UCLA EXTENSION RESTAURANT INDUSTRY CONFERENCE

13th Annual
UCLA EXTENSION RESTAURANT
INDUSTRY CONFERENCE
Thursday, March 26, 2009
7am-7pm
Sheraton Gateway Hotel, LAX
6101 West Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, California
1
Conference Program
7:15-8:15am
9:35-10:20am
Registration and Continental
Breakfast
When Will It Turn? An Inside
Look at the Management
Techniques Restaurant
Operators Are Utilizing to
Survive and Prosper
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer
8:30-8:45am
Welcome and Program
Overview
Location: Grand Ballroom
Madge A. Claybion, Program Director,
Department of Business, Management,
and Legal Programs, UCLA Extension
Anna M. Graves, Esq., Partner,
Corporate and Securities Practice,
and Co-Leader, Restaurant, Food,
and Beverage Industry Group, Pillsbury
Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
8:45-9:30am
Kevin Wants You to Know
Location: Grand Ballroom
Location: Grand Ballroom
2008 was a year that most restaurant
owners and executives would rather forget.
Surging commodity costs, plunging consumer spending, and a financial crisis all
combined to finish off the year on a serious downturn. But hope springs eternal in
the economy and in the restaurant business. Led by a Wall Street analyst and
publisher, this panel discusses the financial impact of the recession and aims to
provide solutions on how to not only survive but also prosper. The panel members
bring a unique perspective on how they
have been able to affect change in their
respective organizations. They address
issues that have negatively impacted restaurant performance over the past year
and provide guidance on what it will take
for restaurants to get back on track and
begin growing again.
Moderator:
John M. Hamburger, Founder and
President, Franchise Times Corp.
Kevin Lyman, President, 4Fini, Inc. (Vans
Warped Tour, Rockstar Taste of Chaos
Tour, Rockstar Mayhem Festival)
In response to the current economic
condition, businesses are being forced to
develop alternative strategies in their
marketing efforts. Over the past 14 years,
the Vans Warped Tour has been an
extremely successful model of the fusion
between conventional sponsors, social
media channels, and a music tour. Although
niche marketing during a recession is one
way to encourage business growth, another
way is to diversify using your successful
business model to appeal to a broader
demographic.
Panelists:
Sue Collyns, Chief Operating Officer
and Chief Financial Officer, California
Pizza Kitchen
Jerry Deitchle, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, BJ’s Restaurants, Inc.
Colin Guheen, CFA, Vice President,
Consumer Equity Research, Cowen and
Company, LLC
Kogi BBQ-to-Go. Photo by Eric Shin.
10:30-11am
Networking Break
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer
11am-12pm
Concurrent Sessions
Session I
Location: Grand Ballroom
Building on Shifting Sands:
Strategies for Navigating a
Turbulent Real Estate Market
The pressure to grow, particularly when a
company is public or is controlled by outside financial interests, is enormous. But
when times get tough and outside forces,
such as the sub prime crisis, foreclosures,
and layoffs, impose on your business, what
do you do? What once looked like an ideal
location can quickly turn into a disaster.
It’s like building on shifting sands! Our
panel provides insight on how to survive,
how to meet growth targets, and how to
prevent future site selection debacles.
Moderator:
Thomas P. Mullaney, Partner, Huntley,
Mullaney, Spargo & Sullivan, LLC
Panelists:
Kim Ellis, Executive Vice President,
Restaurant Development, Panda
Restaurant Group, Inc.
Bill McClave, Managing Partner,
Birchwood Resultants, LLC
Timothy D. McMahon, SCLS, Senior
Vice President, Retail Services Group,
CB Richard Ellis
2
12-1:30pm
2-2:45pm
Luncheon Program
Why We Eat: Understanding
the Variability in Your Concept
Location: Grand Ballroom
Location: Grand Ballroom
12:45-1:30pm
Photo of Palate Food + Wine; courtesy of Palate.
Session II
Location: Gateway Room
Think Different: Exploring New
Ways to Recruit and Retain
Today’s Workforce
Tough economic times and increased
competition, complicated by managing
mixed generations, language barriers, and
rapidly shifting psychographics, present
restaurant operators with their toughest
battle ever in the struggle to balance people and profits. As executives and analysts
alike examine the ability of companies to
grow and prosper, they increasingly seek
to identify the solutions underlying a
company’s ability to succeed. This lively
session highlights the best people practices of top Los Angeles operators and
includes national research to highlight the
best practices that have emerged and
resulted in improved performance.
Moderators:
Brad Metzger, President, Brad Metzger
Restaurant Solutions
Teresa Siriani, Industry People Expert;
former president, People Report
Luncheon Speaker
Anthony Bourdain, Chef, Author,
and Host of The Travel Channel’s
No Reservations
No Certainties!
Anthony Bourdain challenges you to
question the conventional industry thinking, look beyond universal principles (best
practices) and market research, check out
what’s going on all around, and understand there’s a lot more to dining than
just satisfying hunger.
