BOSTON, March 26, 2026 Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has been named the winner of the 2026 Crunchtime Ops Excellence Awards at Crunchtime's Ops Summit customer conference, which took place March 16-18, in Arlington, Texas. At the conference, attendees voted live following presentations from five finalist organizations showcasing their operational success stories. Finalists included: Gong cha, MSC Cruises, Panini Kabob Grill, and P.F. Chang’s.
Leaders from each organization presented their brand’s operational success story on the main stage at Ops Summit, sharing how their teams leverage data, processes, and technology to drive operational excellence across diverse hospitality environments.
Following the presentations at this year’s Ops Summit, attendees cast their votes live to determine the 2026 Ops Excellence Awards winner, selecting Alamo Drafthouse Cinema for its standout operational performance.
A premium dine-in theater concept that seamlessly blends film, food, and hospitality, Alamo Drafthouse has grown from a single-screen repertory theater in Austin, Texas, to 40 locations nationwide. Dennis Ogaard, Senior Manager of Operations Services, highlighted the company’s transformation, showcasing measurable gains in efficiency, cost control, and team effectiveness.
Key achievements include:
Together, these initiatives represent millions in annual cost savings and operational efficiencies across the business.
“By moving away from 35 manual spreadsheets to real-time intelligence via Crunchtime Insights, we’ve not only achieved significant savings in labor and COGS, but we’ve given our managers their time back,” said Ogaard. “We’ve streamlined inventory counting, allowing our teams to get out of the office and back onto the floor to deliver the best theater experience in the world.”
Importantly, these efficiencies are enabling Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to reinvest in its workforce, supporting higher wages, expanded benefits, and a stronger overall employee value proposition.
“We’re realizing significant labor efficiencies each month, and not all of that goes straight to the bottom line because we reinvest in our people,” said Ogaard. “Over the past few years, wages have increased substantially as a result, and we’ve expanded benefits to give part-time team members access to insurance they didn’t have before.”
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema joins previous Crunchtime Ops Excellence Awards winners, sweetgreen and SPB Hospitality, as part of a growing group of hospitality brands recognized for advancing operational excellence through innovation, data-driven decision-making, and strong team execution.
This year’s honorable mentions were given to:
About Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, with 40 locations nationwide, has built a reputation as a movie lover’s oasis not only by combining best-in-class food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also by introducing unique programming and special events. In addition to its theaters, Alamo Drafthouse created Fantastic Fest, a world-renowned genre film festival featuring independents, international filmmakers, and major Hollywood studios, and operates the American Genre Film Archive, a non-profit film archive dedicated to preserving, restoring, and sharing film.
About Crunchtime
Crunchtime helps multi-unit restaurants operate every location like their best one. Trusted by 850+ brands across 150,000+ locations worldwide, Crunchtime connects the full operations management lifecycle across inventory management, labor and scheduling, kitchen management, and operations execution, in the industry’s only complete, AI-powered suite. Top operators, including Jersey Mike’s, Five Guys, Smoothie King, Wingstop, and Chili’s, rely on Crunchtime to achieve profitability and deliver great guest experiences every day in every store. To learn more, visit Crunchtime.com.
Media Contact:
Media Contact: Julie Rudder,
Senior Director of Marketing
jrudder@crunchtime.com