Olo

The Restaurant Catering Workshop is next week! We're excited to host a panel of catering leaders who've pushed past the plateau. They'll share practical steps on: 📊 Using guest data to drive repeat orders 🚚 Building a self-delivery strategy that protects your brand and your margin 🔁 Turning one-time marketplace orders into loyal, direct guests Get Unstuck: Scaling Catering Past the Plateau 🗓️ Wednesday, Oct. 7 | 10:00 AM 📍 Arlington, TX Featuring Tanya B. Dixon (Salata), Isabela Hurtado (PINCHO), Jenna Law (Keke's Breakfast Cafe), Brittany Mercer (COWBOY CHICKEN), Cassie Nowlin (la Madeleine Bakery & Cafe), and Angie Andresen (Olo). See the session details: https://lnkd.in/gXxfS3up

"The best time to launch an app was 15 years ago, but I guess the next best time is now.” Kristen Hawley posed that to me in our Expedite interview. It's a sharp and important question: why launch the Olo App now? Because the front door to the restaurant is moving. More and more guests will order through agents: Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Muse, and whatever comes next. The Olo Network and the Olo App are built to directly connect restaurants into all of them. When an order comes from an agent, we want it to reach the restaurant: With the guest identified. With guest data shared. Without commissions. Here's the twist. Agents threaten the marketplaces too. Marketplaces run on advertising dollars, and ads depend on humans looking at them. A personal agent doesn't browse or look at ads. It goes straight to the fastest, best source. That's a problem for every marketplace, restaurant marketplaces included. When every guest has an agent, going direct wins. We're always on the restaurant's side. Thank you, Kristen, for the thoughtful questions. Full interview in the comments.

What makes something core to your brand? Amanda Kahalehoe outlines Vicious Biscuit's rigorous POV on what truly matters. Watch the full episode with Amanda Potts of A&W Restaurants, Inc.: https://lnkd.in/gGQH-ZP7

I operate in perpetual basecamp mode. 20 days out from launching the Olo App, I found this photo. It's from the early hours of morning on 11.27.2005: the launch of Mobo at Koffee Too? in New Haven, CT. Same energy. New founding moment. Everything in its right place for when we open and the guests arrive. Ears open to capture feedback and iterate quickly. Fully knowing that with attention to detail, we'll get to the outcome we're seeking. And still operating as if we're at basecamp, not the summit. It's why I always tell Team Olo, "Miles to go before we sleep!" That's the mindset we cultivate and celebrate here. The Olo App launch on 10.20.2026 is just a moment in time. There'll be more milestones on the climb ahead. It won't be easy. It'll be epic. 🚀

The Olo App is almost here 👀 Austin Grill, Bare Naked Kitchen, Beans & Brew, Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano, Big Buns Damn Good Burgers, Bud's Chicken and Seafood, Buffalo's Cafe, Buona, California Pizza Kitchen, CoreLife Eatery, Del Taco, Fatburger, and Fazoli's will be among the brands on the app when it drops on October 20. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gWSiUtT8

As a longtime CSM, I *love* when we add value for clients and don't ask for any additional money from them. Sure, businesses should and must make money, but we also need to continue improving without always asking for more. That's why I have been so excited about Olo Guest Intelligence (OGI) ever since the moment we were doing sneak previews at Beyond4 2025. How do real brands (like Yoshinoya America) use OGI to increase orders? Watch and see. https://lnkd.in/gpjmH2w3

Absolutely love this platform. It is streamlined and user friendly. This is a platform that is so efficient and well designed you can train manager to use the main features in less than 15 minutes. Love, love, love it.

An FS/TEC for the books! 🤠 Team Olo was honored to participate in two packed panels: "Metrics that Matter: Turning Restaurant Data into Smarter Decisions" led by Kenneth Marks and "From Pilot to Payoff: What's Actually Working in Restaurant AI" with Jo Lambert and Ray Gallagher. Plus so many great conversations at our booth and an outstanding dinner with 5&5 and Retail Data Systems. We'll be back in Dallas next month for The Restaurant Catering Workshop! Details here: https://lnkd.in/eFt2SFTW

And…action! 🎬 Now screening: your first look at the Olo App. Brands and guests alike will enjoy easy one-click acquisition, intuitive map discovery, and no paid promotional ads. Oh, and no commissions. Ever. Watch our 90-second spot and let us know what you think in the comments below!