A variety of Austin restaurateurs and industry professionals gathered for an “Accelerate” event hosted by What Now Media Group at Rosewood Social Club. The event provided a valuable opportunity for Austin’s restaurant community to connect, exchange ideas, and discuss strategies for navigating an increasingly competitive market.
Rosewood Social Club, a forthcoming social dining and hospitality concept located at 1309 Rosewood Avenue in East Austin, hosted the free event on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, bringing together dozens of representatives from businesses featured on What Now Austin. This included local restaurants and industry-leading experts from What Now Media Group’s network of Preferred Partners. Attendees networked and exchanged ideas before attending a presentation on strategies for growth and success in today’s competitive market.
The event was hosted by Marian Ebhamen and featured a diverse group of restaurateurs, business owners, and hospitality professionals across the Austin area. Attendees included Terrell Williams, owner of Rosewood Social Club, along with Rhiannon McKay, manager of Chicken Salad Chick, which is continuing its Central Texas expansion. Also in attendance were Ramon Kreher, co-owner, and Jeremy Tracy, ceo/co-owner of Halftime Sports Bar & Grill.
Other participants included Stephanie Malveaux and Alicia Johnson of The Toasted Yolk Cafe, as well as Leigh Ross, owner of Prose and Pints. Additional attendees included Zack Glesmann of Killer Burger and Avinash Suvvari of AnTeNa Kitchen.
Also present were Yoji Harada and Taichi Ishizuki of Pebble Onebird, along with Nelson Lin and Asai Meyers of Mama Lin’s Soup & Leaves. Steph Steele, owner of Tiny Grocer, also attended alongside Sri Pacha of Atomic Wings and Eric Atkerson and Tony Harper of The Archive.
Representatives from more than a dozen of What Now Media Group’s Preferred Partners attended to offer guidance and support to local operators. Kristina Conner of Auris spoke on HR and payroll solutions designed to streamline restaurant operations.
From Global Payments, Efrain Balderas and Nathan Ralls discussed merchant services and POS systems for hospitality operators.
Meredith Miller and Sydney Atendido of OpenTable shared insights on reservation management and guest acquisition. Kayla Lavender and Ali Slutsky of Resplendent Hospitality discussed PR strategy and brand visibility.
Beth Hussey and Cassidy Tucker of Shifty covered workforce scheduling tools, while Ali Sepehri, Thomas Pham, and Jordan Bitonti of SLIQUE Media discussed digital marketing strategies for restaurants.
Emerson Brundick and Miles Coburn of SpotOn highlighted payment technology solutions, while Rick Deitrick of Trinity Constructors spoke on restaurant buildouts. Travis Lugo of US Foods discussed supply chain support.
The restaurant owners and industry-leading experts from What Now Media Group’s network of Preferred Partners shared valuable insights, operational highlights, and expert advice, creating an engaging and informative evening that was both enriching and beneficial for all attendees.
This led Marian Ebhamen to delve deeper into the conversation by discussing critical business points, such as having an exit plan and efficiently managing operations after expanding to multiple locations. After Marian and the guests shared their insights, the discussion evolved into deeper collaboration between attendees.
This event served as a valuable platform for both restaurant owners and industry partners to collaborate, brainstorm, and form new connections. It’s clear that the Austin restaurant community is eager to continue innovating and evolving, and What Now Media Group’s Accelerate events provide the perfect space for these conversations.
What Now Media Group shares restaurant opening news in 33 cities across North America, breaking news, and provides timely insight into yet-to-open brick-and-mortar businesses. The platform shares news of thousands of openings across all cities annually.
The industry-leading experts in What Now Media Group’s network of Preferred Partners help new businesses open and existing businesses grow.
Stay tuned for future Accelerate events from What Now Media Group in 2026. For more details, see the Accelerate page here.
Click here for a complete list of our partners. To learn more about becoming a preferred partner, click here.
