We’re excited to announce the 2025 Customer Excellence Award winners—restaurants recognized for their innovation, impact, growth, team culture, and customer focus.
Restaurants are at the heart of our communities. They’re fueled by creativity, hard work, and the passion of the people who run them. At Restaurant365, we’re lucky to work with operators who inspire us every day and are pushing the industry forward. That’s why we started the Customer Excellence Awards (CEA) — to recognize restaurants that stand out for their innovation, impact, growth, team culture, and customer care.
After receiving inspiring nominations and conducting finalist interviews, we’re thrilled to announce the 2025 Category Winners:
In Fort Lupton, Colorado, Wholly Stromboli proved that a single-unit operator can run with chain-level precision. By leveraging R365 Accounting and Operations, the Rickmans maintained 18% COGS, less than 1% AvT variance, and real-time financial insights that empowered smarter decisions. Their disciplined back office paired with a culture-first approach made them a standout.
“Restaurant365 helps the independent operator run like a big restaurant chain.” — Eric Rickman, CFO
Metrics at a glance:
From a single pizzeria in New York to more than 160 corporate and franchise locations nationwide, Villa Restaurant Group transformed its operations with R365. By consolidating AP, purchasing, inventory, scheduling, and reporting into a single platform, VRG standardized processes across dozens of brands and gained real-time visibility at scale.
“Restaurant365 has truly transformed how we operate — the visibility and automation let our operators make real-time decisions and drive profitability.” — Michael Leemann, Controller
Metrics at a glance:
A family-owned, multi-concept brewery restaurant in Western New York, Johnson’s Landing stood out for its employee empowerment and culture of recognition. With COO Rick Weber’s background in lean manufacturing, the team replaced handwritten checklists with digital workflows, created training videos for consistency, and increased employee celebrations fivefold.
“R365 and ExpandShare opened the door for us to create an army of problem solvers.” — Rick Weber, COO
Metrics at a glance:
All three category winners will be honored at the Restaurant Transformation Festival (RTF) in San Diego, September 21–23, 2025, where Morgan Harris, R365 Co-Founder & Chief Community Officer, will announce the overall Customer Excellence Award Winner and present a $10,000 prize—so join us in San Diego to celebrate these winners live and be part of the excitement.
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