By Marv Allen, Vice President of Sales at Preopening Restaurants Resource - 6.25.2025
When Hai Hospitality announced it would bring its celebrated Japanese concept Uchi to New York’s NoMad neighborhood, excitement quickly followed. Known for its high-end omakase experience in cities like Austin and Denver, the 170-seat Manhattan location had long been in development. By the time public buzz began building, however, many foundational vendor and technology decisions—POS, reservation systems, kitchen equipment, beverage distributors, and more—had already been made.
The same can be said for dozens of high-profile restaurant openings this quarter, from the buzzworthy North Carolina debut of Heff’s Burger Club in Wilmington to Antico Nuovo’s expansion to Newport Beach. In each case, suppliers—from beverage vendors to tech platform providers—found themselves either inside the circle early or left out entirely. It’s a tale as old as the hospitality playbook: timing isn’t everything, but it might be the difference between a long-term client and a missed opportunity.
This challenge is the focus of a new national survey conducted by Preopening Restaurants Resource, a lead intelligence platform serving restaurant solution providers. The study, which queried 220 restaurant owners, operators, and decision-makers involved in new concept development, provides a detailed look at how and when supplier decisions are made during the preopening cycle. The results offer a clear message: vendor engagement must begin well before the construction dust settles.
The survey found that 71% of operators initiate tech and vendor discussions more than 90 days prior to opening. Another 64% said they finalize key supplier partnerships—particularly in areas like POS systems, equipment vendors, and design services—before any public announcement or marketing activity. By the time a new opening is covered by the press or appears on sites like Resy or Eater, most of the procurement has already happened.
This timeline underscores a persistent blind spot for suppliers that rely on traditional lead sources. “We’re seeing that many tech providers and F&B companies still reach out far too late,” says a senior advisor at Preopening Restaurants Resource. “By the time a restaurant issues a press release or opens its reservation book, the operator has already onboarded their POS, signed with their linen service, and chosen their beverage partners.”
Consider the much-anticipated debut of New York’s Lord’s Uptown, a sister concept to the popular Soho location. While industry buzz only recently picked up, the team behind the new British bistro has spent months behind the scenes sourcing equipment, customizing tech stacks, and finalizing design elements. These decisions—many of which shape long-term operational workflows and guest experience—are made quietly and early.
Technology choices also received equal foresight at Monsieur, one of New York’s more mysterious and exclusive new cocktail bars. While the venue cultivates an aura of secrecy and spontaneity, its operations rely on modern systems chosen early. For example, the bar uses SevenRooms as its reservation and guest management platform—a detail revealed when bookings became available online through a SevenRooms link. This decision was likely predetermined, as Golden Age Hospitality, the group behind Monsieur, uses the platform across its portfolio. Integrating the system before opening allowed the team to capture guest preferences and manage traffic from day one. Similarly, the POS system and payment processors were almost certainly configured well in advance, enabling smooth high-volume service from night one.
Restaurants face enormous complexity in launching a new operation. From compliance and permitting to vendor onboarding and tech integration, every decision has downstream impacts. That’s why more than three-quarters of survey respondents said they are unlikely to engage new suppliers within 30 days of opening. At that point, the operator’s attention has shifted to staffing, inspections, soft openings, and go-live execution. Late-stage outreach, they noted, often adds more friction than value.
Despite this reality, few vendors have access to accurate, timely intelligence about what’s in the pipeline. While public databases, local news, and industry blogs offer clues, they often surface too late in the process. This gap creates a drag on supplier growth—and missed opportunities to forge relationships when operators are still evaluating options.
That’s where structured preopening lead intelligence can have the greatest impact. Platforms like Preopening Restaurants Resource aim to surface actionable data about restaurants still in the earliest development phases: under construction, planning their debut, or navigating ownership transitions. The service delivers twice-weekly reports with verified profiles of upcoming restaurants, including concept type, timeline, contact information, and decision-maker details. Leads are researched through a combination of permits, licensing records, insider contacts, and real estate transactions.
Vendors using this type of intelligence say it gives them a “first-in-line” advantage. “We were able to get our software in front of a group of fine-dining concepts in Florida that hadn’t even announced yet,” says one POS provider. “By the time their grand opening was covered, we were already onboarding them.”
The stakes are high. According to the same survey, 83% of operators believe earlier engagement with vetted suppliers leads to better outcomes—fewer missed deadlines, better integration, and more trust in the vendor relationship. Conversely, more than half reported that rushed supplier decisions were a top challenge in their preopening timeline.
This is not just about convenience. Delayed outreach can lead to real financial losses for vendors and restaurants alike. Early vendor integration can reduce project costs by as much as 25% by minimizing last-minute changes and delays.
In an era when restaurant tech stacks are more complex than ever—and when consumer expectations continue to rise—the need for early, strategic partnerships is more important than ever. Suppliers who can align with restaurant openings during the quiet planning phase stand a far better chance of driving long-term value.
For those watching Resy, Eater, or social media for signs of new activity, the signal may already be too late. The smart money—and the strongest supplier strategies—lie upstream, in the invisible phase of development when the real decisions are made.
Marv Allen is Vice President of Sales at Preopening Restaurants Resource, a subscription-based platform that helps technology providers, distributors, and other suppliers connect with restaurant operators months before they open their doors. With more than three decades of experience in B2B sales leadership, Marv plays a pivotal role in helping vendors engage with decision-makers during the most critical stage of the restaurant lifecycle—when foundational purchasing decisions are made. Marv also serves as Director of Business Development at Starfleet Media, the parent company of Preopening Restaurants Resource, where he oversees client partnerships. Prior to joining Starfleet Media, he held senior positions at major organizations including GE Healthcare and Allstate Insurance, bringing a proven track record of driving revenue and building long-term client success. Based in Chicago, Marv is passionate about helping restaurant-facing vendors grow their footprint by reaching the right buyers at the right time.
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