Insights from RLC 2025: Fueling Restaurant Growth Through Strategy and Tech

This year’s Restaurant Leadership Conference (RLC) brought together some of the most influential voices in the restaurant industry for a week of forward-thinking discussions, innovation sharing, and strategic planning. Held annually, RLC serves as a meeting ground for top executives, operators, and technology partners to explore how restaurants can thrive in a constantly evolving landscape. Crunchtime was proud to participate, hosting a powerful session that centered around the future of restaurant growth—and how technology, training, brand strategy, and franchisee partnerships all play a pivotal role.

Leading the Conversation on Growth

The session featured representatives from leading brands, including Fox Restaurant Concepts and Burger King, alongside Crunchtime leadership, in a collaborative discussion about what it truly takes to scale restaurant operations in today’s market. With 96% of operators planning to grow in the near future, it was exciting to hear from two brands at different stages with unique perspectives on what successful growth means for them in 2025. Topics ranged from expanding into new and existing markets to franchisee engagement to the technologies enabling consistent guest experiences.

A Key Theme: Training for Success

“Staffing and staff education are paramount to growth - we take that very seriously, so for our openings, we always have a tremendous presence from our other locations to help with that education process to make sure that we can deliver great hospitality right out of the gate for our guests.” - Lance Hoiby, Vice President of Information Technology, Fox Restaurant Concepts

This commitment to operational readiness is matched by a disciplined approach to consistency. Fox’s "normalization process" ensures that new restaurants quickly align with the performance of existing locations, both in terms of food costs and labor efficiency. Every decision, from staffing to supply chain, supports the goal of delivering hospitality excellence at scale and driving brand success.

Growth Isn’t Just About Size, It’s About Smart Strategy

While Fox Restaurant Concepts plans to open 100 new locations by the end of 2025, the focus is on strategic growth through key brands like Flower Child, Culinary Dropout, and The Henry. In contrast, Burger King is taking a quality-over-quantity approach.

As April Jianto, Director of Operations Standards, emphasized, “It’s not necessarily about growth in terms of quantity, but we’re really focusing on the quality, everything from the restaurant model image to digitizing inside the restaurants.”

That quality focus is deeply tied to the guest experience and franchisee success. Burger King relies on a large field team (over 100 strong) to stay connected with franchisees, hold regular feedback sessions, and ensure alignment on key initiatives. Transparency, communication, and prioritizing operational excellence are at the heart of their strategy.

As April put it, “Technology comes at a tangible cost to our franchisees, so when we look at what we want to implement from a national perspective, it is something that truly will have a great ROI or great benefit to our franchisees.”

Technology that Drives Business Value

Across the board, brands agreed: technology should never be adopted just for technology’s sake. It must serve a clear business need. Whether it’s updating old systems support operations or implementing new tools to streamline labor and supply chain processes, the most successful tech initiatives are those that offer clear value to the brand and/or franchisees. 

Lance Hoiby summed it up perfectly: “The bottom line is that every technology initiative is being driven by a business need.”

At Crunchtime, that philosophy is core to everything we do. We’re committed to building and supporting technology that empowers restaurant teams, enhances guest experiences, and provides measurable value to both franchisors and franchisees.

“The best new technology introductions that are most successful are ones where we have a great partnership with our operations team in order to truly understand those needs and make sure that we implement a technology solution that is right for the business.” - Lance Hoiby, Vice President of Information Technology, Fox Restaurant Concepts.

Looking Ahead

From brand recognition and franchisee relationships to staff training and smart tech adoption, the insights shared at RLC reflect a shared vision for the industry: one where quality and hospitality drive sustainable growth. We were honored to be part of that conversation and are energized by the momentum moving into the rest of 2025.

To all our partners and peers who joined us at RLC, thank you for the inspiration and collaboration. To learn more about the industry events we’re headed to next, click here.