Meredith Sandland and Carl Orsbourn are the authors of the Amazon #1 Best-selling book, Delivering The Digital Restaurant. Meredith brings experience with top companies such as Bain & Company, Yum! Brands, and Kitchen United. Carl has previously worked as the Head of Retail at bp, VP of Operations at Kitchen United, and Managing Director at People’s California. We are excited to share their insights!

Here’s one of our highlights from this episode and Carl’s and Meredith’s answers to some of our questions:

Featured Takeaway: The Consumer Has Changed

Meredith: “For me, it all starts with the consumer. The consumer has changed. And I hear so many restaurants say things like, ‘Oh, if VC’s would just stop investing in our industry, then everything could go back to normal. Or once the pandemic is over, everything will go back to normal.’ This is normal.”

Carl: “We wanted to make sure that the book was helping restaurants understand that this digital disruption wasn’t happening to them by the technology companies. It’s the consumer that’s forcing this changes. The societal trends are forcing this change… So okay. Let’s get on board. Let’s understand how we can win in this space.”

What’s the most important aspect of the guest experience nowadays? (21:47)

Carl: “You’ve got to really remember, quality is still really critical. The industry has a really important role to think about how to make the off premise experience even more effective than it is today.”

What’s something successful you’ve seen restaurants try lately? (21:47)

Meredith: “So I am really into the idea of unboxing in restaurants… Where restaurants really understand that if someone’s not coming into their four walls space, they need to convey the brand at the consumers home. And the best way to do that is through packaging. And it’s really a fine art right because you don’t want to just willy-nilly slap the brand everywhere and have everything look kind of overproduced.”

Who is someone in the industry that deserves an Ovation? (23:46)

Carl: Shawn Walchef of Cali BBQ. “Shawn is both a restaurant owner operator and someone that is doing some amazing things in a digital interface. And I just love the way in which he’s helping restaurants get it. He clearly gets it. But he’s he’s walking the talk.”

Meredith: Jen Parker. “The reason I love her is because she talks a lot about using the platforms of third party platforms to your advantage as a restaurant.”