“I am not interested in any place for reasons just culinary. To me, a perfect meal
rarely exists in a vacuum. What goes on
around it? Where it comes from? Who’s
cooking? What music is playing? What
does it smell like in the room? Those are
all components of the experience to me.”
Anthony Bourdain
(Excerpt from the Japan episode of
No Reservations.)
While more eclectic cuisine has fueled
over a decade and a half of growth in the
restaurant industry, some are beginning to
recognize the limited growth opportunity
of strictly food-focused strategies. Just as
Americans were introduced to new cultures through their food, there is now an
openness and opportunity to introduce
new ways of eating from these various
cultures. This forum provides a rare opportunity to learn more about the ways and
reasons people eat from those exploring
this new frontier, both on the restaurant
side as well as those who write about it.
Moderator:
C. Scott Hindell, Principal, Hindell
Consulting
Panelists:
Octavio Becerra, Chef and Principal,
Palate Food + Wine
Roy Choi, Executive Chef/Co-Founder,
Kogi BBQ-to-Go
Jonathan Gold, Food Critic, LA Weekly
and Gourmet
Paul Hibler, Chef and Co-Founder,
Pitfire Pizza Company
1:30-2pm
2:45-3pm
Book Signing and
Networking Break
Networking Break
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer
Panelists:
Madeline Alfano, Owner and Chief
Executive Officer, Maria’s Italian Kitchen
Amanda Hite, Chief Executive Officer
and Founder, Talent Revolution, Inc.
Mary Sue Milliken, Chef and Co-Owner,
Border Grill
Bill Story, Vice President, Training and
Development, Claim Jumper Restaurants
3
Conference Program
3-4pm
Concurrent Sessions
Session III
Location: Grand Ballroom
The New Horizon: A Look at
the Industry Leaders Changing
the Paradigm for Restaurants
through Innovative Food,
Exciting Customer Experience,
and Social Responsibility
Representing some of the most innovative
restaurant concepts in the U.S., panelists
in this session discuss their unique leadership approaches to business, embodied in
menu offering, customer experience,
employee relations, company culture, and
a broader social mission.
Moderator:
Aaron Noveshen, Founder,
The Culinary Edge
Panelists:
Michael Ainslie, Head Development
Chef, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood
Market™
Martin Jeffrey (Jeff) King, Chairman
of the Board and Co-Founder, King’s
Seafood Company (KSC)
Amy Klein, Executive Chef,
Revolution Foods, Inc.
Robert L. Spivak, Co-Founder and
Director, Grill Concepts, Inc.
Session IV
Location: Gateway Room
Using Social Media as a
Strategic Marketing Tool to
Build Customer Loyalty and
a Sense of Community
Today’s business environment is more
dynamic than ever. One critical element of
this evolution is the growing expectation
consumers have regarding their ability to
express comments and create impressions
about the restaurants where they spend
their disposable income. A growing number of consumers are demanding and creating two-way communication, even if the
other end of the discussion isn’t the restaurant itself. Enter the era of social media.
Join industry experts and restaurant operators as they discuss critical “need-toknow” aspects surrounding this emerging
trend. This session provides attendees
with specific insights necessary to make
this tool a strategic part of an overall marketing arsenal.
Moderator:
Kevin W. Higar, Senior Manager,
Technomic, Inc.
Panelists:
Linda Duke, Chief Executive Officer,
Duke Marketing, LLC
4-4:15pm
Networking Break
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer
4:15-5:30pm
Presentation of the 2009
Innovation Award
Location: Grand Ballroom
Presented to:
Hillstone Restaurant Group
Houston’s, Gulfstream, Bandera,
Rutherford Grill, Palm Beach Grill, Cherry
Creek Grill, Los Altos Grill, Woodmont
Grill, R+D, Hillstone Manhattan
Accepting the award on behalf of Hillstone
Restaurant Group:
Robert Wilkinson, Vice President of
Operations
Presenter Tom Davin, Chief Executive
Officer of Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.
and recipient of the 2008 Innovation
Award engages this year’s awardees in an
informal conversation that emphasizes the
unique leadership and culture that has led
to the group’s successes.
5:30-7pm
Trey Hall, Chief Causal Marketing Officer,
Consumer Capital Partners, LLC
Closing Reception
Randy Lopez, Partner and Chief
Marketing Officer, G&M Plumbing
Sponsored by Young’s Market Company
Larry Rusinko, Senior Vice President,
Marketing and Product Development,
Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer
This year’s wine-tasting reception features
more than 60 premium wines from eight
suppliers.
Kogi BBQ-to-Go
No need to Twitter to find it—the Korean taco
truck makes a special appearance for conference attendees at the end of the program!
Note: Program and presenters are subject to change
without notice.
Photo courtesy of Hillstone Restaurant Group.
