Fireside Chat: Hospitality is Infrastructure

​Restaurants look simple from the outside.

​Inside, they’re one of the most operationally complex businesses in the economy.

​Rising labor costs. Thin margins. Delivery platforms. Digital ordering. Data-driven pricing. Brand fragmentation. Customer expectations shifting in real time.

​Technology is no longer optional in food and beverage — it’s the difference between scaling and stalling.

​Join Jeff Gigante, founder of NXT Level Brands, for a candid fireside conversation on what it really takes to build, grow, and sustain restaurant brands in a high-cost, high-speed environment.

​We’ll unpack:

​• How tech is reshaping restaurant operations and margins
• The role of brand in a delivery-first economy
• Data-driven decision-making in menu, pricing, and expansion
• Scaling without losing authenticity
• Why food businesses are core economic infrastructure in growing cities

​This isn’t a trends talk.

​It’s a founder-level look at how modern hospitality survives and wins when the pressure is on.

​If you care about entrepreneurship, consumer brands, neighborhood development, or the intersection of tech and real-world business, this conversation belongs on your calendar.

​*Official Tampa Bay Tech Week Pass Required*