There’s this classic moment in The Breakfast Club that 80s movie where five high school students get stuck in Saturday detention together. They walk in as strangers from completely different worlds, the jock, the princess, the criminal, the brain, and the basket case. They don’t trust each other, they don’t understand each other, and frankly, they don’t want to. But over the course of one long day, walls break down. They realize they have more in common than they ever thought possible.
You’ve got the QSR owner who’s running lean, fast, and relentless. The fine dining operator who’s obsessed with detail and polish. The food truck chef who’s scrappy and inventive. The sports pub group who knows how to fill a room with regulars. And the fast-casual entrepreneur testing ideas, tech, and trends. They walk into the room with their own worldviews and often sit at different tables. But once the conversations start flowing real, human conversations it all changes.
We thought it’d be fun (and maybe a little accurate) to line these groups up with the cast of The Breakfast Club. Turns out, it says a lot about how the industry operates and why we need more of these collisions between people who wouldn’t normally talk.
John Bender – QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) The rebel. The outsider. Rough around the edges but honest. That’s your quick-service world. Places that pump out volume. Greasy spoons, burger shacks, takeout. They don’t care about stars on Yelp they care about staying open and keeping their regulars happy. There’s a rawness and resilience here that doesn’t get enough credit. These operators know how to hustle, pivot, and survive on thin margins.
Andrew Clark – Sports Pubs The jock. Strong, loyal, structured. These are your dependable neighborhood pubs. Wings, nachos, games on every TV. There’s comfort in these spaces. They’re built for gatherings teams after games, coworkers on Fridays, families who know what they want. These operators understand consistency. They may not be chasing trends, but they’re chasing repeat business and they’re damn good at it.
Allison Reynolds – Fast Casual Quiet. Creative. A little mysterious. This is the space where culture lives. Fast-casual is where you find your neighbourhood plant-based spot, your global fusion bowls, your build-your-own bento box. These concepts live between speed and story. Operators here are usually deeply passionate and highly intentional but not always loud about it. They’re experimenting with ingredients, workflows, and guest experience in ways that push the industry forward.
Claire Standish – Fine Dining Polished. High standards. A bit selective. Fine dining is the part of the industry that still believes in theatre. It’s not just a meal it’s an experience. The room, the lighting, the playlist, the wine list, the plating none of it happens by accident. These operators are driven by detail, pressure, and pride. It’s not easy to play at this level. But when it’s done right, it sets the bar for the rest of the industry.
Brian Johnson – Food Trucks Brainy. Awkward. Innovative. This is the new school. The pop-ups. The trailers parked behind breweries. The tiny kitchens with big ideas. Food truck operators are agile, entrepreneurial, and often under-resourced but they make it work. They understand how to do more with less, and they don’t wait around for permission. If something doesn’t work, they’re already on to the next thing.
Now here’s the thing, each of these groups brings something important to the table. None of them have the full picture. But together? There’s real strength.
The fine dining chef might not understand the TikTok content the food truck is making but that content is drawing a crowd. The QSR owner might scoff at a 12-step wine pairing but there’s a lesson there in how to build perceived value. The fast-casual team might struggle with back-end labour models something the pub group has already solved a hundred times over.
That’s why these new business summits matter that we're putting on. That’s why these crossovers need to happen. We have to stop looking at each other as “different categories” and start seeing the opportunity in learning from each other. Because at the end of the day, everyone’s fighting the same piece of pie, with rising costs, staffing headaches, digital noise, customer expectations that keep shifting faster than the seasons.
And here’s the truth: the more time we spend isolated, the harder it gets. When we stay in our lanes and only talk to the same kind of operator, we miss out on solutions that might already exist just in a different part of the industry.
You might run a food truck now, but you might be dreaming about scaling into a storefront. You might run a 300-seat pub and wonder if a 3rd party kitchen is worth testing. You might be a QSR rockstar thinking of finally doing that side hustle you’ve been sketching on napkins for five years.
There is no one-size-fits-all model anymore. The lines are blurred, and the smart operators are the ones who are open enough to learn from everyone.
Just like in The Breakfast Club, we don’t need to stop being who we are. But if we leave the room with a little more understanding and a few good ideas, we’re already ahead.
At our Ultimate Hospitality Business Summits, that’s exactly what we’re building. A room full of misfits, builders, dreamers, grinders, rebels, and perfectionists. Because when you mix it up, you don’t just get new answers you get fresh new perspectives. That has been the goal from the start.
And maybe that’s what this industry needs most right now. Not more noise. More connection.
Fall 2025 we'll shake the industry again, in person at the Ultimate Hospitality Business Summits 2.o.
Canada's Restaurant Guy, Jay Ashton
