Webcasts

Moderator
Rebecca Kilbreath
Editor in Chief
restaurant development + design

Panelist
Mike Kostyo
Vice President
Menu Matters

Mike Kostyo is the Vice President at Menu Matters. Kostyo has been a recurring guest on Fusion TV’s “The A.V. Club” show; has been featured on NBC News, CBS Radio and Gimlet Media’s “Why We Eat What We Eat” podcast; is regularly featured in newspapers and magazines; speaks at numerous conferences across the country and was a judge on Food Network’s “Eating America.” For nearly 11 years, Mike was an associate director and trends expert at one of the industry’s largest research firms. Kostyo has a master’s in Gastronomy from Boston University, plus certificates in the culinary arts, baking arts, wine and artisan cheese production.

Panelist
Andy Simpson
Partner, Design Lead
Resolute Hospitality

Andy is an endlessly curious person. He is best known for leading the design and development of hundreds of restaurants and other non-traditional venues. Andy’s career began in operations, opening new restaurants and providing operations guidance & support. This early experience provided a base of operational understanding that most designers don't have, and means he knows what makes sense economically and practically.

Andy believes that good design is based on who a brand is - their “why”. Inspired by companies that say and do what they actually believe, he helps clients get to their “why” to create vision and values that matter, and tactics to make them happen.

“The best things that have ever happened to me were in a restaurant (meeting my wife, among the many), and while I'll always love doing design work, working in a kitchen, laughing and making food worth eating, is my favorite thing to do.”

Andy and partners operate Resolute Hospitality, a consultancy specializing in design, culinary research and development, and multi-unit operations.