Main Street Summit: Los Angeles
The first-ever 2022 Main Street Summit: LA has wrapped, but the learnings and content will live on. Access full session recordings, free, at the link below.
Highlights from Main St Summit: LA
There were so many great sessions and noteworthy takeaways, but a few trends, insights, and candid perspectives stood out.
Building a brand
Pinky Cole shared her journey to building Slutty Vegan's brand, from one location to nine and counting, recounting lessons learned along the way.
Understanding employees
Kwini Reed of Poppy + Rose pointed out that restaurant employees aren’t necessarily asking more of their employers — they want better from the world.
Creativity with costs
Briana Valdez of HomeState shared how restaurants can get creative with cutting costs, including changes to menus, opening hours, and service models.
Explore the agenda
Click on the tabs below to learn more about sessions, speakers, and more.
9 am-5 pm
Welcome Desk
Attendees signed in on Monday, November 7 at the Capital Milling Building at 1231 N Spring St, Los Angeles, any time throughout the day, rain or shine. There was free valet parking as well as free breakfast and lunch from local chefs. Explore the full agenda at the tabs above.
10-10:05 am
Welcome Remarks with DoorDash President Christopher Payne
Christopher Payne, President and Chief Operating Officer at DoorDash
Join Christopher Payne on the Main Stage to formally welcome you to Main Street Summit: Los Angeles and to share a preview of the forthcoming programming.
10:05-10:30 am
An Intimate Conversation Between DoorDash President Christopher Payne and Chief Restaurant Advisor Pinky Cole
Pinky Cole, Owner & CEO, Slutty Vegan and Chief Restaurant Advisor at DoorDash
Christopher Payne, President and Chief Operating Officer at DoorDash
Learn about Pinky Cole's role as Chief Restaurant Advisor at DoorDash, the growth of Slutty Vegan, and the importance of staying true to yourself while scaling a company.
10:30-11 am
The Restaurant Industry is Building a New Future
Lien Ta, Managing Partner, Here's Looking At You & All Day Baby
Briana Valdez, Founder & CEO, HomeState
Greg Dulan, Owner, Hotville Chicken, Dulan’s Soulfood Restaurant, & Dulanville Foodtruck
Kristen Hawley, Founder, Expedite.news
2022 has been a year of transition for restaurants, balancing consumer demands with labor, and inflation struggles. What will operators need to think about for success in the future? Kristen Hawley, founder of the weekly newsletter Expedite, will moderate a panel of restaurateurs as they share insights for 2023 and beyond.
11-11:30 am
What are LA Consumers Craving?
Alanna Shipley, Director of Audience Insights, DoorDash
In this not-yet-post-pandemic world, keeping up with consumers’ evolving behaviors is more challenging than ever for restaurant operators. Alanna Shipley, Director of Consumer Insights at DoorDash will review proprietary data from DoorDash to discuss Los Angeles delivery trends, including the busiest days for food delivery, top cuisines and categories, and the most popular delivery menu items.
11:30-12 pm
Preserving and Protecting a Brand
Jon Shook, Chef / Restaurateur, animal, Son of a Gun, Jon & Vinny's, Cookbook, Helen's Wines Market, Carmelized Productions Jon & Vinny's
Ben Shenassafar, President of The Hundreds/Family Food Style Festival
In a one-on-one conversation, Ben Hundreds, Founder of The Hundreds & Family Style Food Festival will interview chef/restaurateur Jon Shook of animal, Son of a Gun, and Jon & Vinny's about the challenges of creating, maintaining, and expanding an iconic LA brand.
1-1:40 pm
Spotlight on Restaurant Benefits: How to Attract and Retain Workers While Keeping Costs Down
Akira Akuto, Co-Founder, Konbi
Othon Nolasco, Co-Founder, No Us Without You LA
Kwini Reed, Co-Owner “Boss Lady"", Poppy + Rose, Poppy & Seed, Root of all Food
Chase Knight, Vice President of Business Development, Sesame
The staffing crisis has inspired restaurants of all sizes to adopt new and creative strategies for recruiting, hiring, and retaining great employees. We're starting to see restaurants improve their benefits across the board – wage increases, referral and signing bonuses, 401(k) and healthcare benefits, emergency childcare, and more – in a concerted effort to recruit talented team members from other sectors. During this session, we'll cover specific recruiting strategies plus ways to retain a happy workforce, in addition to revealing more about how DoorDash is supporting partners with this effort.
1:40-2 pm
The Neighborhood's Table: Combating Gentrification Through Intentional Hospitality
Jenny Dorsey, Executive Director, Studio ATAO
Review highlights from Studio ATAO's latest toolkit, A Guide for Hospitality Businesses to Take a Community-Invested, Anti-Gentrification Stance in Their Neighborhoods.
