Minneapolis, MN – September 10: Hospitality Minnesota is excited to welcome Ken Baker, Founder of Roasted Data, to the 2026 Hospitality Conference lineup. The conference is set to take place from September 27–29, 2026, at the Hilton Minneapolis Downtown. Click here to see the working agenda for this year's conference!

Seats for this session — and for the conference overall — are filling up fast. Don't wait to lock in your spot!

Planning who to send to the Conference? Now, registrants can save $50 on every registration when signing up 3 or more attendees from the same organization — the more of your team that attends, the more value you bring back to your business.

SESSION: From AI Hype to Restaurant Results: Practical AI for Operators

AI is moving fast, but restaurant operators do not need another presentation about what might happen someday. They need to know what they can actually use now.

In this practical session, Ken Baker will share real examples of how restaurant leaders can use AI today to save time, improve decision-making, and identify opportunities to improve profitability. He'll focus on a handful of high-value use cases, what it takes to implement them, and where operators should be cautious.

Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of where AI can realistically help their business today and several practical ideas they can begin applying immediately.

ABOUT KEN BAKER: 

Ken Baker is the founder of Roasted Data and a hospitality finance and operations executive with more than 30 years of experience, including more than 15 years specifically in the restaurant industry. He has held senior finance leadership roles with multi-unit restaurant companies, including serving as CFO, with responsibility spanning finance, accounting, FP&A, labor strategy, systems, and operational performance.

Throughout his restaurant career, Ken repeatedly saw the same problem: operators had no shortage of data, dashboards, and reports, but there was often a significant gap between that information and the decisions being made in the field. Executives could see what had happened, while GMs were often left without clear direction on what to do next. That disconnect between data and action became the inspiration for Roasted Data.

Today, Ken is focused on using AI to close that gap. Roasted Data combines restaurant data, analytics, and artificial intelligence to help leaders understand what is happening in their business, identify the greatest opportunities to improve profitability, and translate those insights into practical action. His approach to AI is grounded in more than technology—it is shaped by decades of experience understanding how restaurant businesses actually operate.

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Those interested in attending the 2026 Hospitality Conference, either as an attendee or exhibitor, are encouraged to register now — spots and hotel rooms are limited. We look forward to seeing you at the Hilton Downtown Minneapolis!