Industry Insights

The Water Cooler Has Moved. So Has Life.

On business, friendship, and the occasional need to escape your own productivity before it achieves consciousness

That’s It. Restaurant AI Poster Slop Ends Here.

Use AI to make the marketing better, not to fake the food. Plus a free tool that fixes AI-looking posters.

The Cheapest Upgrade in Your Restaurant

Why “full house” beats “slammed" and one word your staff needs to learn and use often.

BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS: Fast Casual Executive Summit 2026

Kelly MacPherson's Becoming Anyway

The Woman Behind the Presence (A book review by Michael Beck)

The Secret Ingredient at First Watch Isn't on the Menu

A chain opening a restaurant a week, and the brain science behind its bet on hospitality.

Your Turnover Problem Starts on Day One

You spent weeks finding them. What happens in the first few hours determines whether they come back.

Why Restaurant Marketing Feels SO Hard, and the Thing That Makes it Easier

BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FS/TEC 2026

It Was Never About the Bread

Prices are going up. Here is the brain science of raising yours without making guests feel ambushed.

Success Is a System

Everybody's Asking Me How to Grow Their Following. Here Are 5 Things You Can Do Today.

Your No-Shows Never Actually Promised

Who Ghosts the Most? The surprising data on no-shows, and the psychology that brings guests back to the table.

BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS: QSR Evolution 2026

Sober Guests Aren't Cheap. Your Mocktail Menu Might Be.

Roughly 30 percent of Americans are cutting back on alcohol. Does your server hand them a consolation prize?

It's Never About The Taco!

Anthony Valletta and the Forgotten Art of Hospitality

The Three Best Restaurant Marketing Questions I Got Asked This Week

ChatGPT Can Run Your Social Media Like a $2,000 a Month Manager If ...

Transformational Storytelling

The Best Ideas Live Inside the Box

The greatest competitive advantage isn't having more options. It's making better use of the ones you already have.

Table for One

Solo dining is up 23 percent. Most restaurants still treat it like a problem to be seated.

I Did the Research. Here’s What’s Driving Restaurant Traffic in Q3

Truths That Accelerate Our Potential

Ozempic is Killing Your Profits

You have heard some version of that at every industry panel for two years now. It's wrong.

Stop Drifting. Start Living.