Is AI Scheduling Actually Worth It for Restaurant Operators?

In this episode of Closed Monday, Kyle Inserra talks with Mick Carr, founder and CEO of Grub Lab, on the floor of the National Restaurant Show about why independent restaurants are losing family diners to the chains and what a kids menu is actually worth to the bottom line.Connect with Mick on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mick-carr1/Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator:⁠⁠⁠https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/⁠⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ | Instagram: @kyleinserra | LinkedIn: Kyle Inserra |

In this episode, Kyle sits down with Ben Alkire of DeliverThat on the floor of the National Restaurant Show to talk about how restaurants can turn delivery and catering into a real profit center. Ben breaks down DeliverThat's orchestration model, how brands like Qdoba and Condado Taco protect their standards through an independent driver network, and the catering stat every operator should know before writing off delivery as a cost of doing business.Connect with Ben on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-alkire-76172b125/Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator:⁠⁠⁠https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/⁠⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠ | Instagram: @kyleinserra | LinkedIn: Kyle Inserra |

In this episode, Kyle sits down with John Smolen of Atmosphere TV on the floor of the National Restaurant Show to talk about the most overlooked real estate inside a restaurant: the TV screen. John breaks down how Atmosphere turns idle screen time into a monetizable, hands-off asset for operators.Connect with John on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/smolenjohn/Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator:⁠⁠https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/⁠⁠Email: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ | Instagram: @kyleinserra | LinkedIn: Kyle Inserra |

In this episode, Kyle sits down with Will Stewart of Rightwork on the floor of the National Restaurant Show to talk about an AI operations assistant that finds shift coverage and messages your team for you, and the store-sizing playbook . Will breaks down why he built an AI that takes action instead of just answering questions, and Kyle digs into what actually separates a profitable drive-thru site from one that isn't.Connect with Will on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-stewart-23339b66/Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator:⁠https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/⁠Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠ | Instagram: @kyleinserra | LinkedIn: Kyle Inserra |

In this episode, Kyle sits down with Mike Ungaro of San Pedro Fish Market on the floor of the National Restaurant Association Show to talk about, a wild container-kitchen pop-up that did $11M in a parking lot, and the lease clauses independent operators keep missing. Mike breaks down why his team treats trade shows as an educational deployment, not a shopping trip, and Kyle digs into the recapture rights and assignment clause traps hiding in most restaurant leases. Connect with Mike:San Pietro Fish Markethttps://www.sanpedrofish.com/Michael Ungaro LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeungaro/Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator:https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/Email: [email protected] | Instagram: @kyleinserra | LinkedIn: Kyle Inserra |

Kyle sits down with Ty Wilson, co-founder of Tab Commerce, on the floor of the National Restaurant Association Show to talk about the financial blind spot costing restaurant operators real margin. The conversation covers tail spend, the roughly 50% of purchases that happen across a team in smaller, harder-to-track transactions, and why that's where margin actually disappears in most restaurants. Ty breaks down how Tab Commerce gives operators corporate cards with category controls, automated receipt capture via text, and GL coding that syncs directly into their accounting software. Average customer is a 12-unit operator. Largest is 140. And yes, single-unit operators use it too.Connect with Ty Wilson and Tab Commerce:LinkedIn: Ty WilsonWebsite: tabcommerce.comRestaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator: https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/Work with Kyle:Lease Review: https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/lease-reviewLOI/Pre-Signing Review: https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/presigning-site-loilease-reviewEmail: [email protected]: @kyleinserraLinkedIn: Kyle InserraWebsite: www.10rep.coKyle Inserra is a commercial real estate broker and founder of 10Rep, a fractional Director of Real Estate service for restaurant brands nationwide. He hosts Closed Monday, a podcast covering the business and real estate side of the restaurant industry for operators, franchisees, and emerging brands.

Live from the National Restaurant Show, Pepper Lunch CEO Troy Hooper joins Kyle Closed Monday to talk restaurant real estate at scale. Site selection, co-tenancy strategy, AI-powered site scorecards, franchisee support structure, and the B-minus site mistake they made against their own instincts and what it cost them. If you're a franchisee, franchiseor, or multi-unit operator thinking about your next location, this one is a must listen.Key ConversationsHow Pepper Lunch gets 68-72 seats in 1,700 square feet Why cotenancy isn't just a preference The 362-point site benchmark scorecard How they structure franchisee real estate supportcWhy they approved a B-minus site The one thing to fight for in a new development TI vs. rent and escalations Chapters0:08 — Troy intro: Pepper Lunch's US and global pipeline2:03 — Box size, kitchen design, and hitting 68 seats in 1,700 square feet3:27 — How Pepper Lunch supports franchisees through the full real estate process5:58 — Why emerging brands can't get real estate wrong6:34 — Cotenancy strategy: what they look for and how it gets written into the lease8:01 — East Coast vs. West Coast development and why the model has to flex10:55 — Rents and escalations: why TI is a trap and how to run the 10-year math13:08 — How to present franchisees to landlords and what landlords are asking for now15:32 — The 362-point AI site scorecard and what the data changed18:38 — The B-minus site mistake: what happened and what they'd do differently20:10 — New development: the one thing worth fighting for20:43 — Where Pepper Lunch will be by NRA 2027Where to Find Kyle and [email protected] | @kyleinserra | www.10rep.coRestaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator: https://calculator-app-softmind-solut...

