Rethinking the Restaurant Tech Stack

What’s Inside This Episode?

00:00 – Live from the National Restaurant Show
Carl visits Chicago and joins Rich Faltot at Point B’s new Restaurant Technology Innovation Center.

“We're stood in a room with 70 screens — and not one is for show.”

01:00 – Why restaurant tech stacks are broken
Legacy systems, data silos, fragmented integrations, and the cost of doing nothing.

• POS replacements are “open heart surgery” for restaurants
• Transformation takes 18–36 months on average
• Success requires aligned leadership and future-facing thinking

“The best stack isn’t best-in-class. It’s best for you.”

06:00 – Customer obsession: the north star for tech decisions
Rich outlines how leading brands maintain focus—on the guest experience, not shiny tools.

• The best operators spend time in-store, watching, listening, learning
• Every tool must make things easier for the team and better for the customer

“If the tech’s not helping your guest, it’s not helping your business.”

13:00 – Point B’s ‘Digital Safari’ and art-of-the-possible workshops

• Real-world immersion through drive-thru, kiosk, and delivery UX testing
• Cross-industry inspiration (NASCAR, Disney) drives better solutions

“We get rid of mental boundaries so they can dream—just scary enough.”

20:00 – Inside the tech center
Carl takes a walking tour of the new Tech Center, featuring:

• Multiple full-stack POS environments: Toast, PAR, Qu, Aloha and more
• Integrated back-of-house systems: Restaurant365, SynergySuite, Decision Logic
• Training and deployment environments built for test, learn, and change management

“We're not here to sell tech. We're here to help restaurants get it right.”