Agenda
Sunday // October 4, 2026
Join fast casual restaurant executives and other Summit attendees as we tour and eat out at some of Arlington's top local fast casual restaurants.
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.
Spend some time in our suppliers pavilion, where you'll learn about products and services dedicated to improving your restaurant's operations.
Following a global contest, several concepts have been selected to be part of The Perfect Pitch, which is three rounds.
Entrepreneurs will pitch their fast casual concepts to attendees and a panel of advisers who will quiz them about their growth plans and also give them advice.
Choosing a winner: Four founders will pitch their concepts during Round 1 with the audience selecting a winner. During round 2, four more will pitch their business plans, and the audience will vote for a winner. During round 3, those two winners will go head-to-head answering audience and adviser questions. The audience will vote for a final winner.
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, one year of free service with Ovation and a starring spot on the Fast Casual Frontrunners series to compete for a $200,000 investment from Savor.
For over 25 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.
Monday // October 5, 2026
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.
Join us as we continue on with round 2 of the Perfect Pitch and hear from more entrepreneurs as they pitch their fast casual concepts to attendees and a panel of advisers.
The drive-thru of 2026 is no longer just a window in a wall; it is a high-speed data hub. As fast casual brands continue to migrate toward suburban footprints, the pressure to deliver "fast casual quality" at "QSR speeds" has reached a breaking point. This session provides a tactical roadmap for operators looking to modernize their lanes without bloating their payroll.
Goal: Master the implementation of AI-voice ordering and "Ghost Lanes" to maximize throughput and guest satisfaction without increasing labor costs.
The "Squeezed Middle" is the primary battleground for market share. Casual dining giants have weaponized the $10.99 price point — offering full-service hospitality, bottomless chips, and "3-for-Me" bundles that challenge the perceived value of a $17.00 fast-casual bowl. For the first time in a decade, middle-income diners are trading "down" from fast-casual to sit-down restaurants to get more "bang for their buck."
This session is not about a race to the bottom or slashing your margins. It is about value engineering: a strategic approach to menu architecture that makes your brand the obvious choice for a high-quality, high-speed meal that still feels like an upgrade.
Goal: Strategies to compete with casual dining value-combos while maintaining your premium fast casual identity.
The labor crisis has shifted from a "hiring" problem to a "holding" problem. With the cost of training a new team member now exceeding $3,500 per person in lost productivity and administrative overhead, the most profitable move an operator can make is keeping the talent they already have.
This session moves beyond the "now hiring" banner and into the psychology of the modern workforce. We will explore how to build a culture where employees feel like stakeholders, not just line-mats, by leveraging technology to give them the flexibility and recognition they crave.
Goal: Moving past "Help Wanted" signs. Practical steps for "retention-first" scheduling and gamifying training to reduce turnover.
Catering is the "Holy Grail" of fast casual profitability — high average checks, predictable prep times, and massive brand exposure. But if you’re fulfilling those orders through a third-party marketplace, you’re basically working for them. In 2026, the brands winning the catering game are "hijacking" that relationship and bringing the corporate guest directly into their own ecosystem.
This session is a tactical deep dive into building a professional, frictionless, first-party catering operation that makes your brand the default choice for every board meeting and office party in your zip code.
Goal: Stop donating your catering margins to marketplaces. Implement a first-party B2B system that captures high-volume orders and keeps the 30% commission in your pocket.
Operators hear pitches all the time about products and services that will grow their business, but where’s the proof? We’ve got it right here.
This session includes three 15-minute presentations, each featuring one vendor and one operator sharing the how, when and ROI behind recent rollouts.
Every time you add a new delivery tablet, a complicated LT or a 15-step cleaning checklist, you add "friction" to your business. By 2026, the most successful fast casual brands aren't the ones adding more — they are the ones simplifying what they already have.
In this high-impact panel, operators who have successfully "de-cluttered" their brands to drive profit, share how they moved past the theory and looked at the exact SOPs, tech tools, and menu shifts these leaders used to make their kitchens faster and their training cycles shorter.
Goal: Audit your operational friction to strip away the "hidden" tasks that slow down your kitchen, confuse your staff, and erode your margins.
Most fast casual brands are "data rich but insight poor." You have plenty of spreadsheets, but can you identify your most profitable 10% of customers? Do you know which menu item is most likely to turn a first-time guest into a regular? By 2026, the competitive advantage has shifted to those who can see the "Total Guest Picture."
In this session, we take a deep dive with operators who have stopped guessing and started using data to drive every decision — from menu engineering to real estate expansion. We’ll show you how to break down the walls between your tech systems to create a unified view of your guest that drives immediate ROI.
Goal: Connect the dots between your POS, loyalty, and online ordering to understand exactly who your guests are and how to make them spend 15% more.
The "spray and pray" coupon model is dead. Guests are tired of irrelevant emails, and operators are tired of giving away margins to customers who would have paid full price anyway. The winning strategy has shifted to hyper-personalization — delivering the right offer to the right person at the exact moment they are likely to make a decision.
This session explores how to use the data you already have (from POS, loyalty, and WiFi) to create a "segment of one." We will show you how to move away from "creepiness" — tracking guests in ways that feel invasive — and move toward "relevance" — providing value that feels like a concierge service.
Goal: Using AI and guest data to send "smart offers" that drive frequency without eroding your brand or making guests feel over-monitored.
Join us for a second round of three 15-minute presentations, each featuring one vendor and one operator sharing the how, when and ROI behind recent rollouts.
Tuesday // October 6, 2026
Join us for four 15-minute small-group discussions on challenges facing operators. Each attendee will participate in all four discussions.
In this session, you will hear four short, thought-provoking talks that will leave you challenged and inspired.
The average fast casual operator is juggling 12 to 15 different technology vendors. This "Frankenstein Stack" creates data silos, redundant subscription fees, and — most importantly — massive labor inefficiencies as managers spend hours manually syncing reports and troubleshooting API failures. The "tech debt" is finally coming due.
This session provides a tactical roadmap for "The Great Consolidation." We will explore how leading brands are stripping away unnecessary "spot solutions" in favor of unified platforms where the POS (Point of Sale), KDS (Kitchen Display System), and inventory management talk to each other in real-time. This isn't just about saving on software fees; it’s about reclaiming the 10-plus hours a week your managers spend in the back office so they can get back onto the floor.
Goal: Move from fragmented "spot solutions" to a unified tech stack. Learn how to consolidate your POS, KDS, and Inventory systems to slash administrative labor by 15%.
Join us as we continue on the Perfect Pitch and hear from our top 2 finalists! Who will take home the prize?
Grab an adult beverage or a soda and join several fast casual CEOs discussing the important issues restaurant operators face today and what it will take to succeed in 2027 and beyond.
Become A Speaker
If you're an experienced restaurant executive who is open to sharing insights with peers from other brands, we'd love to have you join us as a speaker or panelist.