Earlier this week, I had the honor of speaking at the 2025 LA Chef Conference in Downtown LA hosted by Brad Metzger Restaurant Solutions. If you work in the restaurant biz in LA, you probably know Brad as the top recruiter for culinary and management professionals. It was a star-studded day with appearances from the likes of Nancy Silverton (Mozza), Jonathan Waxman (Barbuto), Alice Waters (Chez Panisse), Roy Choi (Kogi), and many more. Throughout the day, I attended panels about shaping the future of restaurant policy, business models, and PR, and gave a presentation on the future of automation. What’s clear is that, while heralded as one of the top culinary hubs in the country, the LA restaurant scene is severely struggling and there’s no clear path forward to double-digit profit margins. Meanwhile, social media and AI have turned the PR game upside down. Below is a summary and analysis of some of the ideas shared at the event, including my own.