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Join Food On Demand, leading industry experts and experienced restaurant operators for a one-day virtual event dedicated to decoding the economics, marketing and operations of ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants. As both of these channels become larger parts of the overall restaurant industry, this event will share best practices, real-world financial expectations, marketing best practices and operational challenges of these fast-growing delivery-focused formats.

Panels

The Economics of Ghost Kitchens and Virtual Restaurants

For restaurants considering getting into ghost restaurants or virtual restaurants, this panel will examine the costs, potential revenues, delivery commissions and balance sheets of experienced operators.

André Vener, Founding Partner, Dog Haus
Al Hank, COO, BBQ Holdings
Geoff Madding, Chief Growth Officer, Nextbite
Robert Carrier, Operator, MrBeast Burger
Marylisa Carrier, Operator, MrBeast Burger
Moderator: Tom Kaiser, Editor, Food On Demand

Ghost and Virtual Restaurant Startup Checklist

Starting a virtual brand is a lot different than a traditional location—there are big opportunities but also big challenges. This panel will help operators answer some big questions around launching their virtual restaurant or ghost kitchen with a focus on staffing, menu optimization, sourcing, technology, as well as economics and accounting.

Atul Sood, Chief Business Officer, Kitchen United
Alistair Levine, Managing Partner, Vine Solutions/Vine Dining Enterprises
John DiLoreto, President, Flipdish
Moderator: Nicholas Upton, Restaurants Editor, Food On Demand

Beyond Startup: Integrating & Streamlining Operations

Profiting with ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants is all about efficiency and streamlined operations. This panel is designed for operators with existing ghost kitchen and VR brands to refine staffing, back-of-the-house operations, advanced technology integration, menu planning and, from there, building a strategy for your next phase of multi-channel growth.

Randy Murphy, Founder & CEO, OrderB4
Brian Wallunas, CDO, Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill
Shane Whitlatch, Chief Revenue Officer, Omnivore
Moderator: Tom Kaiser, Editor, Food On Demand

Ghost and Virtual Growth Strategy

Whether you’re a hard-charging growth brand or an established restaurant looking to enter a new market, ghost kitchens and virtual restaurants offer enticing channels to reach new customers and different geographies with much smaller capital expenditures than building new brick-and-mortar locations. This session is dedicated to avoiding mistakes and using limited resources wisely to use these new options to your advantage.

Rishi Nigam, Principal, Franklin Junction
Niko Papademetriou, SVP Business Dev., Qu
Angela Coppler, Sr. Dir. Non-Traditional Dev. & Strategic Partnerships, The Wendy’s Company
Moderator: Callie Evergreen, Reporter, Franchise Times

Marketing Ghost Kitchens and Virtual Restaurants

Delivery-only restaurants live and die by marketing power. This session is dedicated to the most effective channels to market your virtual restaurant or ghost kitchen locations to your existing customers, as well as on Google, social media and other channels—and how that strategy shifts as these locations gain traction.

James Walker, Senior VP of Restaurants, Nathan’s Famous
André Moraes, Digital Marketing Lead, PepsiCo
Zack Oates, Founder & CEO, Ovation
Alexis Kukuka, VP Operations, Sous Vide Kitchen
Moderator: Tom Kaiser, Editor, Food On Demand

Speakers

More to be announced!

Robert & Marylisa Carrier

Robert & Marylisa Carrier

Operators, MrBeast Burger

Angela Coppler

Angela Coppler

Senior Director Global Non-Traditional Development & Strategic Partnerships, The Wendy's Company

John DiLoreto

John DiLoreto

President, Flipdish

Callie Evergreen

Callie Evergreen

Reporter, Franchise Times

Al Hank

Al Hank

COO, BBQ Holdings

Tom Kaiser

Tom Kaiser

Editor, Food On Demand

Alexis Kukuka

Alexis Kukuka

VP Operations, Sous Vide Kitchen - A Virtual Food Hall

Alistair Levine

Alistair Levine

Managing Partner, Vine Solutions | Vine Dining Enterprises

Geoff Madding

Geoff Madding

Chief Growth Officer, Nextbite

André Moraes

André Moraes

Digital Marketing Lead, PepsiCo Foodservice

Randy Murphy

Randy Murphy

Founder & CEO, OrderB4

Rishi Nigam

Rishi Nigam

CEO, Franklin Junction

Zack Oates

Zack Oates

Founder & CEO, Ovation

Niko Papademetriou

Niko Papademetriou

SVP Business Development, Qu

Atul Sood

Atul Sood

Chief Business Officer, Kitchen United

Nicholas Upton

Nicholas Upton

Restaurants Editor, Food On Demand

André Vener

André Vener

Founding Partner, Dog Haus

James Walker

James Walker

SVP of Restaurants, Nathan's Famous

Brian Wallunas

Brian Wallunas

Chief Digital Officer, Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill

Shane Whitlatch

Shane Whitlatch

Chief Revenue Officer, Omnivore

Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for making this event free to attend.

Flipdish is a B2B digital ordering, analytics and marketing platform that provides direct-to-consumer web, app and kiosk software for restaurants and ghost kitchens. Flipdish is a global business with more than 5,000 customers in 20 countries generating order revenues in excess of $300M. Flipdish is backed by leading investors Tiger Global and Global Founders Capital. 
Franklin Junction is a digital platform that allows kitchens to optimize excess infrastructure capacity by serving as a “Host Kitchen®.” Hosts are matched with a thoughtfully curated roster of proven restaurant brands, which allows Hosts to increase revenue while providing hosted brands a platform to expand geographic reach without capital expenditure.
Kitchen United is a leading provider of restaurant hub technology, streamlined logistics and turn-key commercial kitchen space that empowers foodservice operators to tap into the growing off-premise business opportunity and offers consumers a first-of-its-kind to-go experience.
Omnivore leverages technology as a tool for restaurants to survive and thrive, creating the magic that enables restaurants to adapt to evolving customer expectations and continuously changing market trends. Omnivore API is the central hub that connects POS systems with third party technologies across the restaurant industry. When paired with MMS, restaurants can improve efficiency, enhance engagement, and increase profitability across all locations.
OrderB4 is a Direct to Consumer (D2C) digital order and delivery software for ghost kitchens, virtual Brands and restaurants. Our cloud-based software gives power and control back to operators so they can manage the entire order and delivery process, right from their own website.
Ovation uses a SMS-based survey as a “digital table touch” that has redefined guest feedback. Through frictionless integrations with online ordering platforms and other tools, Ovation allows you to easily collect guest feedback, resolve concerns in real-time, get more 5-star reviews, and uncover insights to improve brand-wide.
Qu is a restaurant transformation company delivering the industry’s first unified commerce platform for enterprise chains. Our data-driven, API-first foundation unifies omni-channel ordering experiences and drives stronger bottom lines.

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