The Restaurant of the Future with Wade Allen, EVP of Strategic Growth at Costa Vida

Wade discusses the importance of seamless integration between physical and digital experiences. He describes a future where tech enhances operational efficiency, while preserving the people-first nature of hospitality. Wade envisions a future where every channel for accessing food is not only more convenient, but still preserves the fundamental desire for human connection around a table. Welcome to Elevating Brick and Mortar. A podcast about how operations and facilities drive brand performance.On today’s episode, we talk with Wade Allen, EVP of Strategic Growth at Costa Vida. Costa Vida is a Mexican coast-inspired restaurant franchise. Today Costa Vida has restaurants in a growing number of US States and in Canada, and is positioned to be one of the fastest growing restaurant franchises in North America. GUEST BIO:With over 22 years of experience in the restaurant and retail industry, Wade is a seasoned executive with a passion for leading teams to drive transformative business strategy and digital innovation. He’s currently serving as the EVP of Strategic Growth for Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill, where he spearheaded initiatives in Marketing, IT, Off-Premise, Analytics, and Guest Insights contributing to the brand's ongoing success. During his nearly decade-long tenure at Brinker International, he held diverse executive roles, including Chief Digital Officer (CDO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), Head of Innovation, and VP of Marketing. Hisstrategic leadership played a pivotal role in shaping the company's trajectory and fostering innovation across various domains.Wade is recognized for his commitment to building innovative digital and mobile customer experiences, leveraging integrated marketing principles, data insights, emerging technologies, and consistently delivering solutions that resonate with today's tech-savvy consumers. His expertise lies in restaurant and retail innovation and operations, marketing, information technology, data security, customer loyalty, digital transformation, mobility, digital strategy, and advanced analytics. He specializes  in navigating the complex landscape of our industry, consistently pushing the boundaries to stay at the forefront of innovation.TIMESTAMPS:**(00:41) – About Costa Vida**(01:47) – About Wade’s role**(06:35) – Expectations in dining**(12:15) – Macro trends**(15:18) – Keeping up with consumer needs**(28:23) – Addressing the labor shortage**(26:52) – Tech in the space **(37:09) – Sid’s final thoughts SPONSOR:ServiceChannel brings you peace of mind through peak facilities performance.Rest easy knowing your locations are:Offering the best possible guest experienceLiving up to brand standardsOperating with minimal downtimeServiceChannel partners with more than 500 leading brands globally to provide visibility across operations, the flexibility to grow and adapt to consumer expectations, and accelerated performance from their asset fleet and service providers.LINKS:Connect with Wade on LinkedInConnect with Sid Shetty on LinkedinCheck out the ServiceChannel Website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.