What Now Media Group brought together Orange County restaurant operators, hospitality professionals, and industry partners for an Accelerate event on Wednesday, August 26. What Now’s Event Host Marian Ebhamen and Director of Events Mariah Medley moderated the gathering, which took place from 3 to 5 p.m. at Telefèric Barcelona in Newport Beach – 311 Newport Center Drive.
The event drew 44 attendees representing 25 businesses, including 28 food-and-beverage professionals from 15 businesses, and 16 representatives from 10 partner companies. The group reflected the breadth of Orange County’s hospitality landscape, allowing operations professionals to meet with F&B-focused partners.
F&B Attendees
Owners Dessi Sarabosing and Borris Mitrew represented Pasta Viva. The fast-casual concept is preparing to expand into Mission Viejo, adding another location to its Orange County presence.
Franchisee Jay Lowder and Nat Silberg, Head of Catering, attended on behalf of H&H Bagels. The New York-born bagel brand has a planned OC location coming to 8200 Great Park Boulevard in Irvine.
Redshift Coffee Roasters was represented by Vitaly Yakovlev, CEO, and Yara Vetchinkina, CEO of Match’d. The Orange County coffee company has been expanding its specialty coffee operation into additional communities, including a new upcoming spot in Rancho Santa Margarita
Salman Ghani, owner, attended representing Elio California. The specialty coffee concept, with a flagship in Lake Forest, is preparing to open a coffee shop in Foothill Ranch.
Manuel Tam, co-owner, and Ricardo Uribe, sushi chef, attended on behalf of Akashiro. The business, located at 444 N. Harbor Blvd. in Fullerton, is an independent sit-down restaurant centered on Japanese cuisine and sushi.
Matt Olmstead, owner, and Christina Peterson, Event Coordinator, represented 1909 Craft Beer and Concessions. Their concession concept operates at the Huntington Beach Sports Complex, offering food, craft beer, and outdoor dining.
Maria Gonzales, Marketing/PR Coordinator, and Diane Nguyen, co-owner, represented Sonder. At 301 N. Spurgeon St. in Downtown Santa Ana, the bar combines Southeast Asian-inspired share plates, craft cocktails, and a curated vinyl-driven music program.
Co-owners Bob and Jen Iglehart attended representing The Wine & Cheese Shop on El Paseo and El Paseo Coffee. The Wine & Cheese Shop specializes in curated wines, artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, and gourmet foods, while El Paseo Coffee offers specialty coffee and other beverages.
Owners Edoardo and Melba Consogno represented TreLune Dolci. The Dana Point gelateria specializes in small-batch, Italian-style gelato made on-site with natural ingredients and traditional techniques learned in Tuscany, offering more than 30 flavors.
Tal Rubin Hovav, owner, and Yahav Hovav, Business Manager, attended representing Ugah’s Bakery. Located at 349 Old Newport Blvd. in Newport Beach, the Israeli- and Middle Eastern-inspired bakery specializes in handmade pastries and breads.
Co-owners of Slurp & Sip, Robert Cho and Liliane Lee, attended on behalf of the company. The Korean convenience-store-inspired concept centers on a self-serve customizable ramyun bar, alongside Korean snacks, drinks, and other casual offerings.
Shootz co-founders Michael Dancel and Nolan Perez attended with Destiny Tran, Heart of House Executive. A fast-casual Hawaiian-Asian fusion concept, the brand is working on its sixth SoCal location at Irvine’s The Canopy at Great Park, expected to open in late 2026.
Co-owner Casey Walters and Owner Sharon Arnesen represented Birdie’s Bodega. The neighborhood market-and-café concept combines locally sourced produce, fresh-baked bread, curated pantry goods, and grab-and-go foods with a made-to-order menu.
Walters shared her thoughts on the Accelerate event, saying, “We loved the venue and were so excited to be there! It was valuable to be able to talk to other restaurant owners with such a variety of concepts.”
Ryan Van Tuyl, owner, attended representing Burt’s Burgers. The family-owned burger concept specializes in gourmet sliders made with American Wagyu ribeye, waffle fries, shakes, and other casual offerings, and has expanded to the Balboa Fun Zone in Newport Beach.
Founder Elaine Nguyen attended represented Boban / PhoOne V at the event. Nguyen is behind the growing Vietnamese concepts, with Boban focused on bánh mì, rice bowls, and specialty drinks, while PhoOne V centers on traditional Vietnamese pho and comfort dishes.
Partner Attendees
Emily Gardea, senior payroll advisor, represented Auris HR/Payroll. Auris provides payroll and HR technology and services for small businesses, including restaurant and hospitality operators.
Fernando Valdez, strategic merchant lead, represented DoorDash. The company’s merchant platform provides restaurants with delivery and pickup tools, marketplace exposure, ordering, marketing and loyalty capabilities.
SRMs Steven Hahn and Tom Crappse represented Global Payments’ Genius Point of Sale. The all-in-one payments and POS platform is designed for restaurants and other businesses, with devices, order management, menu management and online-ordering integrations.
George Czarnick represented Human Interest, a retirement benefits provider focused on 401(k) plans for employers. The company’s full-service plans center around administration, compliance, and reducing the workload associated with offering retirement benefits.
Account Executive Ashley Ritzenthaler attended representing OpenTable. The restaurant technology company has been connecting diners and restaurants since 1998, serving more than 70,000 restaurants, bars, wineries and other venues worldwide and helping fill more than 2 billion seats annually.
Michael Viola, owner, represented PURE Restaurant Solutions. The company specializes exclusively in food-and-beverage accounting and provides restaurant-focused bookkeeping, payroll, financial reporting, consulting, and part-time CFO services.
Ali Sepehri, sales manager, and Thomas Pham, president, represented SLIQUE Media. The social media creative agency specializes in restaurant and hospitality marketing, providing management, marketing, content production, and paid advertising to help restaurant brands build awareness, engage customers, and drive growth.
Tyler Norwood and Chad Seltzer, account executive, represented SpotOn, a restaurant technology and financial services company that provides restaurant operators with POS, online ordering, reservations, marketing, employee management, and reporting tools.
Frank Iniguez, hospitality insurance specialist; Larry Anaya, CEO; and Milena Mirtle, hospitality risk specialist, represented Tagrisk. The company specializes in hospitality insurance, offering coverage for industry-specific risks.
Tony Santoyo, sales manager, and Jimmie Cobb, corporate sales representative, represented Prudential Overall Supply. The brand provides uniform rental, leasing, and purchase programs as well as textile and facility services for industries including hospitality and food service.
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 33 cities annually.
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.