4
Conference Speakers and Panelists
Michael Ainslie,
Head Development
Chef, Fresh & Easy
Neighborhood
Market™. Before arriving at Fresh & Easy,
Mr. Ainslie served as
culinary director and
project manager for
The Culinary Edge, a
leading restaurant-industry consulting firm,
where he developed and launched new
menu concepts for companies such as
Panda Restaurant Group, El Pollo Loco,
Cracker Barrel, and Lawry’s Restaurants. His
work at The Culinary Edge not only involved
the creation of recipes, but also restaurant
concept development, design of commercial
kitchens, and training of staff. At Fresh &
Easy, Mr. Ainslie continues to refine his personal culinary style, drawing out an elegant
simplicity from wholesome ingredients.
Madelyn Alfano,
Owner and Chief
Executive Officer,
Maria’s Italian Kitchen.
Ms. Alfano opened the
first Maria’s Italian
Kitchen in 1985. Now
with more than 400
employees, it is
among the leading
privately owned restaurant chains in the
state. She serves as a board member of the
Statewide California Restaurant Association
and its L.A. Chapter, the L.A. Board of the
National Association of Women Business
Owners (NAWBO), and is a member of
Young Presidents’ Organization. Ms. Alfano
has been on the list of Top 50 Women
Business Owners in Los Angeles for the
past eight years and was chosen as one of
the Top 25 Enterprising Women in Los
Angeles. In 2007, the Los Angeles Business
Journal named her Business Owner/CEO of
the Year at its annual Women Making a
Difference Event.
Octavio Becerra,
Chef and
Entrepreneur, Palate
Food + Wine. Mr.
Becerra had been
involved in the creation of Tortilla Jo’s,
The Patina Group’s
first foray into Mexican
cuisine, and was a key
player in opening the company’s four locations in the Downtown Disney® District at the
Disneyland Resort. Nominated twice as The
James Beard Foundation’s “Rising Star Chef
of The Year,” Mr. Becerra has been featured
in Bon Appetit magazine, and named as one
of the nation’s “50 New Taste Makers” by
Nation’s Restaurant News.
Anthony Bourdain,
chef; author; and host
of the popular travel
and food series,
Anthony Bourdain:
No Reservations,
currently in its fifth
season on The Travel
Channel. A graduate
of the Culinary
Institute of America, Mr. Bourdain is also the
executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, and
previously ran the kitchens of New York
City’s Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue, and
Sullivan’s. He is the author of Kitchen
Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary
Underbelly and A Cook’s Tour, among
others; in 2004 he published Les Halles
Cookbook, a guide to the strategies and
techniques of classic bistro cooking. Mr.
Bourdain’s work has appeared in The New
York Times, The Times of London, Gourmet,
Black Book, and The Independent; and he is a
contributing authority for Food Arts magazine.
Roy Choi,
Executive Chef, and
Co-Founder, Kogi
BBQ-to-Go. Although
Mark Manguera may
have envisioned the
idea of Kogi BBQ, it’s
Roy Choi’s creativity
and culinary talent that
makes their food so
special. Top of his class at the Culinary
Institute of America, Mr. Choi started out
cooking at Le Bernardin in New York and was
the only American to ever work in Iron Chef
Michiba’s kitchen. Of his most recent endeavors, he has worked as the chef de cuisine at
the Beverly Hilton, executive chef at Trader
Vic’s, and opened Rock Sugar Pan Asian
Kitchen in Century City. As they like to say at
Kogi, “Roy’s got flavor in his fingertips!”
Sue Collyns, Chief
Operating Officer
and Chief Financial
Officer, California
Pizza Kitchen. Ms.
Collyns joined CPK in
2001 and has over 23
years in-depth experience leading businesses in both the
United States and Australia from start-up to
mature phases of their business lifecycle.
Her areas of expertise include all aspects of
strategic and financial planning, operations,
accounting, audit and Sarbanes Oxley, tax,
treasury, bank syndication, investor relations,
and corporate governance. Prior to joining
CPK, Ms. Collyns worked for Sony/BMG,
Lion Nathan/Pepsi, GlaxoSmithkline, and
PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Tom Davin, Chief
Executive Officer,
Panda Restaurant
Group, Inc., the leading Asian restaurant
chain in the United
States. Prior to joining
Panda, Mr. Davin was
the operating partner
with Brentwood
Associates, as well as a senior executive
with PepsiCo, Inc. and Taco Bell
Corporation. He was the recipient of the
UCLA Extension Restaurant Industry
Conference Innovation Award in 2008.
Jerry Deitchle,
Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, BJ’s
Restaurants, Inc., a
publicly held operator
of 82 casual dining
restaurants in 13
states with annual
sales of $374.1 million
for 2008. Prior to joining BJ’s in 2004, Mr. Deitchle served in
executive and financial management positions with other national restaurant concepts,
including nine years with The Cheesecake
Factory and 11 years with Long John Silver’s.
