Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) announced a new technology activation at its annual CREATE: The Event for Emerging Restaurateurs, which is taking place this Oct. 9-11 in Nashville, Tenn.
858 Partners, an investment and go-to-market support firm for restaurant technology companies, is joining CREATE as an exclusive partner to host the interactive 858 x CREATE Tech Showcase. It will feature a curated selection of front-of-house and back-of-house foodservice technology companies recommended for growing restaurant brands as they build their tech stacks.
“858 Partners has emerged as one of the leading voices in foodservice technology, with their fingers firmly on the pulse of what makes a great tech stack today,” said Sam Oches, NRN’s editor-in-chief. “CREATE is designed to inspire and educate leaders of emerging restaurant chains with big ideas and thoughtful solutions, and this 858 x CREATE activation is the perfect example of how this comes to life. It will be incredibly impactful for emerging chain leaders in attendance who have technology top of mind.”
The 858 x CREATE Tech Showcase will offer attendees guided tours and personalized advice on the best technology solutions for their restaurant brands.
“What we set out to do is create a more thoughtful approach to the ‘innovation alley’ that you see at so many of these shows, effectively bringing together what we feel are must-have technology categories — and companies that represent those categories —organized into front-of-house tech and back-of-house tech,” said Marty Hahnfeld, cofounder of 858 Partners. “What we've strived to do is bring together great solutions that not only are great on a standalone basis but also play nicely together. This is what a well-stitched-together tech stack could look like. These are some of the parts and pieces.”
858 Partners was founded in 2022 by Hahnfeld and Juan George, both of whom were previously long-time employees at digital-ordering company Olo. 858 refers to an area code for San Diego, where the firm is based.
Hahnfeld said the 858 x CREATE partnership will help emerging restaurant chain leaders design the perfect tech stack in the early stages of growth, before it becomes difficult to change.
“Not choosing the right tech puts you at a disadvantage competitively and it handicaps the business; you have to operationalize around something that's suboptimal either in terms of performance and capability or maybe it's a decent product but not being well supported,” he said. “The worst moment to have to change anything is when it's really embedded in your operation and you have to fix the airplane while it's flying. It can really hurt a business if you don't do your diligence and be thoughtful in your selection.”
For more information on the 858 x CREATE Tech Showcase and to learn which tech companies are participating, click here.
CREATE will be hosted at the Omni Nashville hotel this Oct. 9-11. Restaurant leaders can register for CREATE for free by clicking here.
