PAR Technology Announces Winners of the PAR Engagement Customer Awards
Recognizing leaders transforming guest engagement into growth
NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (March 17, 2026 ) – PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR), a leading foodservice technology provider, today announced the recipients of the seventh annual PAR® Engagement Customer Awards. The awards recognize restaurant brands and leaders who set the standard for innovation and excellence in guest engagement, delivering measurable results across loyalty, digital, and operational performance.
“The brands and leaders recognized this year understand where the industry is headed,” said Savneet Singh, CEO of PAR Technology. “By using AI-native solutions to connect strategy to execution, they are creating engagement programs that perform today and are built to win tomorrow. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners.”
This year’s PAR Engagement Customer Awards winners demonstrated standout performance across 11 categories, showcasing how leading brands are driving acquisition, retention, frequency, and profitability.
All Star: Smoothie King
Celebrates brands that deliver exceptional performance across multiple metrics while setting the standard for digital, loyalty, and operational excellence.
In their first year in the
PAR Engagement ecosystem, Smoothie King activated a fully connected digital stack and delivered benchmark‑leading performance, beating the 75th percentile across 500+ QSR brands in multiple categories. The team drove 4% loyalty sales growth and a 35% increase in enrollment, combining rapid innovation with measurable results that set them apart as a true All Star.
Campaign Hot Shot: Dave’s Hot Chicken
Recognizing standout campaigns that creatively drive incremental visits and frequency during off‑peak or underperforming dayparts.
Dave’s Hot Chicken used loyalty to create high‑energy, on‑brand moments that drove real behavior change, led by Dave’s After Dark, which rewarded late‑night purchases and reinforced the brand’s after‑hours identity. During active campaign weekends, the campaign generated approximately 98K new signups and 99K app downloads, accounting for just over half of all signups and downloads during that period.
Digital Innovator: Red Robin
Honoring a brand that modernizes its loyalty and digital ecosystem to create a more seamless, rewarding guest experience.
Red Robin reimagined loyalty by enabling earning on all orders and rebuilding the digital journey around guest value, driving stronger engagement and competitiveness in casual dining. Through initiatives like 2X points, Redemptions 2.0, and a thoughtfully evolved tech stack, they set a higher standard for modern loyalty execution.
Ordering Visionary: Coconut Kenny’s
Recognizing brands that reimagine online ordering to put customer value, flexibility, and ease of use at the center of the experience.
Coconut Kenny’s put guest value first by redesigning its online ordering experience to seamlessly support daily specials, happy hour deals, and complex combos. Partnering with
PAR Ordering™ to simplify menu flow and reduce friction led to month‑over‑month increases in online ordering revenue, driven by easier ordering and expanded menu options.
Retention Rockstar: NORMS
Recognizing brands that consistently drive guest retention and loyalty growth through sustained, high‑impact engagement strategies.
NORMS keeps guests coming back with an always-on retention strategy—welcome and frequency journeys, challenges, and recall campaigns. The results speak for themselves: 61% quarter-over-quarter signup growth, rising loyalty sales and transactions, and a retention rate above the 75th percentile.
Rookie of the Year: Denny’s
Recognizing brands that launched a new loyalty program and quickly stood out through strong early execution and momentum.
In just six months, Denny’s launched a full‑funnel loyalty program with rare speed and discipline, deploying nearly 100 campaigns alongside always‑on welcome, birthday, and re‑engagement journeys. That pace and commitment to building durable lifecycle engagement from day one set them apart as a true Rookie of the Year.
Marketers of the Year: Evan Pardue and Pierson Matejovsky of Condado Tacos
Honoring marketing leaders who transform loyalty into a high‑impact growth engine through creativity, discipline, and measurable results.
Evan Pardue and Pierson Matejovsky transformed Condado Rewards into an experience guests actively chase through brand‑led campaigns like Best Bud Beats, Peezler’s Pass, Best Buds Month, and Wildcard Wednesday, driving 75% growth in loyalty participation and 55% growth in loyalty‑driven sales in two years. Their gamified, behavior‑based approach boosted retention, reduced churn, and delivered record engagement without relying on incremental discounting.
Loyalty Royalty: Jason’s Deli
Celebrating seasoned loyalty leaders who consistently evolve mature programs through creativity, partnership, and measurable growth.
Jason’s Deli proved that mature programs can still grow by using targeted frequency and challenge‑based campaigns like Club Club, baked potato purchase challenges, and 12 Days of Delicious, driving a 34.2% increase in loyalty membership and adding 354,000+ new members year over year.
Voice of Customer Champions: Russ Fliegler of Portillo’s
Recognizing the leader who actively shapes better products and programs by consistently providing thoughtful, actionable customer feedback grounded in real operational impact.
Russ Fliegler is the Voice of the Customer Champion for showing up as a true product partner, consistently delivering actionable feedback that influences PAR’s roadmap and improves how we build. His engagement across VoC sessions and the Product Advisory Group helps translate real‑world operational needs into smarter, more usable product decisions.
Tech Stack Wizard: Yoshinoya America
Recognizing brands that orchestrate a highly integrated technology stack to drive measurable gains across acquisition, loyalty, and profitability.
Yoshinoya America unified
PAR POS™,
PAR® Punchh®, and
PAR OPS® into a single digital engine, pairing lifecycle automation, performance media, and in‑store execution to drive record traffic and profitability. Under Michael Faustino’s leadership, the brand reduced discounting by 42% year-over-year (YoY) while driving 13% YoY growth in loyalty transactions, 25% YoY growth in loyalty sales, a 37% increase in loyalty sign‑ups, and a record 13% loyalty participation rate.
Acquisition Ace: Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop
Recognizing brands that excel at acquiring high‑intent guests by reducing friction and meeting customers across digital, off‑premise, and in‑store touchpoints.
Capriotti’s accelerated acquisition by extending loyalty into DoorDash Storefront, pairing SMS‑driven signups and opening campaigns with cashier‑led enrollment at checkout. This multi‑channel strategy drove a 43.9% year‑over‑year increase in loyalty participation and converted more off‑premise orders into repeat guest relationships.
Learn more about the PAR Engagement Customer Awards here.
About PAR Technology
PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE: PAR) is a leading foodservice technology provider, powering a unified, purpose-built platform engineered to scale and adapt with brands at every stage of growth. Designed with flexibility and openness at its core, PAR’s solutions—spanning point-of-sale, digital ordering, loyalty, back-office, payments, and hardware—integrate with others, yet deliver maximum impact as a unified system. With intentional innovation at the forefront, PAR’s solutions streamline operations, drive higher engagement, and strengthen guest experiences for restaurants and retailers globally. To learn more, visit partech.com or connect with us on social media.
###
Media Contact: Sydney.schultice@partech.com, 609-238-6663
