How to Grow Your Restaurant Business with Lisa Malikow and Kenneth Scharlatt

Speaker A: Welcome to the Restaurants Grow podcast where you get tips, tricks and tactics on how to grow your restaurant business. Today on the show we welcome Kenny Charlotte, founder of Savage Oregon Hospitality and Lisa Malico, Senior Vice President, Restaurant Show Informa connect. Kenny brings 15 plus years experience of running restaurants, bars, hotels, rooftop concepts and late night operations. I almost want to go in a bar crawl. Of all the places that Kenny has worked with, he's done everything in restaurant operations from tech overhauls to building staff training programs to creating beverage programs. He's a firm believer that there must be a better way to do this and we are going to figure it out. Lisa has over 23 years in exhibitions, management experience and has, uh, been to more restaurant trade shows than anybody else you may have ever met. Lisa, uh, joined the restaurant show in October of 2008 as a show manager of the international Wine, Spirits and beer event focused on the adult beverage segment and food service. That sounds like a fun part of the show to be in charge of that. Uh, might also sound like it may end your day early or start your next day too early. Uh, currently she now oversees a variety of critical areas for the show including event operations, special events, education programming, year round digital strategies, and something very important, the budget. Okay, fun facts. Lisa is a real Chicago pizza fan, claiming tavern style as her favorite. And anybody that says tavern is not the real Chicago style is wrong. That's a different podcast, uh, when Kenny was a singer for a long time releasing two CDs. Kenny and Lisa, welcome to the show.

Speaker B: Good morning.

Speaker C: Morning. Thanks Rev.

Speaker A: I am super excited you guys are here. I'm super excited for the National Restaurant Show. I purposely wore my, My Cubbies hat today. I don't, I don't typically wear MLB hats, I wear MILB hats and I do have an Iowa Cubs hat. But today we are full on Chicago in anticipation of the show. Okay, listen, I just want to get right into this. I've already been to a couple shows this year. I've already talking to people, already seeing what's out there and I feel like the overarching theme other than like I got to control cost of goods. And is AI? I mean, is that what you guys are hearing? Like the thing that people are talking about is what is AI? What do I do with it? How do I figure it out? Like, are you feeling the same thing?

Speaker C: Yeah, I think from the couple shows that I've been to so far this year, um, AI is definitely the hot topic and not just the overall AI, you know, archive and feature. But how do we Actually utilize the data to make AI work for us, uh, within the industry. So I think. I think it's all now just starting to come together.

Speaker B: Yeah, I, I agree. And when we were talking about it at the office, it's like what we're seeing from the exhibitors who are signing up for this year is it's part of all their products and even in types of products you wouldn't normally think it would show up in and like, some of our food exhibitors and some of the supplies. And so I think the. When you come to the show this year, you're going to see it throughout the entire event, no matter, you know, what section of the halls you're in. It's going to be everywhere for sure.

Speaker A: So we're going from, like, wooden spoon to smart spoon to AI spoon, like,

Speaker B: uh, pretty much going to start talking at you.

Speaker A: I have no idea why I have a wooden spoon right there, but God bless. Uh, well, listen, uh, thank you for joining us today. We're here really to talk about two main subjects, which is how successful restaurants, uh, are and should be using AI. And also the National Restaurant association show happening May 16th and 19th in Chicago. Let me just throw this both out there. You get either of you to go. How should operators be thinking about AI right now?

Speaker B: I'm going to give that to Kenny.

Speaker C: All right. Um, I think it's coming from all different ways. Um, the thing that I really enjoy about the whole AI and where it's going right now is in terms of marketing. Um, and, you know, everybody in the restaurant industry does some form of marketing, whether it's having a social media page or whatever it may be. They can be all in, or they can just have the bare minimum or somewhere in between. But I think AI when it comes to the marketing side could, uh, be a complete game changer and definitely turn the way that we look at getting the best ROI out of our marketing investment and moving away from throwing things at the wall and just doing mass appeal and, uh, you know, email shots and whatever to actually targeted marketing, um, based on, you know, our guest data, so forth and so on. So I think there's a whole new spectrum that's coming out within the next couple years where AI is going to definitely move into the marketing space for restaurants, and it's going to be a complete game changer.

