Digital Hospitality

Matt Lattanzio, President of Supply & Demand Consulting and former revenue leader at 7shifts, breaks down why most restaurant tech companies struggle to scale. From building repeatable go-to-market systems to defining a true target account list, he shares practical insights on sales, marketing, and growth. This episode explores the shift from single-channel inbound to distributed strategies and why consistency, not early traction, is what drives long-term success.

Shawn Walchef sits down with Enrique Medina, owner of Crest Cafe in San Diego, to talk about consistency, community, and running a restaurant on your own terms. Medina shares what it means to return to a family business, lead through one of the toughest periods in hospitality, and build a culture centered on regulars and relationships. The conversation explores operating without traditional restaurant technology, trusting your team, and why the feeling inside the restaurant will always matter more than the tools behind it.

Brett Spiegel, Vice President of Direct Ordering at Checkmate, breaks down why the menu has become one of the most powerful and overlooked tools in modern restaurants. From managing constant menu changes across multiple channels to turning digital screens into revenue drivers, he explains how leading brands are using data, testing, and technology to increase average order size and improve the guest experience. This episode explores how Checkmate helps operators simplify complexity and scale smarter.

Alistair Levine, CEO of Vine Hospitality, shares how a 7-location, 350-employee restaurant group is built on discipline, not trends. From lessons on leases and financial fundamentals to using YouTube as a demand and hiring engine, Levine explains how modern operators can blend old school principles with new school tools. This episode explores digital hospitality, intentional tech stacks, and why telling your story is now a competitive advantage.

Benjamin Berg, CEO of E-Card Systems, joins Digital Hospitality to explain why gift cards are one of the most overlooked revenue tools in restaurants. Serving more than 100,000 brands each year, his company helps operators simplify both physical and digital gift card programs. Berg shares how gift cards became a lifeline during the pandemic, why most restaurants underutilize them, and how they can drive cash flow, customer acquisition, and retention. This episode breaks down the operational and financial impact of gift cards and why treating them as a strategic tool can unlock new growth for restaurant brands.

Tamar Mizrahi, founder of Goddess and the Baker, joins Digital Hospitality to share how she built and scaled a fast-casual café concept across Chicago. Mizrahi explains how focusing on simple menus, strong systems, and operational discipline helped the brand grow to multiple locations. She also discusses the role technology and partners like F3 play in supporting installs, networking, and POS infrastructure so her team can stay focused on guests.

Christopher Staples, owner of Toast New American Gastro Pub in Richmond, Virginia, joins Digital Hospitality to share how patience, community, and disciplined operations helped grow his restaurant brand to three locations. Staples explains why Richmond’s neighborhood loyalty shapes restaurant strategy, how Toast POS powers his tech stack, and why guest relationships always come first. The conversation explores expansion lessons, the challenges of outside capital, and why building a restaurant brand is always a slow grind toward trust.

Vishal Agarwal shares how a frustrating airport restaurant experience, where he was nearly late for a flight because he couldn’t find a way to pay his bill, sparked the idea that became Checkmate. What began as a mobile payment concept quickly pivoted into integrating third party delivery platforms directly into restaurant POS systems. In this episode, Agarwal explains how solving real operational problems helped Checkmate grow into a platform supporting thousands of restaurant brands.

Nora Hermann, COO of MOTO Pizza, joins Digital Hospitality to break down how the fast-growing brand is scaling with discipline. With seven locations and more on the way, MOTO relies on rightwork to forecast demand, optimize labor, and build smarter schedules before the week begins. Nora shares how planning for busy protects margin, strengthens culture, and reduces burnout, proving that sustainable growth starts with organized operations and strong technology partnerships.

In this Pitch The Tide session, Noah Palansky, CEO and co-founder of TAIV, presents a platform that transforms in-venue TVs into revenue-generating marketing channels for restaurants and bars. By using AI to detect commercial breaks in real time, TAIV seamlessly replaces broadcast ads with brand-safe content, in-house promotions, and paid advertising from approved partners. Operators gain control over what appears on their screens, unlock incremental ad revenue through a shared model, and drive measurable lifts in food, beverage, and event sales.

Interview Takeaways:
Turn TVs into a Revenue-Generating Asset – TAIV converts in-venue TVs from passive screens into pr...

Shawn Walchef shares why creating content is no longer optional for entrepreneurs and operators who want to grow their business. He explains how visibility drives opportunity, why waiting for the perfect moment holds leaders back, and how anyone can start with simple tools like a smartphone. Walchef encourages leaders to build in public, embrace discomfort, and use repetition to strengthen their message.

Interview Takeaways:
Content Creates Visibility, and Visibility Drives Opportunity – If you are not creating content, you are invisible. Sharing your story online helps people discover your business, builds trust, and creates opportunities with customers, partners, in...

