Shelby's

Andrew Kirkwood

Restaurant Technology Integrator

Andrew Kirkwood brings more than three decades of restaurant operations experience to his role as Vice President, Technology at Shelby’s, where he helped build the company’s operational and technological foundations. In this article, he shares his perspective on using technology to support restaurant operations while keeping frontline employees and hospitality at the center.

Building Scalable Systems from Operational Experience

My leadership approach is strongly shaped by on-the-ground operations. Years spent working closely with frontline employees and understanding their day-to-day experiences have always influenced how I think about the business. Around five years ago, I recognized that technology was becoming central to the future of restaurants, both for achieving operational excellence and turning data into actionable decisions. That realization broadened my perspective, and I began looking at how technology could help frontline employees deliver hospitality more effectively.

I started my restaurant career as a general manager and area manager before I moved into larger franchisor organizations. I joined Shelby’s after a former colleague asked me to come on board because the company had entered franchising without regulatory compliance processes, a franchisee onboarding structure, standard operating procedures or training programs.

My initial responsibility was to help establish those foundations. The work ranged from determining the right menu and restaurant layout to developing training programs and creating a franchisee onboarding process. I also built the company’s technology infrastructure, including point-of-sale systems, kiosks, kitchen display systems, cameras and security. As Shelby’s grew and its departments became more defined, I recognized that technology offered the most effective way to support the company’s continued expansion and help its franchisees operate successfully.

Aligning Technology Investment with Franchisee Value

Deciding which technologies are worth investing in is one of the hardest parts of my role because what is best for the franchisor can differ significantly from what the franchisee perceives to be the best. The franchisor evaluates return on investment over the long term, while the franchisee often measures it from day to day or month to month.

Some technologies are essential to restaurant operations. These include third-party aggregation when ordering systems are not directly integrated, a reliable POS connected to a KDS, kiosks, online ordering and mobile applications. Beyond those fundamentals, franchisees respond differently depending on how visible the return is. Loyalty programs and gift cards are easier to introduce because their benefits can be seen immediately. Data aggregation, analytics and AI tools that turn business information into actionable insights can be harder to justify because their ROI, while valuable, is less visible in the short term.

  Technology shouldn’t stand in the way of hospitality. It should work together with it.  

We therefore mandate technology that is essential at the restaurant level. In cases where ROI is not immediately visible, we determine whether the head office should absorb more of the cost to achieve a stronger outcome across the organization.

I take the same measured approach to AI. We are still in the early stages of placing AI directly in front of guests because AIenabled voice, drive-through and kiosk interactions can create new sources of complaints. I see greater opportunity behind the scenes, where AI can support data aggregation and analytics and help us turn information into actionable insights for daily restaurant operations.

Extending Technology Capacity through Partnerships

Maintaining a technology function that remains innovative and focused on business needs becomes increasingly challenging as the company scales. We do not have the budget to expand our technology team at the same pace at which technology evolves, making careful prioritization essential.

With AI, we can build certain focused tools internally. These could include applications that track equipment warranties, monitor industry developments or examine specific aspects of back-end data. The greater challenge is not building such tools but maintaining them over time.

For technology and software that must remain sustainable over several years, working with third-party specialists is often the better path. These partners have the resources to remain at the forefront of their fields and adapt their products as technology changes. Their support allows us to introduce sustainable solutions without placing the entire long-term maintenance burden on our internal team.

Keeping Frontline Impact in Focus

When Shelby’s was smaller, my role extended beyond technology. I was involved in nearly every aspect of the business, which made it easier to see how my decisions affected frontline employees.

As we have grown and established a more defined leadership and departmental structure, that direct connection has become harder to maintain. Feedback about a technology decision from employees on the ground now travels through operations leaders, district managers, owner-operators and restaurant managers before reaching me. I therefore have to make a more deliberate effort to understand how frontline workers experience the systems we introduce and whether those systems genuinely support their daily responsibilities.

I do not want Shelby’s to become a top-down decision-making company. Frontline employees remain the most important part of the business, and maintaining a meaningful connection with their experiences is essential as the company continues to grow.

Advancing Technology without Losing Hospitality

People entering restaurant technology need to understand two important lessons. First, the industry does not lack technology. More than 10,000 restaurant technology companies are addressing gaps across restaurant operations. The greater challenge is adoption. Restaurant operators are often traditional and skeptical of unfamiliar tools, which can create friction among owners, managers, franchisees and franchisors.

Restaurant margins are also extremely narrow, so every additional cost must be connected to a tangible return. Loyalty programs, for example, can demonstrate their ROI relatively easily. The value of technologies such as digital menu boards may be less immediately visible, even when those tools remain important. The challenge is therefore not simply finding technology. It is introducing it with as little friction as possible and communicating its value clearly enough for people to embrace it.

Second, technology must work with hospitality, not against it. If kiosks remove the natural interaction between guests and employees, the answer is not to accept the disappearance of the human touch. That interaction can be delivered differently. An employee can welcome guests, introduce them to the kiosk and guide them through the ordering experience. The technology remains, but so does hospitality.

The people who stand out in this industry will be those who keep hospitality fundamental to the guest experience while helping traditionally skeptical restaurant operators understand why technology deserves their time and investment. That combination, more than any single tool, will distinguish the next generation of restaurant technology innovators.