His first foodservice position was a part-time
cook at a local grill and bar in his hometown
of San Antonio, Texas, in 1967.
Linda Duke, Chief
Executive Officer,
Duke Marketing, LLC.
Ms. Duke founded
Duke Marketing in
1987, specializing in
marketing for multilocation and franchise
organizations. She has
consulted with the top
restaurant brands in the United States and is
a nationally recognized speaker, educator,
and a published author. She also is a member of the board of directors of the California
Restaurant Association’s Educational
Foundation and the Fast Casual Restaurant
Executive Alliance, as well as an adjunct
professor at Golden Gate University in San
Francisco, where she has taught advertising
strategy to the MBA students.
5
Conference Speakers and Panelists
Kim Ellis, Executive
Vice President,
Restaurant
Development, Panda
Restaurant Group,
Inc. Ms. Ellis joined
PRG in 2006, where
she currently heads
the restaurant development department.
She leads the company’s growth and expansion endeavors, and oversees real estate,
architecture and engineering, construction,
asset management, energy management,
GIS, and the facilities group. One of her
long-term goals is to help PRG grow to
10,000 restaurants. Prior to this, Ms. Ellis
spent 10 years with Blockbuster Inc., where
she created the process for the annual
review of the company’s entire 4,300-plus
store portfolio and approved nearly 300
store openings, closings, relocations, and
remodels annually.
Jonathan Gold is the LA Weekly’s restaurant critic and the author of Counter
Intelligence: Where to Eat in the Real Los
Angeles. He has been restaurant critic for
California magazine, the Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles magazine, and Gourmet, where
he was the first food writer ever to be a finalist
for the National Magazine Award in criticism.
He has won James Beard Awards for both
magazine and newspaper restaurant reviews.
Mr. Gold also wrote frequently about music
and popular culture for Spin, Rolling Stone,
Details, and Vanity Fair, and contributes to the
radio shows Good Food and This American
Life. He was awarded the 2007 Pulitzer Prize
for Distinguished Criticism, the first restaurant
critic to be so honored.
Colin Guheen, CFA,
Vice President,
Consumer Equity
Research, Cowen and
Company, LLC. Mr.
Guheen is a research
analyst covering the
restaurant and food
industries. Prior to
joining Cowen, he
worked at MFS Investment Management. Mr.
Guheen received a BA in international political economy from the University of Puget
Sound and is a CFA charterholder.
Trey Hall, Chief Causal Marketing Officer,
Consumer Capital Partners LLC
6
John M. Hamburger,
Founder and
President, Franchise
Times Corp., a
national publisher of
business trade journals in franchising and
finance, including
Franchise Times
Magazine, a national
franchise industry trade journal; Restaurant
Finance Monitor, a monthly financial newsletter which covers the capital markets in the
restaurant industry; and Foodservice News,
a monthly newspaper for independent foodservice and restaurant operators in the
Upper Midwest. Mr. Hamburger also produces a number of industry executive conferences, including The Restaurant Finance &
Development Conference and the Franchise
Finance & Development Conference.
Paul Hibler, Chef
and Co-Founder,
Pitfire Pizza Company.
Mr. Hibler grew up in
the restaurant business, cooking in his
family’s northern
California eatery, The
Hatch Cover, when he
was 13. A football
scholarship helped him into the business
program at Stanford University, where he
played under the legendary coach Bill
Walsh. Somehow he managed to maintain
his love affair with food and hospitality. Mr.
Hibler’s education in the culinary world
comes mostly from the school of “burns,
cuts, and bruises.” In addition to co-founding
Pitfire Pizza, he is the president and founder
of DeLuxe Motion Picture Catering.
Kevin W. Higar,
Senior Manager,
Technomic, Inc. Since
joining Technomic in
2006, Mr. Higar has
worked with numerous
foodservice operators,
suppliers, and other
Top 500 companies.
He has provided
insight and consulting expertise in strategic
analysis, marketing, customer service, culinary trends, and brand positioning. Prior to
Technomic, Mr. Higar spent almost 13 years
with Brinker International, most recently as
the organization’s corporate external strategist. He is a frequent speaker at industry
events such as The Flavor Event, COEX,
Prepared Foods Conference, NASDAQ
Food and Restaurant Industry Forum,
Concepts of Tomorrow Conference, Food
Management IDEAS Conference, and the
Convenience Retailing Conference.
C. Scott Hindell,
Principal, Hindell
Consulting. Mr.
Hindell’s background
includes over 20 years
of experience in teaching and training. In
addition to his responsibilities at Hindell
Consulting, he teaches
at UCLA Extension and Los Angeles
Community College, primarily in the areas of
business and management. He previously
spent 17 years in investment management. Mr.
Hindell has worked regularly with restaurants
and industry professionals as a consultant.
Amanda Hite, Chief
Executive Officer and
Founder, Talent
Revolution Inc., Ms.
