Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit
Slim Chickens, Blaze Pizza among CEOs keynoting RFIS 2022
January 21, 2022 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com
The word "chaotic" may sum up the past year for the restaurant industry, but the most successful leaders have leaned into the chaos, creating a path forward. And four of them will share those experiences during the closing keynote at the annual Restaurant Franchising and Innovation Summit, March 30-April 1 in Nashville.
The session, moderated by Bogdan Constantin, CEO of Voxie, features:
- Nick Vojnovic | President & Majority Partner | Little Greek.
- Tom Gordon | CEO | Slim Chickens.
- Mandy Shaw | CEO | Blaze Pizza.
- Rob McColgan | Co-Founder & CEO | Modern Restaurant Concepts.
Each will talk about they've conquered the challenges they've faced over the past couple of years as well as what it takes to succeed in franchising.
The Summit, which brings together 350 executives in the restaurant franchising industry, will also feature an opening keynote address from CEOs Carl Howard and Andy Widerhorn, who made headlines when their companies — Fazoli's and FAT Brands — merged. FAT Brands acquired the 220-unit fast casual Italian brand for $130 million.
The men will reveal the strategy behind that deal and discuss how they are managing some of the most pressing issues facing restaurant leaders, including labor shortages, increasing food costs and supply chain issues.
Other speakers include c-level executives from:
- Chick-Fil-A.
- Noodles & Co.
- Chipotle.
- Little Caesars.
- Qdoba.
- PF Chang's.
- Dickey's
- Denny's.
- CKE Restaurants.
- Panera Bread.
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
- Luna Grill.
- A&W Restaurants.
- Bonchon.
- FOCUS Brands.
- Big Chicken.
- Dickey's Barbecue Pit.
- Shipley Do-Nuts.
- Another Broken Egg Cafe.
Register here for the Summit.
About Cherryh Cansler
