Tom Kaiser is an analyst at Figure 8, a New York-based team of hospitality professionals working with restaurants and foodservice businesses to grow digital sales, simplify operations and transform off-premises orders into sustainable profits. Figure 8 optimizes digital ordering, catering, takeout and delivery channels to maximize revenue and introduce restaurant brands to new guests.
Through the end of 2023, Tom was the founder and editor of Food On Demand, a digital publication, podcast and industry conference dedicated to third-party delivery of prepared meals and retail goods. FOD covers the future of retail and restaurants, with a focus on how this impacts operators at the unit level.
Before that, he was a reporter with Franchise Times, covering all aspects of franchising with a particular focus on restaurants. He created the “Urbane Franchisor” column covering trends in urban planning, commercial real estate and the rejuvenation of urban areas, focusing on what these trends meant for restaurants and other franchised businesses. The “Urbane Franchisor” was awarded the Gold Award by the Minnesota Magazine & Publishing Association in 2018.
