—especially around easing labor tasks (kiosks, online ordering, french fry robots, etc.). Piecing together conversations on and off stage, here’s the thread that stood out:
👉 If it eases the process for your guests or your team and enhances the experience, it’s a win.
Example: kiosks that streamline ordering, but still having a team member greet guests at the door. We do this at Handcraft Burgers & Brew, and guests love it.
One more thing: people care about convenience more than you probably think. 😉
AI IS HERE, BUT WHAT IS IT DOING??
By far the number one most popular topic was AI. It was mentioned on every single panel I attended. A lot of brands are adopting it and are excited about it. I didnt get a sense that operators are getting what they want yet or maybe even dont know what they can do with it, but everyone is thinking about it. Here are a couple uses for AI that are definitely at the top of the interest pile:
Phone answering / ordering
Staff scheduling
Predictive analytics
Marketing creative
Reputation Response
If you were at #FSTEC2025, 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?
I help restaurants build guest marketing programs.
I help hospitality tech companies with lead generation and content marketing.