Speaker B: Yeah, What I think you're seeing is just that ability to take, you know, like, you're saying, data and reports and being able to make more sense of it in a much faster manner. Right so that you can pivot and do the next right thing for your marketing plans and even on the operational side of the business, right? So you're saying, hey, I did this. Now I'm able to analyze that and make the next decision just that much quicker because of AI making that a little bit more simpler and making more heads or tails of the situation in a much faster manner.

Speaker A: Yeah, I think, uh, people like to sort of like joke. Like, AI doesn't have a bad day, AI doesn't miss a shift. But I think from, from a marketing perspective, like, it doesn't have emotions, it's not tied to a product. It thinks around corners, it sees patterns you can't see. You know what I mean? And so, like, I'll give you, this is an amazing example. So you guys know I own a burger shop in New York City and we're very tech enabled. We've been called the single McDonald's of single units in terms of our tech use, but whatever. Um, we just deployed AI phone answering. Okay? Now we don't get that many phone calls. It's a burger shop in Bryant Park. We actually don't even want to answer the phone. But people call, right? And so we can't deny them. Uh, I always say if you're going to open a channel, you need to manage it. So that's the phone. Anyway, we deployed AI and we have, you know, you call and you know, AI answers the phone. How can I help you? Look, most of the calls are like, you know, uh, do you have gluten free buns? What time are you open? The general questions, they're not really trying to place an order, right? But we get a lot of calls, right? And so I thought, well, we should have our AI agent upsell. Like it's gonna upsell every time. It's gonna, you know, I can't tell you any times I've walked into my own store and one of my employees like forgot to say, do you want fries with that? I'm like, come on, you know what I mean? AI doesn't forget. Okay, so here's what we did. Logic would do this. If they didn't order fries at a burger shop, ask them to order fries. If they ordered fries, ask them, order a Coke. If they didn't order a Coke, order a dessert. That's logic, right? Like that is how the restaurant business thinks. And so I've like, I was like, huh? Is that correct? We ran a data model. I won't get into how we got there in the show, but guess what? Guess what we should be upselling. Anybody want to guess?

Speaker C: Milkshakes. Um, cheese fries, specialty menu items, things like that.

Speaker A: Lisa, you want to take a guess?

Speaker B: I don't know. Milkshakes was a good one because I was with my daughter last night, and that's exactly what she wanted, was a milkshake. Um, and then she wanted, uh, she did want fries, I will say that. But, uh, uh, she wanted, um, like, an apple pie thing, too. Desserts was desserts. The dirt thing.

Speaker A: By the way, I got a tiramisu milkshake at Shake Shack the other night. It was really good. It needed a little more espresso in it, but it was delicious. Uh, no bacon.

Speaker B: Okay, well, okay, I get that. So, okay, so the add on to the add ons to the burger is what you're saying, like, are, like, the extras, right? Okay, yes.

Speaker A: And so as soon as I got that answer back from an AI query, I was like, I'm an idiot, right? I'm trying to upsell you on a complete menu. But, like, who walks into a burger shop and thinks, oh, wait, I forgot to order fries? Like, that doesn't seem logical at all. Right?

Speaker C: That's true.

Speaker A: And who doesn't walk into any restaurant and be like, no, I'm not thirsty today? Like, you're either thirsty or you're not. Like, it's not like I'm gonna remind you, oh, aren't you parched? No, it's the bait. It's the bacon upset. And I look at it this way. Like, if I asked everybody if they want a milkshake, right? I'm gonna get, what, one out of 20? One out of 10.

Speaker B: Because you have to want that milkshake. Yeah, I get it.

Speaker A: And great. I would love it. That's next to four or five bucks or whatever. But, like, do you want bacon as a $50 decision? And most people are like, you know what I do? So if I can get a dollar fifty out of six out of every ten people, like, I'm way ahead of the game. And I was like, that's what AI is for. That's what AI is for is understanding patterns and abilities that, like, you didn't think of. And I think that that is where AI can really help both. And that's like an. That is both aligns to operations and marketing. You know what I mean?

