Advisory From Experts Who’ve Actually Done the Work
Between us, we bring 50+ years across every layer of the hospitality industry: restaurant management and operations, catering, culinary, concept design, hotel operations, food distribution sales and purchasing, and foodservice technology.
That includes hands-on time at Bear Robotics working on AI-driven automation in food service, and with Newo AI advising restaurants on streamlining ordering, table reservations, and customer phone calls. We’ve put all of that under one roof at MarginSurge, built for restaurant owners who want practical, no-fluff advisory instead of a consultant who’s only ever worked one side of the business. Explore our restaurant consulting services, or book a free 20-minute consult.
Meet the Founders
MarginSurge
Kal Zayed
Kal’s path to MarginSurge started behind the line and in the front of the house. As the former owner of an upscale Mediterranean seafood and wine bar, he learned the restaurant business from the inside out, running both front and back of house across independent restaurants and chain operations alike. He trained at Johnson & Wales University in Miami, then spent his career building restaurant concepts from the ground up, designing operations and training staff for brands across the country.
Kal also brings deep supply chain expertise from his years in sales and business development at Sysco Foods and Jacmar Foods, and hospitality leadership from his time as Director of Catering & Dining Outlets at Louisiana State University (Compass Group). Most recently, as Head of Partnerships at Bear Robotics, he worked hands-on with foodservice robotics, and with Newo AI agentic software as a strategic advisor on the hospitality industry, giving him rare views into where the industry is headed next.
Joey Scott
Joey has spent his career at the operational heart of large-scale hospitality. As Director of Restaurants overseeing 15 outlet locations and more than 50,000 square feet of event space, he managed a team of 300+ people while delivering $55 million in annual revenue. Along the way, he has led the end-to-end conceptualization, design, and opening of more than a dozen restaurant and venue concepts across luxury resorts, independent lodges, and multi-unit retail brands.
Before that, Joey served as Purchasing Director for a major broadline food distributor, and he has built comprehensive onboarding, training, and service-culture programs for teams ranging from 80 to 300+ employees. Like Kal, he brings hands-on experience with foodservice robotics and AI agentic software, knowledge that shapes how MarginSurge helps clients think about the future of hospitality operations.