Hite is a change agent
who’s bringing “sexy”
back to corporate
thinking and people
performance. An Army
kid who lived in 32
homes by the age of 18, she earned her master’s in Street Smart Psychology. Before age
19, Ms. Hite was running a retail establishment and became general manager of her first
restaurant. After bringing her energy and leadership to various restaurant concepts, she
quickly worked her way to become director of
training and development for Thomas & King,
the nation’s eighth largest restaurant franchisee. She soon found herself featured in industry publications and on the cover of Nation’s
Restaurant News, receiving numerous
requests to speak, and being a featured blogger on FohBoh, the restaurant industry’s
number one social networking website.
Martin Jeffrey
(Jeff) King, Chairman
of the Board and
Co-Founder, King’s
Seafood Company
(KSC). For more than
50 years, Mr. King has
dedicated his career
to the promotion of
guest-first hospitality
and operational excellence in the restaurant
industry. He currently oversees the long-term
financial planning, sales, investor relations,
and property management of six concepts
and 17 restaurants. Combined, King’s
Seafood Company attracts more than three
million guests each year. Mr. King also
shares his expertise with other major
restaurant brands. Jeff King Consulting, Inc.
specializes in all aspects of restaurant hospitality, from grand openings to operations.
Amy Klein, Executive
Chef, Revolution
Foods, Inc. Ms. Klein
served as the director
of operations for
Teach for America
before launching her
career in the culinary
arts when she studied
under Chef Heidi
Krahling at Insalatas Restaurant in San
Anselmo, California. She successfully ran her
own catering business and taught cooking
classes at Sur La Table in San Francisco and
at Kitchen on Fire in Berkeley. For five years,
she served as a lead chef for Parties That
Cook, a culinary entertainment company. Ms.
Klein is an active member in the Slow Food
community, which promotes “Good, Clean,
and Fair” food.
Randy Lopez,
Partner and Chief
Marketing Officer,
G&M Plumbing, a fullservice agency based
in Manhattan Beach,
California. With a client list including HBO,
Red Robin, Comcast,
THQ, D2C Games,
Del Taco, and Fishbowl Marketing, G&M
develops strategic marketing support and
programs for the restaurant industry.
Recently, their successful campaign for Red
Robin garnered both the Eat & Eat award for
best campaign as well as receiving the highest brand recall from Nielsen IAG. Known as
a creative thinker and brand visionary, Mr.
Lopez has previously held vice president of
marketing roles at Del Taco, Buca di Beppo,
and Ruby’s Diner, and executive marketing
positions at Arnold Palmer Golf Management
and T.G.I. Friday’s.
Kevin Lyman,
President, 4Fini, Inc.
(Vans Warped Tour,
Rockstar Taste of
Chaos Tour, Rockstar
Mayhem Festival). Mr.
Lyman is best known
as the producer and
creator of the hugely
successful Vans
Warped Tour, the longest running traveling
music and extreme sports festival in the world
today. Now entering its 15th year, the tour
reaches more than 600,000 kids each summer and has pioneered the successful
integration of corporate sponsors with the
extreme lifestyle, creating a blueprint for
sponsorship integration widely duplicated in
the marketplace today. Mr. Lyman also takes
advantage of his position to implement a
variety of philanthropic and eco initiatives, as
well as encouraging activism in the kids that
attend his shows.
Bill McClave, Managing Partner, Birchwood
Resultants, LLC.
Timothy D. McMahon,
SCLS, Senior Vice
President, Retail
Services Group, CB
Richard Ellis. Mr.
McMahon is a 29-year
veteran of the retail
real estate industry in
Southern California,
having been responsible for the sale and leasing of over 15-million square feet of retail properties. He has
been involved in all aspects of retail real
estate, including development, leasing, tenant representation, and investment sale. Mr.
McMahon is an active member of the
International Council of Shopping Centers,
previously serving as a member of the
Southern California Program Committee.
Brad Metzger,
President, Brad
Metzger Restaurant
Solutions. Since Mr.
Metzger was 16 years
old, many culinary,
operational, and management position at
Southern California’s
finest restaurants,
including Spago, The Grill on the Alley,
Ruth’s Chris, Grace, Vincenti, and Chaya,
have paved the way for his founding of Brad
Metzger Restaurant Solutions Hospitality
Recruitment and Placement in 2003. BMRS
represents many of the most successful restaurants and hotels in Southern California,
and key placements have included Food and
Wine Magazine Best New Chefs and
Michelin Star winners.
Mary Sue Milliken,
Chef, restaurateur,
cookbook author, and
radio and TV personality. Ms. Milliken
made her mark in the
culinary world by taking home cooking
from all over the world
and giving it an
upscale twist. She and business partner
Susan Feniger are hands-on owner-operators
of the popular, critically acclaimed Border
Grill restaurants in Santa Monica and Las
Vegas, serving upscale, modern Mexican
food in a hip, urban cantina. The pair also
own Ciudad in downtown Los Angeles, featuring the bold, seductive flavors of the Latin
world. They have authored five cookbooks,
including Cooking with Too Hot Tamales,
Mesa Mexicana, and City Cuisine, and are
television veterans of 396 episodes of Too
Hot Tamales and Tamales World Tour on the
Food Network.
