
He began by teaching people to cook online. Three business models later, Jeffrey Appelbaum is trying to prove that a restaurant can travel well, remember its customers and still behave like a host.

Jose Hevia spent years learning where restaurants leak time, product and money. A beer table sketched after a trip to Spain became DraftServ - and a second act built one measured pour at a time.

A ringing phone followed Randall Hom from product design into the dining room. His answer became Hostie - software shaped by the small, expensive interruptions that restaurant operators know by heart.