Storytelling and vulnerability took center stage on Rising Tides Live as Shawn Walchef and the community explored a powerful question: what story are you afraid to tell, and why does it matter? From failed ghost kitchens and leadership missteps to personal sacrifices, ethical dilemmas, and the messy middle of building something new, entrepreneurs and operators shared honest moments of fear, failure, and growth. A clear theme emerged: the stories we hesitate to share often create the strongest connections and the greatest lessons. When leaders focus on facts over pride, embrace failure as feedback, and show up with authenticity, fear becomes a c...

Ben Morgan, Tyler Morgan, and Mallory Morgan of 1925 PubHouse in Anderson, Indiana join Digital Hospitality to share how a family restaurant is evolving in public. From losing a job during COVID to embracing smartphone storytelling, they discuss blending old-school marketing with modern tech. This episode explores leadership on camera, leveraging Toast and integrated tools, and why embracing the cringe might be the most powerful growth strategy in 2026.

Interview Takeaways:
Embrace the Cringe to Unlock Growth – Mallory Morgan didn’t wait for perfect lighting or polished campaigns. Putting real servers, real shifts, and real leadership on came...

Ben Morgan, Tyler Morgan, and Mallory Morgan of 1925 PubHouse in Anderson, Indiana join Digital Hospitality to share how a family restaurant is evolving in public. From losing a job during COVID to embracing smartphone storytelling, they discuss blending old-school marketing with modern tech. This episode explores leadership on camera, leveraging Toast and integrated tools, and why embracing the cringe might be the most powerful growth strategy in 2026.

In this Pitch The Tide session, Scott Siegel, co-founder and CEO of Curbit, introduces a real-time order orchestration platform built to help restaurants manage digital order flow and reduce wait times. Curbit connects to kitchen and ordering systems to monitor production, adjust promise times, and communicate accurate pickup updates to guests. Instead of relying on static estimates or turning off orders during busy periods, brands gain live visibility into kitchen capacity. The focus of the pitch is clear: improve fulfillment accuracy, reduce operational chaos, and deliver a better guest experience at scale.

Interview Takeaways:
Most digital order...

Shawn Walchef shares the four leadership lessons he learned the hard way after nearly losing his restaurant and building a media company from zero revenue to millions in sales. He explains why storytelling drives vision, how calm creates speed, why curiosity matters more than skill, and why asking for help is a true leadership strength. This episode explores practical insights on building teams, making decisions, and leading with clarity, resilience, and purpose in business.

Interview Takeaways:
Storytelling drives leadership — Leaders must clearly communicate vision to align teams, build trust, and inspire action across customers, employees, and partners. Ca...

AI writing took center stage on Rising Tides Live as Eric Farrell filled in for Shawn Walchef and led a candid conversation on how to use AI without losing your humanity. Restaurant operators, creators, and business leaders shared how they leverage tools like ChatGPT to draft content, analyze contracts, develop recipes, and clarify ideas, while warning against the growing wave of robotic “AI slop.” A clear theme emerged: AI is a powerful assistant, not a replacement. The operators who win will be the ones who bring context, personality, and real-world experience to every prompt.

Interview Takeaways:
AI Is a...

Julia Tinajero, co-owner of Basilico Italiano in Concord, North Carolina, joins Digital Hospitality to share how a one-pound mozzarella stick and a chicken Caesar wrap went viral and transformed her 85-seat restaurant. She explains how building menu items in public, embracing transparency, and responding to critics fueled real growth. This episode explores the power of short-form video, the realities of sudden demand, and why pressing record can change a restaurant’s trajectory.

Interview Takeaways:
Build in Public Creates Momentum – Julia didn’t wait for the perfect menu launch. She tested, tweaked, and shared the chicken Caesar...

Julia Tinajero, co-owner of Basilico Italiano in Concord, North Carolina, joins Digital Hospitality to share how a one-pound mozzarella stick and a chicken Caesar wrap went viral and transformed her 85-seat restaurant. She explains how building menu items in public, embracing transparency, and responding to critics fueled real growth. This episode explores the power of short-form video, the realities of sudden demand, and why pressing record can change a restaurant’s trajectory.

Pricing took center stage on Rising Tides Live as Christian Fischer filled in for Shawn Walchef, guiding the community through one of the toughest questions in business: how much to charge and what customers truly value. Restaurateurs, creators, and operators shared candid stories about confidence, value, and fear. A clear theme emerged: pricing is emotional, but better decisions come from listening, data, and strong relationships. When leaders test boldly and communicate value clearly, pricing becomes a tool for trust and growth.