Speaker B: Exactly.

Speaker A: Like, clearly, like, that's what. That's what my operations team should be thinking about.

Speaker C: You know, kind of something similar to what I've been helping some hotels do that have recreational areas and trying to bring back in room dining and so forth and so on. We've deployed, um, digital ordering platforms throughout properties, and we utilize AI to help with the upsell strategy for, you know, poolside rooms, whatever. Um, but specifically for, like, the pool or recreational areas, we actually have it tied into the weather. So if it triggers, you know, that it's over a certain temperature, we're pushing frozen margaritas or, you know, something along those lines. Uh, so there's so many different ways that it can be deployed. For sure.

Speaker B: I love that.

Speaker A: Yeah. I think that, um, I was talking to somebody yesterday, and this idea that marketers in the restaurant business have had for a while about sending the right message at the right time to the right person, right. Is like, it's a dream. We always talked about it, and we're out there creating segments. You know, guest has come three times, but not four times. Guest has only ordered online, not in store. Uh, they've never tried this item. And like, that all, like, again, logically, like, that makes sense, right? It makes a whole lot of sense. And that's where segmentation comes from. But we, until AI haven't really had a tool that allows us to understand that, like, what Lisa wants and what Kenny wants, even if they have the same purchasing patterns, might not be the same. Right. And so Lisa's been three times but not four times, and Kenny's been three times but not four times. And they both not had the chicken sandwich. It might be Lisa's allergic to chicken. Right. And it might be Kenny doesn't know it's aware. AI could actually figure that out in a way that, like, as. As a marketer, our segmenting tools never would. You know what I mean?

Speaker C: Yeah, for sure.

Speaker A: I heard a cool example. Same person I was talking to where they took. This is crazy. Okay? They took 100 different offers, so 10% off your next visit. A BOGO double points. You know, $2 here, 5, whatever. They literally came up with a hundred offers, okay. And they chose the four that they felt strongest with.

Speaker B: And.

Speaker A: And they put it into an AI model and said, okay, here is a segment of guests who are about to churn. So they haven't churned yet. Their habits have changed, and they're kind of like, about to. We might never see them again. And it randomized based on the purchase behavior of those people who would get what guests. And they had a 63% conversion rate. Wow, that sounds like a good use of AI m. More than like, the spoons telling me to stir, you know what I mean?

Speaker C: And, uh, you know, it's kind of amazing because I, I've been in the AI and following the whole AI thing for a while now. I know, Rev, you have, too. And, and, uh, that it's just amazing how far it's come since its inception. Right. And how much smarter the models get and, you know, really dialing in on specific, you know, customer traits and, and, you know, the allergic versus the I just don't like chicken. Uh, you know, whatever it may be, um, it's amazing how far it's come and how dialed in it can really get now to where restaurants and companies as a whole don't really need to do that, you know, legacy style of marketing anymore. They can really start to dial in and pinpoint and, and get offers out that are special, uh, uh, specific for each individual guest, uh, that comes in. Um, I think that's where the future is going to be in terms of, you know, making sure that we're getting the most out of our marketing dollars. For sure. Yeah.

Speaker A: It feels a little bit like we're in an age of like, oh, it's a engine on a car. Like, I don't have to use a horse and buggy. The world is open. Anything. And we kind of like, don't know what to do with it yet. But, Lisa, for somebody who's like, AI curious or even like, starting in their AI journey, what do you think that looks like walking into the show? Like, what should they be looking for? How should they be thinking about, is everybody AI now? Like, what is. What does that look like?

Speaker B: Yeah, Well, I think first of all, there's, uh, you could probably get really overwhelmed when you walk into the restaurant show, because, like I said, it's going to be everywhere.

Speaker A: Well, good point.

