Handhelds and Handshakes: New Hospitality’s Food For Thought

"Care," "Empathy" and "Family" are not often words one expects to hear at a tech conference, but when the conference in question focuses on the restaurant and hospitality industries, those words are peppered throughout the plate of offerings.

Experience, mobility and transparency are changing hospitality at its core.

That was the case at Toast's "Food for Thought," an invite-only touring series organized by the Boston-based restaurant management system provider that focused on the evolution of hospitality. The half-day event in New York City gathered together a host of restaurant industry thought leaders to discuss hot-button issues affecting the bottom line of independent and franchise restaurants alike such as training, identifying talent, retention, social media, branding and the integration of technology for both front and back of the house functions.

"Experience, mobility and transparency are changing hospitality at its core," said Toast CEO Chris Comparato, while…