Digital Bite: Fueling Growth Through Online Engagement & Smart Promotions


This session explores how to build a strong online presence, enhance customer loyalty through personalized experiences, and drive sales with data-driven promotions. Discover how to seamlessly integrate digital and in-store experiences, leveraging tools like QR codes and mobile payments. Gain actionable insights to elevate your brand and capture the modern fast casual consumer.

You'll learn:

  • Strategies for enhancing local SEO and online directory management to boost visibility.
  • Techniques for leveraging customer data to create personalized loyalty programs and targeted promotions.
  • Methods for optimizing online ordering and delivery systems, including third-party integrations and in-house solutions.

 

Panelists
Mike Burns
CEO
&pizza
Mike Burns is the Chief Executive Officer at &pizza. He has nearly two decades of operational experience across brands in both the quick-service and fast-casual sectors. Most recently, Mike was COO and EVP for RAVE Restaurant Group, helping lead both its Pie Five Pizza and Pizza Inn concepts. His experience also includes time as the Vice President of Operations for Pei Wei Asian Kitchen and over a decade with the popular Bojangles franchise overseeing more than 175 corporate operated locations.
Joey Cioffi
CEO
Salad House
Joey Cioffi is the founder and CEO of Salad House, a fast-casual health-focused franchise brand known for its fresh chopped salads, made to order proteins and its Create-Your-Own salad option. Coming from a family rooted in the restaurant industry, Joey expanded beyond the traditional deli business into fast-casual dining. Through perseverance, calculated risk-taking, and relentless drive, he transformed Salad House into a scalable franchise. His journey—from working in his family’s deli to overcoming financial hardships—demonstrates resilience and vision for national expansion.
Kayla Dillon
Fractional CMO and Brand Advisor
Common Table Services
Kayla Dillon is the fractional CMO restaurant brands call when “same-old” stops selling. She is a dynamic marketing leader with 15+ years of experience in the restaurant industry, including key roles at Hard Rock Cafe, Bar Louie, Virtual Dining Concepts, Cheba Hut and Erik's DeliCafe. Kayla drives bold and unconventional marketing strategies that align with the brand's culture while fueling growth and enhancing the guest experience. With a background in restaurant operations and marketing, Kayla excels at crafting brand narratives that resonate with diverse audiences and campaigns that are executable by field teams. Equal parts strategist and operator, she rewires marketing from the store level up: local campaigns that franchisees can run, digital targeting that spends smarter, and brand narratives that increase guest frequency. Kayla’s proven track record in fast-paced industries reflects her ability to blend bold ideas with data driven insights, making her a trusted partner for businesses seeking growth and differentiation.
Clay Dover
CEO, President & Taco Maker
Velvet Taco
Clay Dover is the Chief Executive Officer, President and Taco Maker at Velvet Taco, a Dallas-based restaurant committed to a world of tacos without borders and one of the hottest company-owned fast-casual brands in the industry. Since he assumed leadership in 2017, Velvet Taco has expanded from 4 to over 50 restaurants across the Country over the past several years and recently announced their expansion Internationally with industry-leading performance and award-winning consumer recognition. Velvet Taco has been recognized as one “Best Brands to Work For” by QSR and continues to be a standard for culinary innovation withing the industry.
View Full Agenda