Expedite

Expedite

Moderator notes

Challenges and opportunities I took from this year’s Friends in Food conference

Kristen Hawley's avatar
Kristen Hawley
Oct 22, 2026
∙ Paid
I borrowed this image from @hospitality.friends on Instagram

I spent Monday in New York, moderating the last panel of the day at a small industry conference. It’s a challenging timeslot for audience attention but an ideal time for wrapping a ton of the day’s insights into a convivial conversation. Our position worked to my advantage; the day’s speakers, including leaders from groups like Union Square Hospitality Group and Starr Restaurants and Tao Group and JKS restaurants and a handful of excellent independents, covered more tech topics than I expected, and my group got to focus on some of the biggest challenges — and opportunities! — ahead.

From my notes:

We have to do something about personal AI agents causing chaos… and poor experiences.

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