Nation’s Restaurants News and Restaurant Hospitality expand Restaurants Rise community with new digital events in August

Following the success of its May debut, Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality are expanding Restaurants Rise, a digital community that helps the restaurant and foodservice communities reimagine their businesses in the wake of coronavirus, social justice movements and a changing world economy.

Restaurants Rise, which debuted as an on-demand resource and education center to provide foodservice leaders with the information, inspiration and solutions to help drive business during the unprecedented time of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, included a virtual event June 2-5, Restaurants Rise LIVE!, with 18 virtual sessions covering menu, marketing, leadership, operations and workforce strategies.

The Restaurants Rise community will once again come together virtually to learn, gain inspiration and connect with a six-day leadership and networking event Aug. 10-13 and Aug. 18-20. Keynotes include industry and consumer trends data from Datassential and Black Box Intelligence, a discussion of a restaurant’s role in diversity, inclusion and social justice, and a panel of powerhouse restaurant executives hosted by Alice Elliot of The Elliot Group.

Additional content sessions will focus on menu development in a new restaurant environment, the future of restaurant technology, virtual kitchens as a revenue-driving solution, committing to sustainability in a to-go world, how to make curbside appealing and building the new restaurant workforce.

Title sponsors for Restaurants Rise include Campbell’s Foodservice, GrubHub, Idaho Potato, ShiftPixy, Wisely and Impossible.

Restaurants Rise will also host a Summer Series of sessions to provide a continuous stream of thought leadership, strategies and connection. That series kicks off July 22 with “Innovative menu trends to meet new restaurant re-opening demands.” Hosted by menu expert Nancy Kruse and Nation’s Restaurant News Senior Editor Bret Thorn, hear what successful menu innovators are doing to meet the new needs of curbside and delivery, as well as in-dining social distancing requirements. This session also includes a bonus lightning keynote: Delivery & To-go Solutions hosted by Campbell’s Executive Chef Gerald Drummond.

Registration for this session is open. 

The Summer Series continues July 30 with “How to build a flexible workforce,” providing real-time solutions for building and maintaining an engaged workforce during this time of flux and new service models. And concludes Aug. 5 with a presentation by Google and NRN Senior Editor Nancy Luna on reaching and engaging your customers in an ever-changing environment. This session also includes a bonus lightning keynote: Why Rethinking Human Capital is Key to Navigating Delivery Amid COVID-19, presented by ShiftPixy.

“The unbelievable success of Restaurants Rise in May and June proves this is not just a community of nearly ten thousand strong united to share information, best practices and inspiration, but also is a movement set to rebuild the restaurant industry,” said Sarah Lockyer, group director & publisher, media & events at The Restaurant & Food Group at Informa Connect. “We're excited to partner again with great foodservice leaders across the entire food ecosystem to serve great content, connections and solutions when the industry needs it most.”

You can learn more about Restaurants Rise and the August leadership events at http://restaurantsrise.com.

“The debut event for Restaurants Rise was a smashing success. Clearly there is a hunger within the industry to connect and spend time together — even if remotely — during this very challenging year,” said Lisa Jennings, executive editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. “These digital events offer a surprisingly intimate setting for networking and community building, so we are looking forward to evolving this platform to bring the rich content from Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality to life.”