Interview Takeaways:
Pricing Reflects Value — Pricing decisions are emotional, but the strongest strategies come from understanding wh...

In this Pitch The Tide session, Michael Diego, president and CEO of relish, introduces a fully managed creator marketing platform built to help multi-location brands turn local voices into measurable growth. Relish connects restaurants and retailers with verified local creators who visit stores, document their experience, and share authentic content with their communities. Instead of chasing one expensive influencer or juggling spreadsheets, brands deploy dozens of hyperlocal storytellers at once. The focus of the pitch is clear: make your brand the talk of the town, drive real foot traffic, and power creator-led commerce at scale.

Interview Takeaways:
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Shawn Walchef breaks down how brands should approach partnerships with business creators in the B2B economy. He explains why working directly with operators beats agency-managed scripts, why follower count matters less than decision-maker density, and why measuring likes misses the real impact. The conversation reframes influencer marketing for serious brands, showing how long-term relationships, consistent storytelling, and trust inside the right rooms drive meaningful business results.

Interview Takeaways:
Direct Beats Delegated – The strongest brand partnerships happen when companies work directly with business creators, not through restrictive agency scripts. Trusting operators to tell their own stories creates de...

Pricing took center stage on Rising Tides Live as Shawn Walchef and the community wrestled with one of the hardest questions in business: how much to charge, when to change it, and what customers are actually responding to. From secret-menu mozzarella sticks and buffet coupons to 20/20 value promotions and paid discovery calls, restaurateurs, creators, operators, and service providers traded candid stories about confidence, value, and fear. A clear theme emerged: price is emotional, but decisions should be informed by listening, data, and relationships. When leaders ask better questions, test boldly, and communicate value clearly, pricing stops feeling reactive and starts be...

Shawn Walchef sits down with Chef Christophe Cevasco, owner of Beeside Balcony, to talk about building a restaurant with focus, presence, and ownership. Cevasco shares what he learned leaving corporate dining, buying his first restaurant just before COVID, and resisting the urge to scale too fast. The conversation explores storytelling through YouTube, using technology to support hospitality, and why showing up for guests still matters most.

Interview Takeaways:

In this Pitch The Tide session, Will Stewart, founder of rightwork, pitches a labor scheduling platform built to help restaurant managers make better decisions before the week begins. Rightwork forecasts demand, turns it into clear labor targets, and guides managers toward schedules that balance service, staffing, and profitability. Instead of static spreadsheets or guesswork, the platform gives teams real-time feedback on overstaffing, understaffing, and budget alignment. The focus of the pitch is simple: less time fixing schedules and more time running the business.

Interview Takeaways:

Public speaking does not generate revenue by selling from the stage. It generates revenue by building belief. Shawn Walchef breaks down why pitching kills trust, why stories outperform sales decks, and how serving an audience creates leverage long after the room clears. From stage theory to the courage required to start small and stay consistent, this piece reframes public speaking as a long game built on connection, repetition, and earning trust over time.

Interview Takeaways:

Patrick Cattoor , Vice President of Operations at My Burger, joins Shawn Walchef on Digital Hospitality to discuss how the Twin Cities burger brand has scaled to 11 locations without losing its focus on people and service. Cattoor shares how his background in public accounting shaped his approach to operations, labor, and leadership, and why hospitality in a quick service environment requires intentional systems. He explains how partnering with rightwork brought clarity to scheduling, reduced manager stress, and helped My Burger grow with confidence instead of chaos.

Interview Takeaways:

In this Pitch The Tide session, Kim Modeste, founder and CEO of S’more AI, shares what she learned from years of watching how restaurants actually try to drive sales. She explains the simple truth about contests: they work, but only for as long as people stay excited about them. Kim walks through why most contests fizzle out once the spreadsheets come out, and how S’more AI keeps the energy going by making incentives easy, automatic, and part of the flow of service. The result is a system that helps operators motivate their teams, see real results on the...

Shawn Walchef f did not build a media company by buying better cameras. He built it by learning how to use the tools already in his hands. For him, the smartphone became a studio, the camera became a business engine, and publishing became a daily habit instead of a marketing tactic. Over time, documenting replaced waiting, and consistency replaced perfection. Now, artificial intelligence has become the next force multiplier, removing bottlenecks and accelerating everything from analysis to content. The lesson is simple: technology is not the strategy, but in the right hands, it becomes the leverage that compounds growth.<...

Belief took center stage on Rising Tides Live as Shawn Walchef and the community explored what it really takes to build credibility before you have results to point to. From running small experiments and finding champions to showing up consistently and being willing to look foolish in public, founders, operators, creators, and leaders shared real stories about earning trust before earning proof. A clear theme emerged: credibility is built through action, relationships, and keeping promises long before recognition arrives. When people focus on showing up, serving others, and doing the work out loud, momentum follows and belief slowly turns...

