Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit
Business leaders on the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit highlighted how the shift from comfort to a everlasting off-premise mannequin requires a mix of subtle know-how, specialised catering methods and operational precision to keep up model consistency and a frictionless visitor expertise.
Photograph: Willie Lawless/ Join Media
Could 15, 2026 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Join Media
The panorama of off-premise eating underwent a everlasting paradigm shift in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, evolving from a secondary comfort to the first engine of restaurant survival and development. Earlier than 2020, many manufacturers dictated the phrases of engagement — providing carryout or restricted supply as an afterthought — however the post-COVID period is outlined by the patron’s complete management over the “frictionless” expertise.
This shift pressured a fast industrialization of the digital ecosystem, resulting in the rise of double-make traces particularly for third-party apps, geofencing for curbside pickups and complex AI fashions that predict order timing right down to the millisecond. Immediately, the business has transitioned from a transactional “buyer” mindset again to a “visitor” mindset, utilizing know-how to make sure that the standard of a fresh-cut fry or a catered meal stays constant whether or not it’s consumed in a eating room or at a kitchen desk miles away.
A session known as “Off-premise Blitz: Dominating Supply, Takeout, Catering & Drive-Via” on the Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit in San Diego this spring took a take a look at fashionable off-premise eating and the way it has impacted the restaurant business. Audio system included Brian Bailey, founder and CEO of Previous Carolina Barbecue Co., Craig Dunaway, COO of Penn Station East Coast Subs, Sam Stanovich, SVP franchise management for Craveworthy Manufacturers and Katy Shares, senior director of off premise and digital gross sales for Thrive Restaurant Group. The session was moderated by Meredith Yerkes, SVP of business technique and development for DSA Signage.
Consistency is essential
Yerkes requested the panelists how they maintained model consistency in meals high quality with out sacrificing pace and profitability.
Shares stated Trendy Market Eatery has a double-sided makeline.
“If we’re making meals from two traces and now we have meals prices related to shelf lives on each traces, we have discovered that placing it in a single line and having type of staff members looking at one another whereas the make line is constructed has been actually useful to keep up pace in order that the dine-in friends get the meals once they want it,” Shares stated.
The model’s know-how helps them cut up these a number of methods. They will put dine-in and takeout on one line and off-premise and third-party supply on the second. Or they will put equal quantities of entrees on either side.
Dunaway stated in the course of the COVID shutdown, prospects started telling Penn Station how they needed to be served. The important thing to that’s ensuring they’re serving the very best product to the visitor, whether or not they’re eating in, finishing up or having it delivered by a 3rd occasion. Catering solely accounted for 1.2% of enterprise earlier than COVID.
Through the pandemic, “in a single day, carryout went to 100%. And you understand, that was actually troublesome for us,” Dunaway stated. “Eradicating friction from the client expertise is essential to sustaining consistency. It has been difficult for Penn Station, constructed in the end transfer.”
Stanovich questioned the right way to make buyer transactions frictionless.
“Are we going to vary due to friction the totally different ways in which we order simply in these site visitors patterns?” Stanovich requested. “It’ll be an thrilling 12 months, and I believe that is one thing that all of us want to consider and begin to have a look at that dialog trying on the future.”
At each Penn Station East Coast Subs and Stanovich’s model, Large Rooster, made-to-order meals is on the forefront of operations, taking upwards of three minutes or longer to cook dinner.
“You possibly can’t function a drive-thru in that means,” he stated. “There are only a few manufacturers that get away with extraordinarily lengthy drive-thru occasions. Most prospects aren’t that forgiving and create an excessive amount of friction. So how do you create that steadiness? Now we’re beginning to see know-how on the tools, so what’s the proper steadiness on your model that you must take into consideration as a result of in these peak intervals, you do want to chop your fries and have some prepped able to go and work on timing to cut back that friction.”
Bailey stated at his model, the workers see an order pop up on a display and wish to make it rapidly; however, they are not recognizing that the order might not be picked up for an additional quarter-hour. Counting on know-how to decelerate that order from popping up too quickly so staff make it on the proper time and make it constantly.
Catering ache factors
Yerkes requested the panelists in regards to the catering maturity curve and if they may transfer a model from stage one to stage 4 in catering, what can be the only most necessary issue.
Bailey stated he believes Previous Carolina Barbecue Co. is past a degree 4 in catering. When he based the model, it was Previous Carolina Barbecue and Catering Firm. Investing in individuals is his prime piece of recommendation they usually’ve bought a director of catering providers and space catering leaders who construct connections in the neighborhood.
The model will cater upwards of 150 wedding ceremony occasions this 12 months alone. Barbecue travels and holds properly, making it a major selection for catering.
Shares stated the No. 1 want for her model is catering software program that is constructed particularly for a corporation not solely the place they’re now, but in addition the place they will be sooner or later.
“We have now a three-hour lead time, so you may get a catering order within the morning at 8 and should ship it at 11,” Shares added. “By doing the three-hour lead time, you are getting way more enterprise, however you additionally want to ensure your operators are outfitted. After which additional that, from a gross sales perspective, if you do not have a plan to have the ability to take your entire buyer knowledge, perceive why they’re ordering when and market to them, you are actually behind within the recreation. So, to me, the first step is deciding how you are going to develop, the place you are going to begin, and that software program is desk stakes at this level.”
Dunaway stated his model is small within the catering recreation, and he studied the competitors and decided his packaging was not slicing it. His firm was creating so many ache factors that nobody needed to order catering.
“We have revamped it the place now you’ll be able to order sure issues versus simply going to the menu and ordering no matter you need,” he stated. “That did not work. It simply did not work. Folks wanted to have a greater roadmap of what to order and the right way to order it and we have seen it decide up and we’re slowly seeing upticks in our gross sales every month from catering as a result of we have made that packaging higher, we have made the order course of simpler and it is beginning to present.”
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the Pizzamarketplace.com and QSRweb.com editor for Join Media. An award-winning journalist, Mandy brings greater than 20 years’ expertise protecting meals, individuals and locations. Mandy has been featured on the Meals Community and has received quite a few awards for her protection of the restaurant business. She has an insatiable urge for food for studying, and, sure, she will let you know the place to seek out the very best pizza slices within the nation.
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