What Now Media Group brought together Las Vegas restaurant hospitality professionals and industry partners for its local Accelerate event on Tuesday, September 22, from 3 to 5 p.m. Hosted by What Now Event Host Marian Ebhamen, the gathering took place at Fideuá Taste of Spain, located at 855 E Twain Ave #107.
The Las Vegas event featured 42 attendees representing 31 organizations, including 30 professionals from 21 local businesses and 12 representatives from ten of What Now’s Preferred Partner companies.
Local Business Attendees
Several Asian and international concepts were represented at the event.
Sean Liang, owner of Binchotan, attended on behalf of his all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue concept, preparing for debut at 953 E Sahara Ave. Upscale Japanese dining concept TENSHOU Collection, preparing for a location at 3747 S Las Vegas Blvd, was represented by Takafumi Mizuno, Lucian Tudor, and Monika Maeda, Round One Advisors. Gene Zhou, franchisee and operations advisor, represented Poke House, which is preparing to enter the local market at 7175 W Lake Mead Blvd. Tram Nguyen, owner of Mama Mai Vietnamese Cafe, attended, representing the family-founded cafe, with a brick-and-mortar at 6112 W Flamingo Road. Rocky Singh, owner of Zaika Indian Bistro and MOB Pizza, also attended. The concept, located at 1955 East Tropicana Avenue, serves Indo-Chinese offerings and is working on expansion plans.
Bars, lounges, and entertainment venues were also part of the mix at the Accelerate event.
House Rules, an interactive hospitality and entertainment concept coming to 3071 Rancho Drive, was represented by Brian Braithwaite, business development and partnerships, and Valeska Gilson, sales manager. Co-owner Coby Baker, represented Mission Control, which is in development at 4450 N Tenaya Way. Owner Patrick Haggerty of Neighborhood Bar (6138 W Charleston Blvd) and The Charleston, represented his companies. Gina Paul and Cesilia Berumen, owners of Liam’s Den & Bubble Bar at the Grand Canal Shoppes inside The Venetian Resort, were also present.
A number of casual dining and quick-service food businesses were represented as well.
Rachelle Razon, co-owner of PK Oyster Bar (3845 West Pioneer Avenue), attended, as well as Jose Buzani, owner of Grill & Chill Taco, an upcoming spot. Thompson Ly, owner of OMG Pizzeria, represented the New York-style pizza concept, which uses family recipes and is located at 110 S Rainbow Blvd. Amy and Michael Samaritano, owners of Amy’s Burgers, a food truck that parks at 7595 West Washington Avenue, also attended on behalf of their restaurant, which is working toward a brick-and-mortar operation. Inga Davidian, owner of Cantinetta Pizza & Pasta, at 3665 South Fort Apache Road, represented the Italian concept from the team behind Brunello. Leila Day and Ray Williams, co-franchisees and vice presidents at JV Ventures, represented Dave’s Hot Chicken and the group’s local franchise operations.
The breakfast and coffee sector was also represented at the event.
Owner Christina Alvarez Lopez and Marisela Frampton, authorization specialist, represented specialty dessert concept Eli’s Mini Pancakes and More, which has a location at the Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet (1717 S Decatur Blvd.) Cafe Calavera LV, a mobile cafe serving handcrafted Mexican coffee, refreshers, lemonades, matcha, and energy drinks, was represented by owner Candice Gonzales and Jaelyn Ali, head of marketing. Franchisee Joseph Eckart attended to represent Le Macaron French Pastries, where he is opening a second location at 6587 South Las Vegas Boulevard.
Business services, construction companies, and media were also part of the Accelerate gathering.
Eli Gold, owner of In The Game / Business Loaners, attended representing the business lending company. Karla Hine, owner of Star Energy Construction LLC, at 320 East Warm Springs Road, also participated. Johnathan Wright of the Las Vegas Review-Journal attended as a media representative for the event.
Preferred Partner Attendees
Jamea Sizemore, SPA, and Matthew Bowen, payroll division manager, represented Auris. The payroll and HR platform serves businesses with payroll processing, tax filing and compliance, benefits administration, hiring/onboarding, time and attendance, and HR services.
Robert Graham, SRM, and Romone Gilbert, district manager, represented Global Payments and its Genius point-of-sale platform, which provides restaurants with an integrated system covering POS, payments, kitchen management, online ordering, menu management, kiosks, digital menus and other operational tools.
Dan Goodwin, territory sales manager, represented Green CO2 Systems. The company supplies beverage-grade CO2 solutions for bars and restaurants, including external cylinder filling and systems designed to support beer and soft-drink carbonation while reducing operational interruptions.
Brigette Carhart, PAM, represented Human Interest. The company provides 401(k) plans for businesses, handling plan administration, compliance, IRS filings, employee support, and payroll integrations, with plans available to companies of all sizes.
Ted McNab, regional account executive, represented Keurig Dr Pepper. The beverage company maintains a portfolio of more than 150 brands, giving restaurant and hospitality operators access to a broad range of beverage products and programs.
Casey Adams, account executive, represented OpenTable. The restaurant technology company offers reservation management, waitlists, table management, guest data, marketing, experiences, private dining, and integrations designed to help restaurants attract diners and manage service.
Hailey Chaudoin, corporate sales representative, represented Prudential Overall Supply. The company provides restaurants and food-service businesses with uniform rental, leasing, and purchase programs, along with linens, towels, cleaning products, floor mats, restroom supplies, and other facility services.
Tom Noce, sales executive, represented Restaurant Technologies. The company provides commercial kitchens with automated cooking-oil management, including bulk oil delivery, filtration and monitoring, used-oil removal and recycling for restaurants, hotels, casinos, and other food-service operations.
Jesus Gonzalez, hospitality specialist, represented SpotOn. The restaurant technology company offers POS, online ordering, reservations, handhelds, marketing, scheduling, and profitability tools through an integrated restaurant management platform.
Gene Rotondo, hospitality and commercial specialist, represented Tagrisk. The venture specializes in insurance services for hospitality and commercial businesses, helping restaurant operators address industry-specific coverage and risk-management needs.
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.
