Adam Krueger, Grubhub
Adam Krueger, a senior leader at Grubhub, oversees the end‑to‑end business for merchant advertising, promotions, and monetization. Leveraging more than 15 years of marketplace growth experience and a lifelong connection to the restaurant industry, he built Grubhub’s operational and advertising businesses with a restaurant‑first mindset. He now drives go‑to‑market planning for new ad products and leads the post‑acquisition integration of Claim to boost in‑person traffic. His credentials include an MS in Advertising and executive education at Harvard Kennedy School.
Anthony Gianino, KBP Brands
Anthony Gianino has been appointed Senior Vice President of Marketing at KBP Brands, one of the nation’s largest quick‑service restaurant franchisees with more than 1,100 KFC, Taco Bell, Arby’s and Sonic locations. In his new role he will bridge national...
John Dillon, La Madeleine
John Dillon, an award‑winning executive with experience across restaurants, hospitality and consumer brands, is serving as President and CEO of la Madeleine Bakery & Cafe. He is steering a disciplined modernization effort that targets guest experience, unit‑level economics, and operational...
Dave Luz, Flower Child
Dave Luz, a veteran restaurant executive with more than three decades of experience, has been appointed VP of Operations for Flower Child, the healthy fast‑casual brand owned by Fox Restaurant Concepts. Luz began his career as a server at The...
Wendy’s Seeks An Influencer for New Chief Tasting Officer Role
Wendy’s announced a contest to appoint its first Chief Tasting Officer, a brand‑ambassador role paid $100,000. The company asks applicants to post a one‑minute video on TikTok or Instagram using #WendysCTOContest, highlighting personal taste and creativity. The posting emphasizes a...
Tord Olav Dønnum
Norwegian serial entrepreneur Tord Olav Dønnum, now CBO of OLHSO, leads the world’s first fully autonomous Korean BBQ kitchen. Earlier, he built a capital‑raising platform that linked over 20,000 startups with hundreds of funds, processing more than $10 billion in transactions...
The Duopoly Endgame: What Happens When Every Market Has Only Two Platforms
The article warns that restaurant‑delivery markets are converging into duopolies, mirroring past consolidations in aviation, telecom and grocery sectors. It argues that without genuine rivalry, innovation stalls, prices creep up and promotional incentives fade. The piece highlights how disruptive entrants—hyper‑local...
Jackie Sturniolo, Xperience Restaurant Group
Jackie Sturniolo has been appointed Senior Manager of Off‑Premise at Xperience Restaurant Group, overseeing catering, delivery, and takeout for its portfolio, including the El Torito brand. She focuses on building scalable off‑premise programs by leveraging technology partnerships, digital ordering platforms, and...
Burger King Tests AI Headsets That Measure Worker Friendliness
Burger King is piloting an AI assistant called "Patty" that runs through employee headsets in drive‑thru lanes. The system listens for hospitality cues, logs service patterns and supplies real‑time recipe, inventory and equipment guidance. It also flags low stock or...
Cassie Duvall, Mo’Bettahs
Cassie Duvall has been appointed Director of Catering at Mo’Bettahs, bringing over two decades of restaurant and hospitality expertise. She previously led Cafe Rio’s catering division, overseeing a team that expanded sales across more than 160 locations. At Cafe Rio,...
Rich Shank, Technomic
Rich Shank serves as senior principal and vice president of innovation at Technomic, a premier research and advisory firm for the foodservice sector. He directs the restaurant advisory and innovation practices, helping clients with brand development, menu optimization, pricing analytics,...
Emily Williams-Knight, Texas Restaurant Association
Dr. Emily Williams Knight has been president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association and its foundation since August 2019. She leveraged her 20‑plus years of global experience to obtain critical government waivers and federal aid that helped thousands of...
Yaofei Feng, Fantuan Delivery
Yaofei Feng co‑founded Fantuan Delivery, an Asian food‑delivery and life‑service platform active in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. Before Fantuan, he engineered large‑scale systems at Amazon, gaining deep infrastructure expertise. As Fantuan’s former CTO, Feng built the R&D...
Tony Bandanza, Uber Technologies
Tony Bandanza has been appointed head of Uber’s US&C Restaurant Advertising business, overseeing strategy and execution for one of the company’s fastest‑growing revenue streams. He rejoined Uber in 2022 to lead the global Yum! Brands partnership, expanding Pizza Hut’s presence across...
Tyler Schack, Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux
Tyler Schack has been appointed Vice President of Technology & Guest Insights at Walk‑On’s Sports Bistreaux, where he will steer enterprise technology strategy and guest‑intelligence programs. His mandate includes boosting brand growth, franchisee profitability, and operational scalability across the restaurant...
Can Robots Help Pizza Franchises Stay Competitive?
Pizza franchises are accelerating automation across ordering, kitchen, and delivery, with brands like Little Caesars deploying sidewalk delivery robots in Los Angeles and Donatos rolling out a fully automated airport store. AI-driven platforms from Google Cloud and Domino’s partnership with...
Olo Chooses Linked Eats as 3PD Profitability Partner
Restaurant technology platform Olo has selected Linked Eats as its preferred partner to boost profitability in third‑party delivery (3PD). Linked Eats, which powers over 40,000 storefronts, will provide Olo’s restaurant clients with real‑time data, AI‑driven pricing, revenue recapture and unified...
London Fintech Startup Alpa Secures $3.5M in Pre-Seed Funding
London fintech startup Alpa announced a $3.5 million pre‑seed round led by venture firm Daphni. The platform aims to give hospitality operators real‑time profitability insights by pulling data from point‑of‑sale, banking and supplier systems. Co‑founders Jean‑François Moy and Anton Soulier bring...
Partnerships Spell Potential Trend for 3PD Platforms and Temporary Housing Marketplaces
In early 2026, leading third‑party delivery platforms are teaming up with temporary‑housing marketplaces. Airbnb launched an Instacart pilot that lets guests pre‑stock pantries and rewards hosts with cash and free Instacart+ membership, while Landing partnered with Gopuff to give guests...
US Foods Launches AI-Powered Menu Management Tool
US Foods Holding Corp. introduced Menu IQ on Feb. 20, an AI‑driven menu management solution embedded in its MOXē app. The tool offers real‑time profitability analytics, allowing operators to upload recipes, calculate food costs, and monitor margin‑driving dishes without additional fees....
Potbelly Partners with Flybuy to Elevate Off-Prem Operations
Potbelly is integrating Flybuy’s AI‑powered location platform into its digital ordering system to streamline off‑premise service across more than 450 sandwich shops. The technology provides real‑time order‑time estimates, status updates, and location‑based in‑app messaging, reducing customer wait times by over...
Loman AI Expands POS Partnerships with SpotOn
Loman AI announced a new partnership with SpotOn, extending its voice‑AI phone answering service to another leading restaurant point‑of‑sale platform. The integration lets the AI pull real‑time menu, reservation and inventory data directly from the POS, enabling more natural, accurate...
Wonder Buys Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, Eyes Growth
Wonder announced its first full restaurant acquisition, buying Manhattan’s Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken. The fast‑casual spot will retain its name and staff while tapping Wonder’s technology, supply‑chain, and central‑kitchen infrastructure. Blue Ribbon’s chicken sandwiches and bone‑in fried chicken will be...