The Simmer

<p>Hostie, an AI-powered “restaurant concierge” headquartered in the Bay Area, just announced $12 million in Series A funding. Randall Hom is Hostie’s co-founder and CEO. He’s also a San Francisco restaurateur who knows...

Hostie, an AI-powered “restaurant concierge” headquartered in the Bay Area, just announced $12 million in Series A funding. Randall Hom is Hostie’s co-founder and CEO. He’s also a San Francisco restaurateur who knows...

In this special episode, Kristen and Brandon discuss two major developments in the reinvigorated reservations wars: American Express moves to acquire European booking platform TheFork for $700 million and DoorDash-owned...

<p>In this special episode, Kristen and Brandon discuss two major developments in the reinvigorated reservations wars: American Express moves to acquire European booking platform TheFork for $700 million and...

<p>Kristen and Brandon have shaken out the cobwebs and are back with a new episode of The Simmer featuring friend-of-the-pod, Joshua Sharkey, founder and CEO of Meez, a culinary operating system and recipe management...

<p>A Simmer first! This LIVE edition was recorded on April 10 at the Boston University Hospitality Leadership Summit. We’re joined by Judy Thelen, co-founder and CEO of white-hot social restaurant list-keeping and...

<p>We love repeat guests on The Simmer! In his return to the podcast, Olo founder and CEO Noah Glass explains the next phase of his company’s evolution: the Olo Network. In this episode, we talk about Olo’s move from...

<p>Former Jose Andres Group CEO Sam Bakhshandehpour recently joined Bilt, a $10 billion loyalty platform that rewards people for paying their rent and mortgage on Bilt cards, helping to fuel the so-called “points...

<p>Ben Leventhal’s impact on the restaurant business can not be overstated. The serial founder successfully launched (and exited) restaurant editorial network Eater and reservations service Resy. Now he’s back with...

<p>Big reservations news from American Express this week: this summer, restaurants on Tock will transition to Resy, marking the end of the Tock brand. On the first Simmer episode with a second-time guest, Pablo Rivero...

<p>It’s been a minute (actually, years) since ghost kitchens and virtual brands dominated conversations about restaurant delivery. While those businesses have largely fallen out of view (with a few notable exceptions)...

<p>In this special edition of The Simmer, Kristen and Brandon talk through that viral Reddit delivery post (and its aftermath), look back on what they got wrong (and right!) about 2025, and offer a few thoughts on the...

<p>It’s a good time to be a chicken chain. New concepts are taking off and legacy brands, like the 50-year-old El Pollo Loco, are poised for serious growth. The fire-grilled chicken brand, currently open in eight...

<p>It’s been almost a decade since Avi Goren launched Marqii to help restaurants get found on the internet. That challenge remains, but search and discovery methods and technology have changed… a lot. In this episode...

<p>Longtime restaurant exec and OpenTable advisory board member Chris DeSaye knows the bookings business as well as anyone and has a clear view of what comes next. In this episode, we talk DoorDash, artificial...