'You’re not annoying; you’re marketing': Top takeaways from the Restaurant Marketing Workshop

by Cherryh Cansler — Publisher, FastCasual.com

Check out these 10 highlights of the Restaurant Marketing Workshop.

Part 2: Cool technology at the NRA Show 2026

by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media

Editor Mandy Wolf Detwiler spent time in the tech pavilion at the NRA Show checking out the modern tech and wares the show had to offer.

Say 'Bello!' to Wendy’s Minions & Monsters meals, Banana Frosty Swirl

Wendy's is launching a nationwide promotion inspired by Illumination's upcoming animated movie, "Minions & Monsters," featuring specialized menu items and…

How best friends are building their pizza and brew empire

Joey Freis and Mitchell Millar bought a pizzeria at 21 with no plan. Now they lead nine restaurants and are getting ready to scale Best Pizza & Brew towards its next destination of 35 locations. In our conversation, we discussed what it took to stop being the answer to every question and start scaling towards their vision.

Built to Breakthrough: Creating CULTs of engagement

by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners

As the ultimate foundation of business greatness, a strong culture built on clarity, unity, leadership and team commitment serves as an un-duplicable competitive advantage that binds all other strategic factors together to attract talent, retain leaders and drive unstoppable growth.

The 1:1 Personalization Playbook: Using AI to send every guest their own offer

In this session, Hang CEO Matt Smolin, whose platform powers millions of AI-personalized offers a month for restaurant brands, will walk through the playbook to start personalizing your own offers right away.

Kalibrate offers best in location selection services, software

Charles Wetzel, CEO of Kalibrate, a location analytics and site selection platform, talks about his company in this video from ICSC 2026 in Las Vegas.