Paul Krug, founder of Glaze Teriyaki, joins Shawn Walchef on Digital Hospitality to share how a Seattle staple became a New York fast-casual mainstay. Krug reflects on scaling thoughtfully, learning hard lessons about expansion, and building systems that support people instead of adding pressure. He explains how partnering with KitchenSync gave Glaze financial clarity, empowered managers, and helped the brand grow calmly and sustainably without losing its soul.

Interview Takeaways:

In this Pitch The Tide session, Matt Haselhoff, founder of One Goal Consulting, breaks down why the restaurant technology ecosystem has become noisy, fragmented, and increasingly hard for operators to navigate. Drawing on decades of experience across restaurant tech and integrations, Matt explains how sales pressure, vendor sprawl, and broken trust have created a confusing buying environment for brands. He introduces One Goal Consulting’s modern “manufacturer’s rep” model, which curates best-in-class, non-competing technology partners and connects operators to the right solutions based on real needs, not sales quotas.

Interview Takeaways:

Andre and Suheir Williams share how S2 Grills grew from a nightclub food concept into a multi-state brand with nine locations and over a million lamb chops sold. They break down what it really takes to scale without drowning in back-office chaos, why sales tax nearly became a monthly nightmare, and how automating it with Davo changed everything. The conversation explores building a “championship village,” keeping a core team intact through rapid growth, and why staying curious, showing up to industry events, and asking for help are essential for any operator who wants to grow the right way.

2026 goals took center stage on  Rising Tides Live as the community gathered to reflect on the lessons of 2025 and set intentions for the year ahead. With Mike Bisceglia and Elizabeth Doss filling in for Shawn Walchef, operators, creators, technologists, and founders shared stories about growth, resilience, and the power of simply showing up during busy and uncertain seasons. From building new ventures and giving back to local communities to embracing content, connection, and consistency, a clear theme emerged: progress is created through participation. When people share real experiences, support one another, and commit to steady action, a rising tide tru...

Shawn Walchef’s relationship with Sam The Cooking Guy reveals how mentorship, authenticity, and proximity shape modern influence. Built through real conversations and shared experiences, their connection highlights why being yourself scales further than performing, why relationships matter more than platforms, and why today’s most durable restaurant brands and media companies grow from trust, consistency, and showing up long before the spotlight arrives.

In this Pitch The Tide session, Runbin Dong, CEO and founder of Scale Social, shares how his family’s restaurant roots led him to rethink modern restaurant marketing. Drawing from firsthand operator experience, Runbin explains why authentic customer content consistently outperforms polished ads and influencer campaigns. He introduces Scale Social’s QR-driven platform, which turns everyday guests into brand advocates by capturing real moments in-store, rewarding participation instantly, and amplifying the best content across paid and organic channels. At its core, the platform helps brands close the authenticity gap, drive measurable traffic, and scale genuine customer storytelling without adding oper...

Shawn Walchef’s journey building restaurants and media reveals a deeper lesson about how modern leaders grow influence. After years of showing up, asking bigger questions, and learning in public, he began to see the patterns that separate short-term wins from long-term impact. This piece explores why consistency beats breakthroughs, why visibility creates leverage, and why today’s most effective founders are not just building companies, but building their own media.

Interview Takeaways:

2026 goals took center stage on  Rising Tides Live as the community gathered to reflect on the lessons of 2025 and set intentions for the year ahead. With Mike Bisceglia and Elizabeth Doss filling in for Shawn Walchef, operators, creators, technologists, and founders shared stories about growth, resilience, and the power of simply showing up during busy and uncertain seasons. From building new ventures and giving back to local communities to embracing content, connection, and consistency, a clear theme emerged: progress is created through participation. When people share real experiences, support one another, and commit to steady action, a rising tide t...

Labor scheduling has quietly become one of the most fragile pressure points in restaurant operations. Will Stewart, founder and CEO of rightwork, draws on his experience inside Starbucks to show how labor targets, human behavior, and unpredictable demand collide at the store level. He breaks down why traditional scheduling fails in real-world conditions and how forecasting, labor modeling, and AI-supported tools can help managers build schedules that reflect actual demand while keeping decision-making in human hands.

Interview Takeaways:

Shawn Walchef shares the hard lessons learned while scaling a modern media company from passion project to profitable business. After years of creating content without revenue, growth came through hiring sooner, reevaluating technology constantly, and expanding beyond a single show. The story reframes media as an operating business, not a hobby, showing how people, systems, and multiple products create leverage. The result is a practical blueprint for creators ready to turn consistency into momentum.

Interview Takeaways: