How to be people-first in a touchscreen world
The secret, according to the 2022 CREATORS Award winners, is to never resist change
The 2022 CREATORS Award panel featured leaders from Wendy’s, Capriotti’s and Wing Zone, Ascend Hospitality, Bonanno Concepts, Dine Brands and Smokey Bones
“A few years ago, I personally would have laughed at you if on a Wednesday night you asked me for one of our housemade pastas to-go,” James O’Reilly, CEO of Smokey Bones said. “But we tried it at one of our stores during the pandemic and it singlehandedly turned the store around […] that restaurant has turned into one of our top three restaurants, and the chef that had the idea for takeout is now our director of operations two years later.” The moral of the story? Don’t be resistant to change, especially during a time of industry-wide upheaval and listen to what your people want. Capriotti’s and You’ve got to do new things whether you like them or not because the writing is on the wall, and if you don’t embrace the change, you’re going to be playing catchup. Ashley Morris CEO, Capriotti’s & Wing Zone
Joanna Fantozzi Senior Editor
Whether you’re a company as large as Dine Brands, or an emerging brand like Denver-based Bonanno Concepts, the key to successful restaurant industry growth is putting people first by listening to your customers’ changing needs. This was a major theme shared by the 2022 CREATORS Award winners at the recent CREATE conference in Denver, as representatives from the winning
brands — Wendy’s, Capriotti’s/Wing Zone, Ascend Hospitality, Smokey Bones, Bonanno Concepts, and Dine Brands — discussed taking calculated risks for big payoffs.
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Before the pandemic, Florida-based barbecue chain Smokey Bones would never have classified itself as a takeout restaurant, but as customer needs have changed in the past couple of years, the company has been open to going with the flow.
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