She built one of the most iconic food brands in the country. Now she is bringing those lessons to Scottsdale.
We are officially thrilled to announce that Christina Tosi, James Beard Award-winning chef, entrepreneur, and founder of Milk Bar, will be our headline keynote speaker at Transform 2026.
Yes, that Christina Tosi. Cereal milk soft serve. Crack pie. Compost cookies. The woman who turned a tiny New York City bakery into one of the most recognizable and beloved food brands in the world. She is coming to Scottsdale, and she has a lot to say.
Christina opened the first Milk Bar in 2008. What started as a small, scrappy bakery tucked behind Momofuku Noodle Bar grew into a brand with locations across the country, a devoted following, and a place in the cultural conversation that most brands spend decades chasing and never find.
The way she got there is what makes her worth listening to. She did not follow a playbook. She built one. And along the way she figured out how to keep a brand feeling fresh and exciting without losing what made people fall in love with it in the first place, while also putting the operational structure in place to actually support growth.
At Transform, she will share what that looked like from the inside, the creativity, the discipline, the hard calls, and what she knows now that she wishes she had known earlier.
Restaurant leaders right now are being asked to do more with less. Food and labor costs remain high. Consumer habits keep shifting. AI is moving fast and operators are trying to figure out what is actually worth their attention and what is just noise.
Christina has been through the hard parts of building and scaling a food business. She knows what it feels like when the stakes are real and the margin for error is thin. Her perspective is not theoretical. It is earned.
And she is not the only one bringing that energy to Transform. Across more than 30 sessions and five learning tracks, you will hear from leading operators, Restaurant365 experts, and industry partners on where AI is actually delivering results, how restaurants are managing food and labor performance, and what it takes to build a stronger, more profitable business right now.
According to Restaurant365’s State of the Restaurant Industry Mid-Year Report, 62% of active AI users report lower labor costs and 61% report lower food costs. The gap between operators using AI and those who have not started yet is real and it is growing. Transform is where you close it.
Transform is not a sit-and-listen conference. It is built around tangible lessons from people who have actually tried new things and know what it takes to make them work. Expect hands-on learning, a vendor showcase, the Restaurant365 Solutions Bar, and real time to connect with peers and talk about what is actually working in your business.
Transform 2026 takes place November 1-3 at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is going to be a great one.
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Christina Tosi is just the beginning. Register now and join the operators, leaders, and innovators who are building what restaurants look like next. Register for Transform 2026.
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