Speaker B: Good. Um, but there's a couple of areas that, you know, you can do yourself a little bit of favor and prepare in advance because there's. We've got a few education sessions, yours included. Right. You guys are speaking in our Expo plus Education, um, program on this topic in marketing specifically, uh, that, uh, some of the stuff we're talking about today are probably highlighted in your session, I'm sure. Great. Um, discussion and preview of that in advance. Um, and then we've got an AI workshop that if you're really just getting started in it and you're kind of like, I need the nuts and bolts of it. Right. Like, I just feeling kind of overwhelmed and I just need, like, AI101. Um, we've got an AI workshop, which is an enhancement to your badge, but it's, uh, given by a team, uh, from Cornell University. That's happening during the show and it's really great. It's, you know, I kind of a deep dive into that AI Kind of just get you started. Like, what do I, what do I do? You know, So I think that is a really great place to start, honestly. Um, because there's a lot of people that you just say the two letters AI and they kind of freak out, you know? You know what I mean? Exactly. Right. And so, um, you know, it's a place where you can really educate yourself and say, okay, I don't need to freak out. I can just start to utilize these tools in a way that is going to enhance my business and make it better and I don't need to be afraid of it. And, and then honestly, uh, you know, it's making a list like, what are these companies that I need to hit up and just talk to the exhibitors who are going to show me what's out there to help my business. I mean, we've got tons of exhibitors on this show floor. When I was looking through the exhibitor list last night, just a few before, um, you know, to come on the episode today and like, it just, it blows my mind what some of these companies have. I mean, to your point about the upsell, I mean, I was like looking at this one company, they've got like a menu board, right, for your drive through, where not only can it do the upsell, but it can talk to me in like 25 different languages and it just knows it when I roll up to the, you know, the drive thru window and I speak to it and it knows what language I'm speaking and it can speak back to me in that language and upsell me in that language, you know, and it's just wild to me. But it, I mean, how awesome is that, that it can, you know, work with your business and get to the individual customers that way. Right. But it's, you know, but I, you wouldn't necessarily know that if you didn't do a little bit of homework in advance of getting to the show. Right. I mean, I saw that on our website, um, just by taking a little time while I was watching TV last night, you know, preparing for this podcast, I could do that, preparing for the show as well.

Speaker A: So I'm, I'm totally going to find the restaurant with the AI language model, drive through and brush up on my big Latin and just see what happens.

Speaker B: Right. See if we can do it. Touch how far those languages Go.

Speaker A: Or my pirate speak. Uh, by the way, have you ever tried that Google Translate into pirate speak? Okay, different conversation. Okay. I want to talk about show preparedness. I. I absolutely am a victim of this. I think everybody is. But if you don't walk through the door of the show with a plan in mind, like, forget it. Am I. Am I out of my brain? Like, do you have to know what you're doing before you get off the plane?

Speaker C: 100%?

Speaker B: Uh, yes, I do, but I don't think most people do. I will say. I mean, you have to be a pretty savvy attendee to have done it before you get off the plane. I mean, I, uh. We've got 2,000 exhibitors, so it's to. To really know what you're doing, um, is difficult. But I do think, you know, you have to have a good plan in place and then leave enough white space in your day to also say, hey, look at that over there. And be able to go look at whatever you didn't plan to see as well. Because for everything you've planned to see, there's 10 other things that will catch your eye and you'll love as well. Um, and that's kind of the beauty of the show as well. It's just. It's got so much.

Speaker C: So, yeah, one thing I will say,

Speaker B: get that case of water. I told you.

Speaker C: Make sure you have your walking shoes, because you will definitely get your steps. Your Fitbit will be going crazy those couple days, for sure.