Thomas P. Mullaney,
Partner, Huntley,
Mullaney, Spargo &
Sullivan, LLC. Since
successfully completing his first company
turnaround in 1987,
Mr. Mullaney has
helped dozens of
companies identify
balance sheet solutions to cut costs and
improve profitability. He started his career
with positions at McKinsey & Company and
Procter & Gamble, then served as CEO of
Chartwell Holdings and Ivy Medical Group.
He brings a cross-functional perspective to
business restructuring, with particular
strengths in marketing, corporate strategy,
and financial analysis. His broad restructuring experience and his penetrating insights
make him a frequent commentator on the
economic challenges facing corporate
America today.
Aaron Noveshen,
Founder, The Culinary
Edge; and award-winning chef and authority
in food product development. After 10 years
of fine dining chef
duties at restaurants,
including L’Orangerie,
Alain Rondelli, and La
Scene, Mr. Noveshen co-founded World
Wrapps Restaurant Co., a Nation’s
Restaurant News Hot Concept Award winner.
His company, The Culinary Edge, provides
restaurants and foodservice manufacturers
with integrated culinary, creative, and operational solutions, and includes a who’s who of
the top companies in America.
Larry Rusinko,
Senior Vice President,
Marketing and Product
Development, Rubio’s
Fresh Mexican Grill.
For nearly 20 years,
Mr. Rusinko has been
catering to tastes that
consumers love and
figuring out ways to
market them. From fast food tacos to freshlybaked bread to premium ice cream to Rubio’s
Beach Mex fare, he has increased sales and
profitability across a diverse set of top restaurant brands with unique marketing strategies
and a passion for food. His current position
at Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill includes
responsibility for product development, brand
communication, and public relations, a role
he’s enjoyed since October 2005.
7
Conference Speakers and Panelists
Teresa Siriani,
Industry People
Expert; former president, People Report.
Bringing passion,
commitment, and many
years of operations
and experience to
every presentation, Ms.
Siriana is recognized
as one of the industry’s best human resource
and training executives. She spent the last
seven years as president of People Report,
and was instrumental in the design of their
industry-leading surveys as well as growing
the company to the size and level of influence
it has today. Her past leadership positions
include vice president of human resources for
Wolfgang Puck Food Company and positions
in operations, training and development, and
human resources for Peasant Restaurants
and Restaurants Unlimited.
Robert L. Spivak,
Co-Founder and
Director, Grill
Concepts, Inc. Mr.
Spivak is co-founder,
co-chairman, past
president, and chief
executive officer for
Grill Concepts, Inc., a
company that currently
operates 25 Daily Grill restaurants throughout the United States. A 40-year veteran of
the restaurant and food industry, he formed a
partnership in the early 1980s with Michael
Weinstock and Dick Shapiro to open the
highly successful Beverly Hills restaurant,
The Grill on the Alley, a traditional American
grill with the by-words, “Quality Without
Compromise.” The Grill was inducted into
the Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nation’s
Restaurant News in 1995.
Bill Story, Vice
President, Training
and Development,
Claim Jumper
Restaurants. Mr. Story
is responsible for
recruiting, hiring, training, staffing, and continued development of
entry- and mid-level
management. He began his career with
Claim Jumper in 1989 as a unit manager and
followed with roles as general and regional
manager. In 1997, Mr. Story was named the
director of training, marking the inception of
the company’s training and recruiting department. In 2004, he was named as Claim
Jumper’s first vice president of training and
development.
8
Innovation Awardee
Hillstone Restaurant Group encompasses a family of artfully
distinguished restaurants that serve authentic interpretations of
classic American food. Everything from dressings to desserts are
made from scratch with peak-of-freshness and locally-sourced
ingredients each morning. Signature, chef-selected dishes are
served by a gracious staff in a setting that perfectly blends
considered art and design with socially inviting hospitality. Formed
in 1976 with the first Houston’s in Tennessee, the collection of
restaurants has grown to include more than 45 locations
throughout the United States, including Houston’s, Bandera,
Gulfstream, R+D Kitchen, Rutherford Grill, and Palm Beach Grill,
among others. Founder George Biel still guides the privatelyowned Los Angeles-based company’s vision.
Photo of R+D Kitchen, Santa Monica; courtesy of Hillstone Restaurant Group.
Conference Sponsors
www.contessa.com
Since its founding in 1850, American
Express employees have demonstrated the
same core principles upheld by the company today: customer commitment, quality,
integrity, teamwork, and respect for people. American Express works hard to be
an important part of Cardmembers’ lives
and of the businesses that accept the
card. In fact, the first merchant to accept
the card in 1958 was a restaurant, and an
important relationship with this industry
has grown and deepened ever since.
