Ep 13 Part 1: Restaurant Industry Trends with Industry Leader Melissa Doolin-Koehne

Host Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, welcomes Melissa Doolin-Koehne, founder of Elevate 4 and chair of the Texas Restaurant Foundation, to discuss her restaurant-industry background and current work advising brands on purpose-driven growth. Melissa recounts being raised in the industry and launching Elevate 4. She highlights the Texas Restaurant Foundation’s ProStart Invitational, drawing 1,000+ high school competitors and offering scholarships. They discuss a “tepid” 2026 outlook amid inflation, tariffs, oil prices, and consumer trade-downs, emphasizing brand promise, value via experience, simplified operations, and employee-focused innovation starting with designing a great shift.00:00 Welcome to the Podcast00:40 Meet Melissa Doolin-Koehne01:43 Melissa’s Restaurant Journey03:12 Inside Black Box Intelligence05:06 Texas ProStart Spotlight07:47 Restaurant Industry Outlook10:45 Why Some Brands Win12:47 Employee Experience Innovation15:02 Why Texas Leads Restaurants17:35 Part Two Teaser and WrapInstant Financial: instant.coConnect with Tal Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tal-clark-a60776b/ Connect with Melissa Doolin-Koehne: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-doolin-koehne/ References:Texas Restaurant Association: https://txrestaurant.org/ Texas Restaurant Foundation: https://www.txrestaurant.org/TRF/ Black Box Intelligence: https://blackboxintelligence.com/ Raising Cane's: https://www.raisingcanes.com/home/