OpenCity Taps Former CKE Exec Jeff Chasney as Drive Thru AI Starts to Take Off
OpenCity, is revolutionizing the way customers and restaurants engage, and is the leading omni-channel, multi-service customer ordering AI company; announced today that Jeff Chasney has joined the team as VP Information Technology. OpenCity is now serving over 500 restaurants.
Jeff Chasney has over 30 years of management experience working for major restaurant companies. Most recently Chasney was with CKE Restaurants, serving as the EVP of Strategy Planning and CIO. While at CKE, in 2006, he created and launched an industry disruptive technology — the world’s first remote Drive-Thru-Order-Taking system. Also, at CKE, he was responsible for all restaurant and business technology and to steward the executive strategic planning for this $4B restaurant parent of 3,500 Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants.
Most recently, Jeff was the founder and CEO of Daring Solutions, an AI application for restaurant kitchen staff. He has also spent time with Long John Silvers, Premcor, and Vicorp Restaurants. Chasney’s charter will be to lead OpenCity’s new contactless ordering solution.
“Jeff is an expert in restaurant technology; consistently launching and implementing cutting-edge solutions for some of the world’s largest quick-service restaurant brands. He has the right mix of domain expertise, franchisee scalability, and AI vision, to seamlessly lead and integrate OpenCity’s contactless ordering system with existing technology stacks for enterprise quick service brands,” said Nick Belsito, founder and CEO of OpenCity.
“Improving drive-thru speed of service and order accuracy is near and dear to my heart. Every second matters; every 10 seconds lost at the drive thru translates to over $30,000 in lost annual revenue per store. I have been exploring AI solutions throughout my career to grow sales, profits and customer satisfaction. OpenCity’s AI platform is the best I’ve ever seen; it just works. Its accuracy is astounding, as it places orders directly into the point of sale. This is an industry game-changer!” emphasized Jeff.
“COVID-19 has created a dramatic shift in consumer buying behavior and channels, with QSRs reporting 90% of revenue from the drive thru (up from 70%). These behaviors will have permanence in a post COVID-19 restaurant world — where customers demand frictionless experiences,” said Belsito. “Restaurants that leverage AI to drive revenue, improve operating margin and reduce overhead, will thrive in the ever-changing food hospitality market.”
It’s very important to note that not all AI systems are alike. “We own our IP, whereas, other AI companies license third party NLP and ML models” exclaimed Belsito. “Owning a unique AI solution creates flexibility and enables total control in the development and deployment of solutions. It enables advances that are unattainable to our competitors in this space,” Belsito continued.
OpenCity is now accepting a limited number of partners to be in their first drive-thru program that is launching soon. To apply for access, visit https://landing.opencity.co/drivethru
About OpenCity
OpenCity, a Boston based omni-channel, multi-service customer engagement AI company for restaurants. Built by Restaurant People. For Restaurant People. OpenCity has changed the way customers and hospitality businesses communicate. Our AI automatically takes orders, books reservations and responds to customer questions 24/7, allowing our customers and partners to focus more on operations while creating new revenue streams. Curious about how it works? Apply for access: https://landing.opencity.co/drivethru
