Dining Concepts Get Virtual Shakeup

The food and beverage industry is on the cusp of a revolution.
The convergence of technology, a pandemic, and shifting consumer
demands could mean the future is virtual. A visionary in the
space of virtual concepts and food and beverage innovation, Aaron
Noveshen, shared his journey and thoughts on what’s next.
Noveshen is the founder of F&B agency The Culinary
Edge and CEO and founder of the fast-food
chain Starbird. 


Noveshen’s love affair with food started early. By 25, he was an
executive chef, but he realized his


passion for the industry went beyond the stove. 


 “In 2002, I started Culinary Edge to change F&B
experiences, working on brand positioning, menu strategy, and
operations. We’ve worked with startups along with 25% of the top
200 restaurants,” Noveshen said. 


After years of helping other food brands thrive, the company
decided to create its own brand. “It was time to walk the walk
and see if we could go out and create a brand on the culinary
edge,” Noveshen commented. 


That passionate pursuit led to the creation of Starbird. They
wanted to really imagine the fast-food experience with food and
ingredient quality, enhancing the experience, and be
digital-first. “From the start, we had an app and a frictionless,
contactless digital experience, so we were well-positioned when
the pandemic hit,” he recalled. 


Their inventive menu, which had help from 10 chefs, focused on
fresh ingredients and everything being made from scratch. Their
chicken and salad concepts have done extremely well. Moving
forward, Noveshen says three things are guiding them—how does
this impact our people, what is our community participation, and
what is the business health. They are also a brand that invests
in its people with employee enrichment programs. He said, “We
want to invest in our people, and we also have the infrastructure
to make sure they can continue to work in the safest manner.”