Today, tens of millions of high-spending,
loyal Cardmembers are an important and
profitable part of the restaurant business.
Independent research shows that an average American Express Cardmember
spends 13% more per person, buys 23%
more high-margin beverages, and tips
50% more than restaurant customers
paying with other cards.
www.americanexpress.com
Contessa Premium Foods manufactures and
imports farm-raised shrimp from Thailand and
Vietnam under the Contessa label. Contessa
offers an impressive choice of shrimp sizes
and varieties: cooked or uncooked, peeled
and cleaned, tail-on or tail-off, each with no
fat or preservatives. Contessa also offers
“Just Harvested” farm-raised shrimp that is
quick-frozen immediately upon harvest using
their Ultra-Freeze process, ensuring the freshest flavor and texture. This product is available
in a variety of larger sizes in two product
forms: headless shell-on shell-cut and headon shell-on whole shrimp. All products are of
the highest quality available.
www.contessa.com
Cowen and Company is an investment
bank dedicated to providing superior
research, sales, trading, and investment
banking services to companies and institutional investors in key growth sectors of
the economy, primarily consumer, healthcare, technology, media, and telecommunications. The Consumer Investment
Banking Group has raised over $5 billion
in equity and debt capital since 2002, and
has advised on numerous high-profile strategic transactions. Within the restaurant
sector, the firm has participated in 12 of
the 16 most recent financings, and has
served as a lead manager for the Chipotle
IPO and follow-on offerings. Other restaurant clients include Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris
Steak House, McCormick & Schmick’s,
and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
www.cowen.com
The e*Restaurant solution from Altametrics
constitutes the industry’s only comprehensive
end-to-end enterprise solution, with modules
that include Back Office, Workforce
Management, Supply Chain & Demand
Planning, Customer Relationship
Management, Business Intelligence, and a
Free POS solution. Altametrics’ solution has
been deployed in over 14,000 of the world’s
leading tier-one and tier-two restaurants, with
the typical deployment producing an ROI of
between 650-1,000%. Examples include
such industry leaders as Wendy’s
International, Jamba Juice, Chipotle, California
Pizza Kitchen, Steak ‘n Shake, and BoddieNoell Enterprises. Be it a three-unit franchisee
or an 1,800-unit corporate account, users of
the e*Restaurant solution realize tremendous
ROI immediately. Whether the modules are
deployed individually or jointly, the Altametrics
solution delivers real-time current and forecasted information, unrivaled ease of use, and
unparalleled levels of return. Altametrics
makes it easy to survive and thrive!
The global Ernst & Young network has the
largest integrated real estate, hospitality, and
construction practice of any Big Four organization, with 5,000 professionals around the
world. We work hard to earn and maintain our
clients’ trust and confidence, and have implemented methodologies, quality control policies,
supporting tools and technology, and training
to provide quality services. Ernst & Young’s
hospitality practice services more restaurant
companies from the Nation’s Restaurant News
Top 100 Restaurant Companies list than any
other firm, including the largest restaurant
company in the world. We assist our restaurant clients in addressing the challenges that
confront them, including real estate issues,
operational hurdles, human resource constraints, and meeting financial objectives. Our
global network of professionals offers advice in
a variety of areas of interest to restaurants,
including energy, risk management, tax, transactions, and human capital. Our approach
combines entrepreneurial understanding and
working knowledge of restaurant issues with
broad restaurant experience, significant
resources, and a diverse network of clients
and contacts. Learn more about Ernst & Young
Real Estate by visiting our website.
www.ey.com/us/realestate
www.erestaurantservices.com
9
Conference Sponsors
Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) has been
bringing the world of foodservice closer
together since 1967. In addition to its position
as the leading publication covering the $550
billion American foodservice market, NRN is
also the only paid circulation newsweekly in
foodservice publishing. Readership extends to
nearly 400,000 business owners, executives,
franchisees, managers, chefs, suppliers, and
all allied professionals in fields such as
finance, real estate, design, and technology.
With 30 editors and seven news bureaus,
NRN covers all segments, reports on all the
breaking news and events, and focuses on
every issue of interest to operators and suppliers. It is also the industry’s leading online
source for news and insights, averaging over
700,000 page views per month as the only
industry site that offers daily breaking news
and off-the-wire feeds.
www.nrn.com
www.nrn.com
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has
more than 800 attorneys in 15 offices
located in global centers for capital markets,
finance, energy, and technology. Pillsbury
delivers practice strength in capital markets
and finance; tax; executive compensation
and benefits; real estate and public finance;
global sourcing; regulatory, litigation, and
intellectual property; and offers depth of
knowledge in core industry sectors, including the restaurant, food, beverage, and the
consumer and retail industries. Pillsbury
works with many different types of restaurant, food, and beverage clients, including a
wide range of national and regional restaurant chains, early-stage restaurant companies, wineries, distilleries, packaged food
companies, individual restaurateurs, and
franchisors. Pillsbury’s practice is organized
to offer its clients a maximum return on the
company’s collective knowledge about their
businesses, industries, and legal issues.