Speaker A: Yeah, I find that, uh, the best way to approach it is, look, uh, I am a little structured. I'd be like, I'm here at 1, I'm here at 2 or 3. That is a little bit how rev works. But, uh, I think. I think the approach I generally recommend is know what goals you're trying to solve with your business, like in. In, like, immediate and maybe even long term, and be like, okay, the hurdles we're facing or the thing I want to learn about, which, again, we're talking about AI today. But, like, and then walk in the store, uh, into the show and orient yourself towards how do I. What do I need to do while I'm here to get to that goal? So if it's like, managing cost of goods, if it's increasing your marketing, if it's equipment, if it's, you know, performance, uh, uh, of your dough, like, whatever the thing is, like, you kind of gotta have goals at least, and then that kind of helps filter what you want to accomplish there.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I. Hopefully our tools that we have available will, um, help people along a little bit. Our show directory is called the show to Go. Um, and it's come out with a new version this year. It'll launch later this month, and it has an AI assistant on it too. Speaking of AI, so, you know, expert, a little assistant on it called Lena, and you're able to ask it little questions in plain English. Um, so you can ask who is doing this type of stuff in their booth. And if the exhibitor has done their job and put in that information in their profile, it should help along a little bit. Right. To help you find what you need. And because of AI, it's also able to go out to the exhibitor's website and help it along. If the exhibitor hasn't put it in their profile and the exhibitor has it on their website, hopefully it'll supplement that information a little bit, so it'll enhance the ability to find that information. Um, so the directory is even better than it's been in the past, which is nice. It'll help for that planning and even finding new things on the fly while you're there. Um, you know, in that show directory and app, which we're excited about, the. The new version is going to be pretty good this year.

Speaker A: Amazing. Usually we orient the conversations on the show towards operators, but for sure, vendors and exhibitors are listing. So if you're a vendor and exhibitor listening to the show, go optimize your national profile profile. The AI assistant can help people find you. And we're laughing, but for sure, right?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Okay, so let's do a quick room reset here. We'll be a few minutes left talking about the national restaurant show May 16th and May 19th at, um, McCormick center in Chicago. It is, uh, I say it every year, it is the Catalina Wine mixer of our industry. It's the show. There's, uh, how many football fields Big Lisa, I've heard in the past it's like 13.

Speaker B: It's 13. So, yeah, that's why you need your walking shoes.

Speaker A: 900 plus categories. Is that still the number we're looking at?

Speaker B: It is, yes.

Speaker A: And this year, a major, major uptick in AI. So with that, while you guys are listening to the show, I want you to write this down. Saturday, May 16, the first day of the show, at 2pm, Kenny and I are co hosting a panel called AI Plus Predictive Marketing. Smarter Campaigns, Less Discounting. Where we will go kind of deep into some thought patterns, tactics, playbooks, ways to actually use AI. So maybe if you're not like getting started in your AI journey.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: And you're like, hey, okay, what do I do? Now that I understand it, like, that's a good one to come to. So. Oh, Donna just said she's gonna be there. Yeah, nice, Donna.

Speaker B: We love it.

Speaker A: So that's 2pm Saturday. That's a panel, um, Kenny and I are doing. And then I will also be broadcasting live from the podcast booth on the show floor Sunday afternoon, I believe, at 1:30. So if you're an operator or maybe you're an exhibitor with a really cool AI product, like, send me a dm because I'm gonna be, like I said, I'll be sitting in the big glass booth, uh, talking to a microphone. I don't like this. So, um, Lisa, let's. Let's talk about this. Since you're looking at all the vendors, all however many thousand you just said, what are some really interesting and new uses for AI that you're seeing out there that are going to be at the show? Or even maybe some AI categories?

Speaker B: Yeah. So, um, we are seeing so really, uh, a few that are really interesting that are in, um, the equipment categories. So there is in our kitchen innovation Awards area. So in the south building, um, we have a whole showroom in the back of the south hall M, which is our kitchen innovation showroom. That's all equipment that has been vetted by our expert, independent panel of judges. So not the show management. It's all independent judges from the industry. And then there's one, um, that's called, uh, the AI, uh, Dente AI Powered cooking system from Next Robot, Inc. And, um, it's really about, like, the perfect, like, pasta. And, um, like, uh, like, like, what's the rice? The. Oh, my God, I'm, like, losing my mind. Uh, you know, the rice pasta.

Speaker A: Oh, okay.

