2026 November| More Than A Menu | ACG Portland

More Than a Menu: Building, Scaling and Investing in Restaurant Brands

Restaurants and hospitality are part of Portland’s DNA. From the outside the restaurant business can look simple: great food, good service, full tables. Doing it well, again and again, across several concepts, is one of the hardest jobs in business. Thin margins, labor pressure, rising costs, shifting consumer tastes and a fiercely competitive market leave little room for error.

Join ACG Portland for a panel with an operator who has built and run more than 40 restaurants and an M&A attorney who has advised on some of the largest multi-unit restaurant deals in the country. They’ll talk about what it really takes to grow restaurant brands, what investors look for when restaurant businesses change hands, and why restaurants have lessons for leaders in every industry.

Discussion topics include:

• The operating challenges facing restaurants today, and why “simple” businesses are so hard to run well
• Growing multiple brands: when to add a concept, how to build shared infrastructure, and how to keep each brand’s identity
• The key areas of due diligence in restaurant and multi-unit transactions, including unit economics, leases, labor, franchise agreements and brand portability
• What other industries can learn from restaurants about execution, customer experience and doing more with less

Date and time: November 3
Location: TBD

Agenda:

4:00 PM - Check-in and Networking
4:30 PM - Panel Discussion
5:30 - 6:30 PM - Appetizers, beverages and networking

Members: No Cost - Registration is Required
Nonmembers: $75 - Registration is Required

A 3% payment processing fee will be added to credit and debit card transactions. This fee covers non-refundable costs charged by our payment processor and does not represent surplus for ACG