www.pillsburylaw.com
10
Technomic, Inc. is the most recognized and
experienced marketing research and management consulting firm serving the foodservice
industry. Founded in 1966, the company has
a broad and diverse base of domestic and
international clients, including major manufacturing, distribution, and supermarket companies, as well as chain restaurants and other
foodservice operators, and related trade
associations. Technomic helps clients capitalize on growth opportunities and meet market
challenges by providing perspectives and
intelligence on a broad scope of topics.
www.technomic.com
In 1988 a veteran group of manufacturing
experts, frustrated by the constraints of an
antiquated printing industry, set about to
develop a publishing solution that combined
advanced Just-In-Time, or JIT, manufacturing
concepts with emerging print-on-demand
technologies. The result was ViaTech
Publishing Solutions, the first worldwide
on-demand publishing network designed
from the ground up to address all publication costs, from ordering and development
through fulfillment and delivery. ViaTech can
help you create your own JIT publishing environment with a web-based communications
system that speeds production and streamlines the transaction process. We utilize the
latest computer and print technology to help
you electronically store content, manage the
ordering process, digitally print, package,
collate, and distribute your materials. The
cost savings are tremendous and our
customer service is even better!
www.viatechpub.com
Founded in 1888, Young’s Market Company
is one of the nation’s largest distributors of
fine wines and distilled spirits, serving
accounts in Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Alaska,
and Montana. Young’s Market Company
distributes wines by Kobrand, Trinchero,
Kenwood, Firestone, Delicato, and Hess,
and distilled products from Bacardi, BrownForman, Remy Cointreau, William Grant &
Sons, and Proximo, among others. The
company’s standard is providing excellent
customer service to suppliers and retail
customers, including national accounts,
restaurants, bars, nightclubs, hotels, grocery
stores, drug stores, and wine and liquor
shops. The Estates Group was started in
2000 with the initial concept of providing an
even finer level of service to 1,000 of Young
Market Company’s top accounts—a number
that has since grown to 4,500—by offering
salespeople who have a specialized knowledge and background in wine. The wineries
represented by The Estates Group tend to
be smaller in size and offer estate-grown fruit
from around the world. The personalized
service is generally enjoyed by savvy wine
programs and top Zagat accounts.
www.youngsmarket.com
Community Partners
www.restaurant-solutions.com
www.dinela.com
Conference Planning Committee
Conference Director
Madge A. Claybion,
Program Director,
Department of Business,
Management, and Legal
Programs, UCLA
Extension
Conference Chair
Anna M. Graves, Esq.,
Partner, Corporate and
Securities Practice, and
Co-Leader, Restaurant,
Food, and Beverage Industry
Group, Pillsbury Winthrop
Shaw Pittman LLP
Charles Aeh, Vice
President, Business
Development, Service
Management Group
(SMG)
Andrew Barish, Managing
Director, Cowen and
Company, LLC
David Goldstein, Vice
President and Chief
Operating Officer, Sharky’s
Woodfired Mexican Grill
Michael Gottlieb,
Americas Leader
Restaurant Practice, Ernst
& Young
C. Scott Hindell,
Principal, Hindell
Consulting
Octavio Becerra, Chef
and Entrepreneur, Palate
Food + Wine
Huntley Castner, Vice
President, Strategic
Planning and Initiatives,
Panda Restaurant Group,
Inc.
Jennifer Ferguson,
Business Development
Liaison, Service
Management Group
(SMG)
Joan Vieweger, Executive
Vice President,
PERSPECTIVES/The
Consulting Group, Inc.
Terri Henry, Vice
President of Marketing,
Grill Concepts, Inc.
Justine Hunter, Partner,
Ernst & Young LLP
Lynda Boyer, Vice
President, CB Richard Ellis
Teresa Siriani, Industry
People Expert; former
president, People Report
UCLA Extension
Department of Business,
Management, and Legal Programs
Heidi Townshend-Zellner
Director
Madge A. Claybion
Program Director
Van Anderson
Program Manager
Eddie Fisher
Program Representative
Lisa Jennings, West
Coast Bureau Chief,
Nation’s Restaurant News
Deborah Grantham
Administrative Assistant
Alexis Sexauer
Administrative Assistant
Leanne Lindsey, Vice
President, National
Accounts, Young’s Market
Company
Ronald N. Paul, President
and Co-Founder,
Technomic, Inc.
Zalina Walton
Program Representative
Nonie Watanabe
Marketing Coordinator
Videography by Guerillafilms
Jorge Devotto
Director
Steve Pettise, Managing
Principal, Golden Spike
Resources Group
11
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Community Partners
For full company descriptions of this year’s conference sponsors, see pages 9 and 10.
Not Printed at State Expense | 9732-09