TCP068: Crafting a Digital Palate with Scott Lawton of bartaco

The Tech Chef, Restaurant, Hospitality and Hotel Technology Business Podcast

For all of you that saw me speak over the past couple of days, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. You were fun and engaged audiences! Web3 and the metaverse can really stoke different thoughts and emotions in people and I had fun exploring the technology as a whole with you and hearing YOUR thoughts on where this technology is headed. It is still the wild west out there when it comes to these topics, and we have yet to see where it all lands. Hopefully you had some good takeaways and are challenging yourself a little more now that you understand the technologies a little bit better.

So here we all are at MURTEC. Hopefully you are all having a fantastic show and are winning lots of money here at the Paris Hotel in Vegas. The content of this show has been absolutely fantastic thus far and it has been a while since I have seen this many people at one of these shows. This might be the record for attendance to MURTEC!S

Today on The Tech Chef, we will be talking about “Crafting A Digital Palette.” To talk about how he pulled this off, Scott Lawton the CEO and Co-Founder of bartaco joins the show. Bartaco is a coastal-inspired restaurant serving fresh, upscale street food in a relaxed environment. Scott has over twenty five years of leadership experience in the hospitality arena, and rejoined bartaco in 2020 under the new private ownership of L Catterton, where he oversees the concept’s overall vision and growth.

That year, Lawton led the rollout of bartaco’s on- demand hospitality dining model, and continues to pave the way for other restaurant leaders looking to create a seamless guest experience. Under his leadership, bartaco was recognized by Hospitality Technology’s MURTEC Breakthrough Awards in 2022 for the restaurant’s signature “on-demand hospitality.”

Prior to becoming CEO of bartaco, Lawton was Chief Operating Officer of Barteca, managing development, day-to-day operations and personnel recruitment. Lawton previously held key leadership roles with Tribeca Grill, Buckhead Life and Big Time Restaurants.

If you have never eaten at bartaco before, do yourself a favor and check them out. Not only is the food amazing but the experience is a real treat as well. Something about being able to control your own experience through the ordering process to the payment at the end of your visit makes it special. Of course, as Scott talked about, hospitality and service is NOT compromised through these digital methods. Technology should never be used to replace hospitality and touch points. Hospitality is such an important part of the value proposition you bring to your guests.

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Next Week’s Show

We have so many awesome guests scheduled to come on the show but there is nobody more awesome than my partner in crime, Mr. Toby Malbec. He is here with me at MURTEC and you know what that means, right? You got it…. Next week will be our obligatory coverage of the show so for those of you who are not able to attend, be on the lookout for that podcast next Tuesday!

Thank you to RTN and HT for making this event one to remember. The connections, relationships and networking were second to none. I always know that when I go to an RTN event, I am going to walk away with good solid takeaways and great new friends.

Tomorrow I am headed back home so, for all of you traveling over the next few days, please travel safe, stay healthy and stay hungry my friends.