2:45-3:30 pm
Growing Your Business: A Guide on Expanding Strategically
Pinky Cole, Owner & CEO, Slutty Vegan
Sara Kramer, Chef/Owner, Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie
Aaron Noveshen, Founder & CEO, Starbird
Ellen Bennett, Founder and CEO of Hedley & Bennett
The pandemic created opportunities for brands — global and local — to grow and expand their in-person and digital footprint via brick-and-mortar operations or virtual brands. There is a new white space for innovators to grow, but how can restaurateurs capitalize on these opportunities? Join to learn about expanding your business, leveraging technology and insights for your business, and more.
3:30-4 pm
Building an Authentic Brand on Social Media
Vincent Williams, Founder and Master Chef, Honey's Kettle
Tamearra Dyson, Owner, Souley Vegan
Shawn Lalehzarian, Co-Founder & CEO, The Red Chickz
Bricia Lopez, Restaurateur and Author, Guelaguetza
With social media channels like Instagram and TikTok becoming a necessary part of a restaurant’s marketing strategy, how can you ensure that you're getting the most exposure? How do you build an authentic connection with your customers? Learn how to leverage social media to personalize your guest experience, boost your brand’s recognition and sales, and more. Join Bricia Lopez of Guelaguetza along with a group of panelists to discover how they use social media to their advantage.
4 - 4:10 pm
Closing Remarks with DoorDash's Danny Polanco
Danny Polanco, Manager, Business Development SMB, DoorDash
Join the leader of the team creating custom solutions and strategies for the top restaurants on DoorDash in the West for reflections on what we learned together, what inspired us, and the connections that will endure beyond today's summit. This is also your opportunity to take part in a live survey that will help us make future events even more impactful.
9:15-10 am
Store Essentials: The Basics for Success on DoorDash
Whether you’re new to DoorDash or just need a refresher, we’ll walk you through the basics for getting your store up and running. You’ll receive an overview of the portal, learn how to set store settings and hours, and leverage the Business Manager app for your store management.
11-11:30 am
Menu Manager: Small menu changes for big impact
Discover how to create an enticing menu with items and descriptions. Learn how to add and manage items, set prices, and more. Plus, get tips and tricks for attracting customers.
12-12:30pm
Insights Hub: Transform DoorDash data into actionable insights
Get key insights to help grow your business and track your store’s performance on DoorDash using financial, operational, customer, and sales reports.
12:30-1 pm
Store Financials: DoorDash payments made easy
Managing your store’s payment process on DoorDash is important. Learn about editing and accessing banking information, getting paid, reconciling canceled orders, and explore DoorDash Capital.
1-1:30 pm
DoorDash Marketing: Finding new customers and building lasting loyalty
Learn the secret to reaching new customers, building lasting loyalty, and increasing store sales. DoorDash Marketing offers easy-to-use Advertising and Promotion tools that can help you grow your business.
1:30-2 pm
Menu Manager: How to use photos to grow your sales
Explore ways to attract new and returning customers to your store with great menu photos. Find out how to add and edit photos, utilize the photo bank, take high-quality photos of your own, and learn about DoorDash’s photo guidelines.
3-3:30 pm
Online Ordering: Explore commission-free ordering on your website
Online Ordering is DoorDash’s commission-free ordering system that allows you to grow your business online. Learn about using Online Ordering, and how it can help grow your business.
3:30-4 pm
[Encore] Insights Hub: Transform DoorDash data into actionable insights
Get key insights to help grow your business and track your store’s performance on DoorDash using financial, operational, customer, and sales reports.
4:15-4:45 pm
[Encore] DoorDash Marketing: Finding new customers and building lasting loyalty
Learn the secret to reaching new customers, building lasting loyalty, and increasing store sales. DoorDash Marketing offers easy-to-use Advertising and Promotion tools that can help you grow your business.
9 am - 5 pm
Community Table
Attendees networked with local restaurateurs, enjoyed catered food and beverage, and got to know their peers. Food and beverage was available all day. Catering provided by D’Vash, Chatty Matcha, Couplet Coffee, Sugar Babies Bake Shop, Chiki Chiki Boom Boom, Angella's Sweet Spot, Jitlada, Kismet, Dream Pops, and Konbi.
9 am - 5 pm
Solution Station
Guests got personalized support and were able to talk to sales representatives about their business needs. DoorDash representatives at the Solution Station could answer any questions about DoorDash products.
Featured Speakers
Industry experts, well-known chefs, and enterprising local operators shared their stories.
Sara Kramer
Chef/Owner, Kismet and Kismet Rotisserie
Kwini Reed
Co-Owner, Poppy + Rose, Poppy & Seed, Root of all Food
Lien Ta
Managing Partner, Here's Looking At You & All Day Baby
Stay tuned on Instagram
Follow @doordashformerchants on Instagram, where we'll post the best moments from Main Street Summit: LA in the following weeks.
