Running multi-unit concepts like Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy means managing complex back-of-house operations at a massive scale. For Todd Roach, Vice President of Restaurant Systems at Brinker International, modernizing restaurant technology comes down to a simple, operator-first philosophy: technology should make an employee's day easier, not harder.
Todd shared how Brinker puts this philosophy into action during Crunchtime’s Innovation Forum on the future of the connected kitchen at FS/TEC 2026.
When evaluating new restaurant tech or feature rollouts, IT and operations teams often get caught up in technical feature lists. However, Todd emphasizes that the practical impact on kitchen staff is what truly dictates success. Todd explained, “At Brinker, friction removal is the big driver. Whenever we look at an upgrade, feature rollout, enhancement, or new technology, the initial view is: How is this going to impact the operator on a day-to-day basis? It's not necessarily how the technology is going to perform. Really, it's about: Does this improve the operator's life? Does this make the guest visit that much better?” Focusing on the employee experience drives better long-term adoption across every location.
That operator-first lens becomes critical when disjointed systems add unnecessary steps to a shift. When back-of-house tools fail to communicate seamlessly with one another on the line where teams spend their shifts, crew members are left navigating fragmented processes across multiple systems. Todd described the downstream consequences, noting, “When you have disjointed, disparate systems, they create a lot of friction. That results in labor being pulled in different directions, and you could be slowing down ticket times and creating a negative guest experience.”
Rather than forcing team members to search across multiple tools during a rush, connected systems can bring relevant operational answers straight into the daily routine. As Todd put it, “We need solutions that keep operators from having to dig through 13 different portals or flip through a red book to figure things out day to day. The more connected these systems are, the easier it is to get that information without having to search for it.”
Connecting back-of-house tech also changes how restaurant managers utilize operational metrics. Instead of waiting for static end-of-day reports after an opportunity to intervene has already passed, real-time visibility on the KDS gives leaders a chance to resolve issues live.
Todd sees live metrics as a practical coaching tool, pointing out, “Real-time metrics give operators visibility into where the bottleneck is, whether it's a person, a station, or something out of their control, so they can use that information to coach team members and improve the business.”
As multi-unit brands continue to expand their technology stacks, long-term success requires vendors to move beyond product silos and support connected ecosystems. Todd believes that true partnership is essential for long-term growth. He explained, “Vendors that want to be successful and grow are going to have to learn to work not only with their customers, but also with other products, and be more extensible. The more intimate a vendor gets with a customer, being truly a partner and not just a service provider, that's what's going to make them successful.”
By prioritizing operator ease and connected back-of-house technology, restaurant brands like Brinker International are empowering their teams to eliminate operational friction and deliver outstanding guest experiences. When systems work seamlessly together, operators spend less time navigating software and more time driving quality and efficiency.
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