Everyone fights over the rent. And every operator moves it about five percent. Meanwhile, the other 30 pages of the lease go untouched. In this episode, Kyle breaks down the five terms that actually determine whether your restaurant location is profitable.If you're about to sign a lease, or you already signed one without negotiating these, this is the episodeQuestions This Episode AnswersWhat should a restaurant operator negotiate in a lease besides the rent?How does a tenant improvement allowance work for restaurants?When should rent commencement start on a restaurant lease?What is an exclusive use clause and how do I protect my restaurant concept?Can I assign my restaurant lease if I want to sell?What is a personal guarantee burn-off in a commercial lease?How do I negotiate a restaurant lease as a first-time operator?Kyle Inserra is a commercial real estate broker and founder of 10Rep, where he serves as a fractional Director of Real Estate for restaurant brands across the country. With 15 years as a chef and restaurant owner and a decade in CRE, Kyle helps operators and franchisees make smarter real estate decisions.Free ToolsRestaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator: ⁠https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/⁠Lease Review: ⁠https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/lease-review⁠LOI / Pre-Signing Review: ⁠https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/presigning-site-loilease-review⁠Where to Find Kyle & 10RepEmail: [email protected]: @kyleinserraLinkedIn: Kyle InserraWebsite: www.10rep.co

In this episode, Kyle sits down with Shawn Walchef , founder of Cali BBQ and Cali BBQ Media to preview the 2026 National Restaurant Show and call out the conversation nobody's having: restaurant real estate.Shawn runs a 220-seat barbecue restaurant where off-premise revenue now exceeds dine-in. The show floor he's preparing to walk has 70,000 people and barely any conversation about leases, occupancy, or the squeeze choking first-time operators. Kyle gets blunt about the post-COVID lease problem and walks through the exact conversation operators should be having with their landlord before the doors close.Connect with Shawn:LinkedIn: Shawn P. Walchef | calibbqmedia.comFree tool : Restaurant Real Estate Profitability Calculator:https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/Services:Lease Review: https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/lease-reviewLOI Review: https://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/presigning-site-loilease-reviewWhat you'll get:How to use AI to plan a 70,000-person show floor before you landWhy drone delivery is operational, not aspirationalWhat off-premise revenue exceeding dine-in means for site selectionHow to clean your data before stacking AI on top of itThe framework for renegotiating a lease that's no longer workingWhy landlords will take the call in 2026 — if you make it firstEmail: [email protected] | Instagram: @kyleinserra | LinkedIn: Kyle Inserra | www.10rep.coKyle Inserra is a commercial real estate broker and founder of 10 Rep, a fractional director of real estate service for restaurant brands nationwide. Former chef and restaurateur with 20+ years across hospitality and CRE.Chapters:00:00 Cold open01:00 Why Kyle is going to NRA this year02:30 The scale of the show04:30 Using AI to prep the show floor06:30 Starbucks rolls out AI for baristas08:00 Zipline drones — Rwanda to Dallas10:00 The last-mile problem and the developer gap12:00 Off-premise > in-store at Cali BBQ13:30 Shawn's NRA schedule and Rising Tide meetup17:00 Why real estate is missing from NRA17:30 The post-COVID lease squeeze18:30 How to approach your landlord23:00 Clean data before stack24:30 Wrap

Kyle breaks down one of the most overlooked real estate problems in the restaurant industry right now: the off-premise lease mismatch. Over 50% of restaurant revenue is now coming from delivery and takeout, but most leases are still written for a dining-room-first business model. That gap is costing operators real money in ways that never show up on a P&L. Questions this episode answers:Should I pay for a high-visibility corner location if most of my revenue is delivery and takeout?How does off-premise dining affect my restaurant lease strategy?What should I negotiate for in a lease if my concept is delivery and pickup-heavy?How do I use my DoorDash or Uber Eats data to pick my next restaurant location?What lease provisions should I ask for to support third-party delivery drivers?Is visibility still worth paying for if most of my customers are ordering online?Actionable TakeawaysPull your sales mix from your POS before your next lease negotiation. Know your dine-in vs. off-premise split down to the percentage.If you're 50%+ off-premise, your rent ask should reflect that visibility is worth less to your model.Negotiate for pickup staging and dedicated short-term parking for third-party drivers in your LOI, not as an afterthought. Look at your DoorDash and Uber Eats dashboards as a site selection heat map. Chapters00:00 — Client story: 60% takeout, main & main rent02:37 — What this episode is about05:38 — The off-premise lease mismatch07:12 — Why your lease was built for a business you no longer run11:30 — Kitchen layout as a real estate problem13:48 — The pickup experience: when the driver walks into your dining room15:17 — What to negotiate: staging, parking, and driver flow20:32 — Dedicated parking for third-party drivers — put it in your LOI21:24 — The flip side: where off-premise is actually a negotiating advantage25:32 — Your delivery data as a site selection tool28:38 — How to bring this into your next lease negotiation32:00 — The new lease checklist for off-premise operatorsWho This Episode Is ForAny restaurant operator or multi-unit owner with a lease coming up for renewal, a new site under consideration, or a delivery-heavy business model they haven't fully integrated into their real estate strategy. Restaurant Real Estate Profitability CalculatorRun the numbers on your next location before you commit:https://calculator-app-softmind-solutions-projects.vercel.app/Lease Reviewhttps://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/lease-reviewLOI / Pre-Signing Reviewhttps://stan.store/KyleInserra/p/presigning-site-loilease-review📩 [email protected] | 📸 @kyleinserra | 🔗 www.10rep.coAbout Kyle InserraKyle Inserra is a commercial real estate broker and restaurant real estate advisor with roughly 20 years of combined restaurant and CRE experience, including 15 years as a chef and restaurant owner. He is the founder of 10Rep, a fractional director of real estate service for restaurant brands nationwide, and the host of Closed Monday. Kyle specializes in site selection, lease negotiation, and expansion strategy for independent operators and emerging brands across Westchester, Fairfield County, the NYC five boroughs, and Central Connecticut.📩 [email protected] | 📸 @kyleinserra | 🔗 www.kyleinserra.com , 10rep.co