Silver linings and new opportunities in a post-pandemic food world
The food and beverage landscape has dramatically changed in the past two years and will continue to evolve as employers navigate hybrid workplace shifts, new technologies and even climate change. James Beard award-winning restaurateur Kevin Boehm has come out of the worst of the pandemic where he was forced to shutter his restaurants and furlough 1,800 employees. In his keynote session, Kevin shares how he pivoted to turn multiple challenges into opportunities, resulting in the fastest growth his organization has experienced in 28 years.
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Kevin Boehm Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Chicago's Boka Restaurant Group, Chairman of BIÂN After opening 33 restaurants over the last 28 years, James Beard winning restaurateur Kevin Boehm has become one of the nation’s foremost visionaries in the field of hospitality. Kevin, along with his partner Rob Katz, has built a restaurant group based on great chefs, inspired design, and enlightened hospitality. Boehm and Katz were named as Restaurateurs of the Year by TimeOut Chicago in 2010, the Chicago Tribune in 2011, and the Illinois Restaurant Association in 2017, and were Eater National’s Empire Builders of the Year in 2012. They have been finalists for the James Beard Best Restaurateur in America award from 2016 to 2019, and in 2017, New City Chicago ranked them #1 in its annual list of the 50 most powerful influencers on the Chicago dining scene. In 2019, they won Outstanding Restaurateur in America at the James Beard Awards. In addition to Boka Group, Boehm co-founded BIÂN, a private wellness club, in 2020. Boehm is a contributing writer for Fast Company, and has had pieces published in Esquire Magazine, Plate, the Chicago Sun-Times, and McSweeney’s. Kevin has been a featured or keynote speaker for the National Restaurant Show, MUFSO, Miami Food & Wine, New York City Wine & Food Festival, the Kellogg School of Management, the University of Illinois, Hearst, and The Welcome Conference at Lincoln Center. He has given the commencement address at both the Culinary Institute of America and Kendall College. He currently sits on the board of the Illinois Restaurant Association, Open Table, and 826 CHI, and is a founding member of the Independent Restaurant Coalition. |
