7shifts Celebrates the Leaders Shaping Hospitality with The Restaurant Innovators 2025 Awards

Recognizing 60 standout recipients reshaping the future of the hospitality industry

TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 7shifts, the scheduling and payroll platform for restaurant operators, today announced the recipients of the Restaurant Innovators 2025 Awards. The program highlights individuals who are improving how restaurants operate, support their teams, and serve their communities. The awards recognize 60 leaders who aren't waiting for the future of hospitality to arrive. In this inaugural year, 7shifts received nominations from across North America, and the final recipients represent operators who are actively creating better ways to work and building strong, lasting team environments.

"I'm incredibly excited about the inaugural Restaurant Innovators Awards," said Jordan Boesch, chief executive officer at 7shifts. "For me, this isn't just another recognition program. It's a celebration of the people who make restaurants run, from the first prep shift in the back to the final closeout at the front door. These leaders aren't just pushing the industry forward, they are building workplaces where people want to stay, grow, and build a career."

The award categories included:

• The Ops Innovator: Recognizes leaders who implement creative technology and operational efficiencies to streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance quality.
  • Arielle Mathisen, Weston Berchtold, Malyn Bartolome, Jon McBride, Jason Frankot, Dan Lin, KynnDra Harrison and Josh Bishop
• The Industry Voice: Honors an individual or team who uses their media, podcast or digital platform and unique voice to educate, inspire, and drive positive conversation across the broader hospitality industry.
  • Irene Li, Justin Khanna, Shawn Walchef and Josh Kopel
• The Tip-Top Service Star: Celebrates front-of-house (FOH) individuals or teams who consistently deliver outstanding, personalized, and memorable guest service, driving loyalty and word-of-mouth.
  • Sheila Purvis, Tehya Johnson, UVSS Catering and Conferences Team, Ryan Wiedeman, Sarah Marsden, Madi Royale, Aaron Benkman, Nitish Singh, Nikki Frost, Taylor Ouellette and Julia Kramer
• The Unsung Hero: Recognizes exceptional back-of-house (BOH) leadership in the kitchen, focusing on menu development, consistency, safety, and maintaining efficiency under pressure.
  • Sandy Adams, Raymund Pada, Nick Zocco, Jason Willis and Emma Robison
• The Best Boss Ever: An award for a manager or owner who demonstrates exceptional commitment to staff growth, well-being, training, and retention, making the restaurant a top place to work.
  • Brittany Rupert, Chris Gurrie, Haley Armitage, Nick Lalli, Jason Leeds, Antonette Palacios, Jessie Love, Jake Lonie, Dakotah Pompura, Brandon O'Donnell, Megan Yaffey and Dave Garcia
• The Culture Catalyst: Honors an individual that helped foster high employee satisfaction and retention through outstanding communication, supportive team dynamics, and a demonstrably positive daily work environment.
  • Kelsey Roeder, Keith Priestley, Yahaira Jimenez, Isabelle Koma, Lydia Pfister, Sarah Ballard, Kaydance Zgarba and Ashley Jones
• The Local Legend: Specifically for independent single-unit restaurants that demonstrate incredible quality, financial resilience, and deep community roots despite stiff competition.
  • Larry Abel, Andrew Fung, Pablo Gil, Daniel Flores, Kenny Nguyen and Andy Yuen
• The Empire Builder: Recognizes a leader at a multi-unit operation who has successfully managed rapid scaling, maintained brand consistency, and expertly handled complexity across multiple locations.
  • Stephen Steininger, Mackayla Miller, Jordan Hewes, Brooks Kirchheimer, Lindsay Goodrich and Shaz Khan

"I am grateful to have been chosen for the Restaurant Innovators 2025 Award," said Weston Berchtold, owner and chief operating officer of Eli's Coffee Shop. "Anyone working in this industry knows we don't show up every day for praise or recognition. Food service can be a thankless job, so it is an honor to be recognized for our work in trying to provide great experiences for customers, care and support for our teams, and safe welcoming environments in our communities."

This year's nominations represented restaurants and hospitality businesses from across ten U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. The nominees also reflected the broad range of today's hospitality sector. Submissions came from full-service dining, coffee shops, breweries, quick-service concepts, food halls, and more.

A clear trend in this year's nominations is the rise of multi-skilled roles. Many employees are blending FOH, BOH, and administrative responsibilities, stepping in where needed and often building new systems themselves. Several nominees developed custom tools and processes while others moved from entry-level positions into leadership roles after learning operations from the ground up.

"In an industry where retention can make or break an operator's success, the commitment of our winners to creating stable, supportive environments matters more than ever," said Boesch.

View the full list of recipients and learn more about the awards program here.

About 7shifts
Born in the back office of a sandwich shop in 2014, 7shifts is a scheduling and payroll platform designed to help restaurant teams thrive. With an easy-to-use app and industry-specific solutions, 7shifts saves time, reduces errors, and helps keep costs in check for more than 55,000 restaurants. To learn more, please visit https://www.7shifts.com/.

SOURCE 7shifts