Speaker B: You know what I mean? Um, but anyway, it does every single time. And it's like, takes up this much space in your kitchen, right? And so it's perfect every time. It helps, like, with your, um, operation, it works with your cooking. And it's. The judges were just raving about it. Um, and we're talking about risotto. Thank you. Oh, my God. See, this is like, I have only had, like, a half a cup of this coffee. Thank you. I was like, you know, we're going

Speaker A: to live that version of robot looks like this.

Speaker B: Yes, thank you. I'm never going to live that down. I'm like, you know, rice pasta. Um, and so it's really. I mean, it's really cool. And you can. They'll be doing live demonstrations over there in the um k@uh ki area. And then we've got, you know, Loop AI that's been founded in um, 2022. They've got their AI agents that help with the marketing, finance, operations. That's all in our, you know, tech Pavilion. There's Pop Menu that's marketing innovation, Red Onion that's doing predictive insights. I mean there's literally like everywhere you walk, you know, in each one of the halls we've got something going on. And um, I'm really excited about that because like I said, there's that 13 football fields worth of space. And so it's kind of like each direction you go you'll run into something. But the equipment I like, I like it. I have a little partial to the equipment stuff because when they do it right, it's really interesting to see because the judges are very discerning on whether the equipment developers are doing it for AI's sake or tech's sake or whether or not it's truly making a difference. And so the judges are, when they go through their deliberations, are uh, really trying to hone in on what the innovation is. And so they don't get this award just to get. And so it's really interesting, um, stuff back there and that and really what I believe are game changing pieces of equipment. And so that's usually my most exciting um, area of the show for that reason because I know, I know that's been vetted beyond belief.

Speaker A: So. Awesome. Well, we must eliminate mushy risotto for sure.

Speaker C: I will say the, the kitchen innovation areas. I'm not a culinary person per se, but every year that I go to the show it's, it's a must stop part of the show for me because there's, it's just so cool seeing what people come up with and what people think about.

Speaker B: Um.

Speaker C: Oh yeah, definitely my favorite, one of my favorite spots of the show.

Speaker B: Yeah, it's the 26th year of that award program. And um, so one of the judges has been the judge, a judge the whole time. But um, you know the judges are and they remember like every year of worth of equipment. But it's really crazy to me. I mean like I said, they're very strict on what is innovative and what isn't. And like I said, what's a improvement, what's an enhancement and what is true innovation. And I think that's helped that program be. That must stop at the show because it, it isn't B.S. you know, it really is people in the industry saying, no, this is innovative. Right. Um, it's not like a pay to play award back there, which I think people appreciate.

Speaker A: Amen. I'm going to. I'm going to take a high level here as we sort of get to the end of the show, but I really like. The thing I want to impress upon people is, like, there's everything at this show. If you've been, you know, if you haven't been, you need to go, like, everything there is. If you're trying to figure out hr, if you're trying to figure out equipment, if you're trying to figure out marketing, if you're trying to figure out how to get, like, custom hats, if you want to eat a Chicago dog, like, it's there. If it, if it exists in our industry, there is more than one of it at this show. And it is the place to go to discover, to grow, to ask questions, to network, to like it, it. And it's a wasted opportunity, honestly, if you don't go. I mean, that is truly how I feel. I've been going for, I think, 12 years now. So you're like, yeah, exactly.

Speaker B: I agree.

Speaker C: I couldn't put it any better.

Speaker A: Uh, I. I'll say this. I. I do think that we're in this really interesting age of AI where, like, it's really cool. And I think a lot of people's perception of AI in our industry right now is like Gemini Chat, GPT and cloud. And those are great tools, and I use them every day. But I would encourage restaurant operators to realize that there are tools that are being created specifically for our industry. And our industry, as you know, works very differently than other industries. And I always say I would rather use the tool built for my business than the tool that's built for every business. Right. And while I wear. Where will wear an adjustable cap, uh, one size fits all. I do not want one size fits all when it comes to marketing, tech. And like, this is the show. Like, this is the show to go see what's out there.

Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And you can do it all in one place. It's the most efficient way to really look at everything all at one time. Right. And I know it's hard to leave your business for a few days. I know it is. But it is probably the best investment you can make, um, for four days out of, uh, your whole year. Yeah.

Speaker A: I'm going to give a product push here. So I'll walk into the tech pavilion, I'll find the frazzle Booth, I'll get myself a big frazzle. And if you guys have not had the frazzle, I love the frazzle. I'll get a big glass of frazzle and I'll just walk up and down the tech aisles and I'll literally just look like, what is the general tone of things happening? And then I'll just start asking people whether I'm interested in their solution or not. Like, what are people asking you? What do you see is happening? And like, honestly, it's a great place to be curious

Speaker C: and it's, it's an action packed four days. Um, like you guys have said anything that you want at this show or anything that you want for the industry is at this show. So I, um, would definitely try to come with a game plan, uh, like Rev said, and tried to scope it out on the website and on the app before you actually get to Chicago. Uh, I made that mistake my first year and did not do that. Um, and I definitely. My Fitbit was going pretty haywire that year. So, um, it's starting to yell at me, like, what are you doing? Why is there so much activity? So, yeah, definitely try to put together some kind of game plan. Um, I can't wait to see the Tech Pavilion this year. This isn't an ad for Fitbit by any means, but, um, they got their work in for that first year that I was there. So, um, yeah, I can't wait to see the technically and I can't, I just can't wait to see all the innovation overall, um, throughout the show and even since last year when I was there, because everything is changing so rapidly. Um, so trying to, you know, pinpoint on what's new and what's improved and all this other. It's going to be, uh, an exciting four days in Chicago, that's for sure.

Speaker A: Amen. We are talking about the National Restaurant association show. Lisa, what year is this? The show? How many now?

Speaker B: Um, 105.

Speaker A: Mother scratcher. That's, um. Seriously, who has not been to this thing? It's May 16, May 19 in Chicago. The National Restaurant Show. National Restaurant association show. Again. Kenny and I are co hosting a panel. Saturday, May 16, 2pm AI predictive marketing smarter Campaigns. I'll put a code here. Uh, if you have not got your registration yet, use promo code Rev26. It's going to get $26 off your expo badge. Uh, be sure to make sure that you upgrade into the Expo and education. Get access to all the operator LED sessions, including this one that Kenny, I and I are Going to do a predictive marketing. Um, that upgrade also gets you exclusive networking and the session presentation materials. It's like, it's a thing, right, Lisa, they should upgrade.

Speaker C: Am I wrong?

Speaker B: No, you're not wrong. I mean, it's. We've got some amazing sessions happening in there, and it really gets you access to everything, plus all the video content of all the sessions afterwards, too. So even if you can't go to a few of the sessions, you can access all of them after the event as well. So you really unlock all that content by the upgrade.

Speaker C: Definitely worth the couple hundred bucks.

Speaker A: Yeah, I love that we're talking about moving, uh, your business forward here. And Felix just said, uh, we sold him on pasta, rice, and frazzle. Whatever. Whatever gets you through the door. That's what gets me through the day. So, again, uh, National Restaurant Show, May 16. May 19. Lisa, any parting words here before we jump off?

Speaker B: Just. You know what? I agree with you, Rev. Make the plan. Go to our website, take a look. We've got tons of great information as well as that all important register button, use revs code, and we'll see you there in Chicago.

Speaker A: Kenny, any. Any parting words before we jump out of here?

Speaker C: Y' all travel safe to the Windy City and, uh, get ready for four days of just mind blowing action on the floor and even off the floor at all the networking events that go on at night, too.

Speaker A: Yeah, like I said, I'm going to a Cubs White Sox game Friday night and a Brewers Cubs game M on Monday night. So if you have questions about the show, DM any of us. If you have questions about baseball games, DM me. But guys, seriously, don't. Don't sleep on this one, everybody. Thank you for joining us today. Please jam that subscribe button on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you like to listen in, and we will see you in Chicago at the show.

Speaker B: M. Bye, guys.