DoorDash Welcomes Stephanie Izard as Chief Restaurant Advisor

By: Tom Pickett, Chief Revenue Officer and Stephanie Izard, Chief Restaurant Advisor

Introducing Stephanie Izard as our First-Ever Chief Restaurant Advisor

From Tom Pickett, Chief Revenue Officer at DoorDash

The importance of having open, honest conversations with restaurant partners to understand how we can better serve their unique, individual needs has only been reinforced over the past year. In an effort to continue listening and adapting to support local restaurants, we are proud to appoint Stephanie Izard, Chef and Owner of Girl and the Goat, as our first-ever Chief Restaurant Advisor. Stephanie will work in an integrated advisory role, acting as a “Voice of the Industry” within DoorDash and as an influential liaison between DoorDash and the restaurant industry.

As the Chief Restaurant Advisor, Stephanie will be an instrumental part of DoorDash’s culture and decision making to ensure restaurateurs have a seat at the table. The new Chief Restaurant Advisor role is one of the ways in which we are continuing to listen to our partners, so we can better serve the merchant community and take action to build an even stronger relationship with local restaurants.

Over the past eight years, DoorDash has created a suite of services and products to support restaurants in growing their businesses, in turn empowering the local economies and communities they serve. The last year hasn’t been easy for the restaurant industry at-large, which is why we unveiled our new Partnership Plans to help create more choices and flexibility for restaurants and announced our five-year, $200 million Main Street Strong Pledge to support merchants, Dashers, and customers in navigating the ever-changing world around us. Our industry-first Restaurant Advisory Council — a group of business owners, chefs and operators from across the U.S and Canada — is another way we developed a forum for input and feedback from industry leaders to shape our products and services.

DoorDash has been a long-time supporter of Stephanie and her impactful work, as she is not only an influential, globally-recognized chef and a James Beard Foundation Award Winner, but is also a well-respected industry leader and operator who keeps a pulse on the day-to-day needs of local restaurants. Throughout the pandemic, Stephanie has embodied the resiliency we’ve seen across the nation, finding ways to pivot rapidly to further grow her online channels.

We know Stephanie will be a great addition to our team as we continue to find new ways to provide restaurants with support. Without further ado, we pass the microphone to Stephanie to speak more about what she hopes to accomplish as Chief Restaurant Advisor and how the role will continue to advocate for local restaurants across the nation.

What I’m Looking to Achieve as the First-Ever Chief Restaurant Advisor At DoorDash

From Stephanie Izard, Chief Restaurant Advisor at DoorDash

As a restaurateur and entrepreneur, I’ve experienced the rollercoaster of the last year firsthand as the dining landscape continues to evolve — whether it’s shifting from in-person dining to takeout-only nearly overnight, or getting excited about welcoming back familiar faces to our restaurants.

In-person dining was extremely limited since March of last year and I am grateful to have expanded my footprint with various services both locally and nationwide. This includes partnering with DoorDash to facilitate delivery for my restaurants and offering my This Little Goat line of spices and sauces to more households via DashMart.

Joining DoorDash as its first-ever Chief Restaurant Advisor during such an important time, where optimism across the industry is bouncing back, energizes me. This is an opportunity that I don’t take lightly, as I know that bringing the voice of the local restaurants to leadership is critical to enact meaningful change. DoorDash believes wholeheartedly that it needs to “make room at the table” and “think outside the room” each and every day, and the Chief Restaurant Advisor role is one of the ways this is being accomplished.

During my one-year role, I’ll be regularly liaising with both internal and external teams as Chief Restaurant Advisor, including DoorDash executives, employees, and local restaurants. A few of the ways this will happen in practice are:

• Attending meetings with DoorDash leadership and providing input on strategic business decisions and product updates.
• Hosting industry roundtables bringing together leaders of the independent restaurant community and DoorDash to facilitate productive conversations and identify areas of opportunity.
• Joining DoorDash’s Restaurant Advisory Council meetings to lead discussions and hear directly from a diverse group of restaurant operators and owners across the United States and Canada.

One of my personal goals is to have as many conversations with local restaurants in the first few months, not only to hear about their needs looking ahead, but also to form impactful relationships to foster transparency. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, I’m excited to return for the second time as a keynote speaker at DoorDash’s annual Main Street Strong Restaurant Conference.

This is only the beginning of my tenure as Chief Restaurant Advisor and I’m excited to see how the role will evolve, with advising as a first step, as we look at the potential that lies in the year ahead for the restaurant industry.