How Velvet Taco CEO Chris Schultz scales a cult brand without losing its soul
by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Connect Media
During his keynote at the Fast Casual Executive Summit in Texas, Chris Schultz will discuss restaurant growth, brand culture, leadership, international expansion and why protecting a fast-casual brand's identity matters more than opening the next location.
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Birdcall’s Midwest expansion strategy backed by tech, real estate
by Amy Sorter — Writer and Editor, Connect Media
Fast-casual chicken chain said that proprietary technology, real estate optoins and a multichannel business model will help with its Midwest expansion.
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The top 3 priorities for Founder success in 2026
by Kathleen Wood — Founder, K. Wood Partners
To succeed in 2026's highly competitive market, businesses must focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional customer experiences across all channels, tracking customer transactions as the ultimate health metric and investing in strong leadership to drive growth and loyalty.
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Tiki Taco adding KC location
Tiki Taco, a Kansas City-based independent restaurant brand, is expanding north of the Missouri River with the opening of its sixth location on July 7.
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The 1:1 Personalization Playbook: Using AI to send every guest their own offer
In this session, Hang CEO Matt Smolin, whose platform powers millions of AI-personalized offers a month for restaurant brands, will walk through the playbook to start personalizing your own offers right away.
From kitchens to tech hubs: Inside fast casual’s digital revolution
In the latest episode of the Restaurant Operator Podcast, Cherryh Cansler, publisher of FastCasual.com, sits down with Luke Wilwerding, Vice President of North America Sales at Elo Touch Solutions, to unpack the highly anticipated FastCasual Top 100 Movers & Shakers list.
Momos Guest AI
Momos Guest AI is the leading AI platform built for multi-location brands. We help restaurants, QSRs, retail, and hospitality teams deliver better guest experiences across every location by unifying customer service, operations, and marketing into a single end-to-end platform - turning one-time customers into repeat guests.
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2026 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers
Welcome to the 2026 edition of the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers. Each year, this report serves as a pulse check for the industry, celebrating the brands and leaders who aren’t just keeping pace with the market—they are redefining it.
