AI Lessons From a US Foods Operations Consultant

Lance Reynolds has lived every side of the restaurant business, from dishwasher at age 12 to owner of four restaurants to Director of Restaurant Operations Consulting at US Foods. In this episode, hosts Marc Cohen and Rich Sweeney talk with Lance about why restaurants are slow to adopt technology, what the numbers behind a nearly $40 billion distributor look like, and the retention turnaround that took his turnover from 200 percent to 42 percent.We get into the CHECK business tools program and its two-year vetting process, the integration between Restaurant 365 and US Foods ordering, the labor math behind an $18.35 minimum wage, and why Lance believes 2026 will be the year everything changes for operators who embrace AI.