by TM Petaccia

Nothing like a nice big plate of knowledge for breakfast. At Unpretentious Palate’s first Industry Breakfast, “Margin Makers: Creative Strategies to Expand Restaurant Revenue,” presented by Vulcan, attendees learned about programs and strategies restaurants can use to grow revenue and deepen partnerships amid a shifting hospitality landscape.

Featured speakers Meghan Hurst of Vulcan Equipment, Laura White of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority (CRVA), and Cat Carter of L’Ostrica offered insights ranging from operational pivots and marketing collaborations to brand storytelling and revenue diversification.

“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a really long time,” said UP editor Kristen Wile. “I feel like there’s a really large gap in the opportunities for members of the hospitality community to come together and talk about things that are specifically difficult or challenging for them.”

Following a breakfast supplied by Napa on Providence and kick off introductions, Carter began the discussion by explaining the restaurant’s hybrid approach by featuring full tasting menus, à la carte bar dining, lunchtime sandwich offerings, and casual Sunday suppers. “When we built our business plan, we talked about a test-and-learn model,” she says. “We knew we wanted to do a few things. We had lot of ideas we felt would plug some holes in the market. So we picked the critical few we felt created individual experiences that would talk to each other in some way.”

Carter went on to stress being decisive about weeding out less profitable or more time-consuming programs in favor ones more in line with the overall model — specifically citing the restaurant putting its fresh food pickup program on hiatus. “It was hard to let that go, but we had to do it,” she says. “We decided to pivot and focus on wine tastings and events.”

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White detailed on CRVA’s evolving role in tourism and how it relates to Charlotte’s culinary scene — and how it works with paid, earned, and influencer media to shine a larger light on the city’s restaurants — especially since business travel is still below pre-pandemic levels while leisure travel to the city has increased by 25 percent since 2019. “People aren’t just traveling here and finding a place to eat. They’re traveling to eat,” she says. White spotlighted CRVA initiatives like Savor Charlotte, which offers freeform promotional opportunities for restaurants without locking them into special fixed-price menus. “We bring the marketing muscle, and you do what you do best,” she says, stressing the importance of flexibility and authentic storytelling. The key point? Making sure CRVA is aware of a restaurant’s story.

Noting that while Charlotte Douglas International Airport is one of the world’s busiest, 80 percent is purely hub traffic. “Nine out of ten visitors are driving to Charlotte” she says. “We flipped our focus into a leisure destination, and that’s where culinary comes in. It’s such an important thing for us to market it.”

White detailed various CRVA initiatives, such as its partner program with local hospitality businesses, but noted a restaurant doesn’t need to be a part of the program to get help. “We’re not going to look over a great restaurant story in Charlotte just because they’re not a partner,” she says. “Even if you’re not a partner, that doesn’t mean you can’t work with our marketing communications team. Just drop us that note. We want to have relationships with everybody in the community.”

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As a major restaurant supplier, Hurst described how Vulcan Equipment partners with chefs and restaurateurs for equipment testing, social promotion, and even paid chef photo shoots via its Star Chef program with day rates ranging from $500 to $1,000. “We’ve done a handful of photo shoots mostly on the East Coast and capture them using our equipment cooking menu items, and then we use those images on our website and social media. So that’s an opportunity for chefs or people on their team who might be interested in that.”

Vulcan allows local chefs to come to their Steele Creek facility to test cooking on their equipment. “If you ever want to come and test a new piece of equipment for your operation, you’re more than welcome to,” she says. “You can come here, bring in your product, and do it yourself or we can bring in one of our chefs to help support you as well. About a quarter of our business is independent restaurants. We want to be part of helping them thrive.”

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Throughout the discussion, all speakers emphasized the importance of community and creativity in navigating the challenges of the current restaurant economy. Whether through wine events featuring lesser-known producers, leveraging data from tourism partners, or rethinking how kitchen space is used, the message was clear: margin-making isn’t just about numbers. It’s about ideas, identity, and collaboration.

Following the discussion and Q&A, attendees were given a tour of Vulcan’s Charlotte facility, which assembles and ships gas and electric grills, flattops, and deep fryers.

Wile closed the day by encouraging attendees to spread the word and sign up for future breakfasts. The series is sponsored by Vulcan Equipment, SpotOn POS systems, Kitchen Guard commercial hood cleaning, Napa Restaurant Group, and Bulleit Frontier Whiskey. “There are a lot of people who really want to support Charlotte’s restaurant industry,” she said. “This is a way to bring them, and us, together.”

Click here for information of our upcoming Industry Breakfasts.

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