Join fast casual restaurant executives and other Summit attendees as we tour and eat out at some of Louisville’s top local fast casual restaurants.

Tours include:

• Biscuit Belly
• Condado Tacos
• Duck Donuts
• Feast BBQ
• Heine Brothers
• Home Run Burger
• Playa Bowls
• Royals Hot Chicken
• Taco City
• Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe

All attendees, sponsors and speakers must check in at the registration desk and pick up a name badge. Please wear your badge at all times during the Summit.

Explore the journey and transition from the realm of burgers to the aromatic world of beans. Nathan Lester, senior director of drive-thru innovation for Scooter's Coffee, shares his adventure through experiences and lessons learned navigating the intricate path of innovation.

Discover how he successfully adapted his expertise from a billion-dollar company to embrace the challenges and opportunities of a growth-oriented coffee enterprise. With engaging anecdotes and practical insights, this keynote offers a roadmap for leveraging innovation regardless of your company’s size.

For more than 20 years, fast casual concepts have been at the forefront of innovation in the restaurant industry, proving to be trendsetters in store design, menu development, customer experience and restaurant technology. That would not be possible, however, without the blood, sweat and tears of the men and women who lead those brands each day.

The Fast Casual Hall of Fame will honor three individuals, who through their vision and leadership, have driven not only the success of their brands, but of the fast casual segment as a whole.

Join us as we recognize this year's Fast Casual Hall of Fame Honorees.

2023 Honorees

• Laura Rea Dickey | CEO | Dickey's Barbecue Pit
• Bill Phelps | CEO | Dave's Hot Chicken
• Charles Watson | CEO | Tropical Smoothie Cafe

This is a great opportunity to meet some of our speakers, sponsors and your fellow attendees over hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.

Breakfast is open to all Summit participants. Be sure to check in at the registration desk and pick up your name badge if you haven’t already.

Following a global contest, several concepts have been selected to be part of The Perfect Pitch. Listen and learn as entrepreneurs pitch their fast casual concepts. The pitchers will address not only the Summit’s attendees but also a panel of advisers who will give them advice about how to grow their concepts.

It’s our “nicer” version of “Shark Tank,” which means it’s all about helping small but innovative concepts get off the ground. The audience members will vote on their favorite pitch, and the winner will receive bragging rights (of course), a $3,500 prize and 6 months of free service with Ovation!

2023 Finalists:

• Haven Hot Chicken
• Mahana Fresh
• Pizzawala

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FINALISTS

Restaurants of all sizes have spent the past few years investing in a variety of technologies to help them understand the health of their brands, gain visibility into their spend management and streamline many of their processes. Although automation is imperative to cutting costs, brands are starting to minimize their tech stack and are focusing on “one-stop shop” solutions as they lack the bandwidth to manage so many platforms.

The tech gurus on this panel will reveal their strategies.

Although multi-location marketing requires a consistent brand message between locations, each store has its own unique needs.

This session will give you strategies to keep your branding on target while also addressing specific needs.

Shortages when it comes to hiring cashiers, cooks and drivers aren’t the only labor issues facing the industry; corporate and franchise teams are also leaner than ever, which means those positions could use a little boost from technology as well as operations experts.

This session will teach you how the use of smart technology, combined with real estate brokers, in-house development and construction expertise can help you grow without hiring a new team.

Brands are struggling. Just consider these statistics from a recent study:

• 54% find it difficult to interpret customer data and understand the needs of the moment.
• 53% are challenged with creating personalized advertising experiences.
• 47% said it is hard to deliver the right message at the right time, and 42% are struggling to find the right channel.
• 23% are unsure what promotions will be most effective.
• 19% can't change their strategy quickly enough to respond to unforeseen events.

So what’s a brand to do? Chart a new course, of course, and this panel will show restaurants how to rethink where and how they engage customers.

Although nearly half (47.8%) of all restaurant employees are minorities with workers of color comprising nearly half of the restaurant industry and women making up 54% of all restaurant workers, the leadership team at most brands do not reflect those numbers.

This session discusses how different perspectives and approaches are invaluable to any successful company and how your brand can create intercultural teams and strive to strengthen the diversity within the organization. 

The Brain Exchange breaks attendees into small groups to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing restaurant operators today. These informal group discussions allow attendees to learn from one another’s mistakes and successes.

Brain Exchange Topics:

• Future Proofing Your Restaurant | Sponsored by Elo
• How Energy Efficiency Improves Your Bottom Line | Sponsored by Budderfly
• How to Refuel On-Premise Dining | Sponsored by QikServe
• Personalization at Scale: Stirring Up Your Marketing Mix | Sponsored by Uberall

It’s tempting to rebrand or plan redesigns when you see the competition rolling out new logos, equipment and service models, but redesigns work best when done in tandem with operations teams.

This session will feature brands that have tested prototypes or remodeled in an effort to speed up service and enhance the customer experience.

Optimizing your menu across channels is one of the most important tools when it comes to increasing customer satisfaction – which results in higher check spend and more frequent visits.

This session explores how and why menu optimization can yield a high ROI when done correctly and how technology can help you not only manage your menu but teach your employees how to work faster and smarter.

We'll meet for a pre-party drink with Botrista at 6 p.m. and then hop on a bus for the 5-minute drive to the museum.

Join us for cocktails, dinner and live music from vocal ensemble Radius at the Frazier History Museum, the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Sample some of Kentucky’s famous bourbons and learn about the history, craft and culture of Bourbon inside an authentic speakeasy.

This private dinner party is included with your Summit registration at no additional cost. First buses leave at 6:15 for the 5-minute bus ride.

In this session, you will hear four short, thought-provoking talks that will leave you challenged and inspired.

• Decoding the Future: Navigating Unexpected Consumer Patterns | Suzy Badaracco
• Fast Growth: Growing Fast with Franchisees | Jim Bitticks
• Scratch Made Success: Key Lessons Learned from a Startup Restaurant Concept | Chad Coulter, Lauren Coulter
• Creating a Hiring Experience That Encourages Long-Term Employee Engagement | Desmond Lim

It’s been a tough year for many industries as high inflation plagued the economy, forcing vendors across all industries to largely raise prices and consumers to pull back on spending. While the dining vertical has seen continued success thanks to value-based offerings, convenience and menu innovations, restaurant marketers are not immune to the pressure as budgets face increased scrutiny, and are thus forced to do more with less. As a result, marketers are forced to drive highly efficient campaigns, motivated to maximize Return on Ad Spend and drive sales.

Join this discussion to learn more about what tactics and strategies marketers can use to maximize campaign efficiency while still driving campaign performance.

Cutting costs, reducing errors, improving customer satisfaction and enhancing the customer experience are just a few benefits of incorporating artificial intelligence into operations, but upgrading systems isn’t always affordable.

This session shows you the pros and cons of a variety of higher-tech solutions.

It's always a challenge to contend with the Chipotles and Starbucks of the world, but it's not impossible for small and up-and-coming brands to grab a piece of their market share. In fact, three executives will reveal how they are accomplishing it as well as how they plan to stay competitive.

Whether your brand is looking to get acquired or is in need of funds to help expand and navigate the challenges spurred by labor shortages, supply chain and higher food costs, this session will teach what investors seek in a solid investment.

Hear directly from brands that have secured funding and from investors who will share what types of restaurants they avoid and what gets them to open their checkbooks.