Qdoba and First Watch unveil Gen Z training program at NRA Show

Qdoba and First Watch used a National Restaurant Association Show panel in Chicago on May 17 to argue that restaurant training for Gen Z workers needs to look less like a classroom and more like the digital feeds employees already use every day. Katy Velazquez, vice president of culinary innovation at Qdoba, and Shane Schaibly, senior vice president of culinary strategy at First Watch, described shorter, role-specific videos and more direct visual instruction as the formats getting the best response from younger staff. The session took place during the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place, which runs May 16-19. FoodService Director reported the discussion on Sunday. ### Why are Qdoba and First Watch changing how they train new workers? Generation Z is projected to represent one-third of the global workforce by 2030, FoodService Director reported from the panel. The article said the speakers framed their advice around the expectations of workers born between 1997 and 2010, whom it described as digital natives with different expectations for job training. (foodservicedirector.com) Chicago hosted the session as part of the National Restaurant Association Show, one of the largest foodservice gatherings in the Western Hemisphere. The show drew more than 53,000 foodservice professionals from 100 countries and more than 2,000 vendors this year, according to a Restaurant Business preview. ### What did Qdoba say it is doing differently? (foodservicedirector.com) Qdoba uses a training program designed to resemble a social media platform, allowing employees to scroll through a feed of training videos in a format Velazquez compared to how workers already consume content online, according to FoodService Director. The company also limits what each worker sees to videos tied to that employee's current position, the report said. (restaurantbusinessonline.com) Velazquez said the company is avoiding long training blocks. "We don't have them sitting for three hours watching videos," she said, according to FoodService Director. "We have them watching 10 minutes of videos before they start their shift." ### What was First Watch's pitch for kitchen training videos? First Watch told the Chicago audience that back-of-house training should be built from the perspective of the cook who has to use it on the line. (foodservicedirector.com) Schaibly said he regularly tells colleagues to think back to what they wanted — and did not want — to sit through when they were cooks themselves, according to FoodService Director. Schaibly said long introductions, extended knife-work footage and menu backstory can lose the audience. "I'm a cook, just show me how to cook," he said, according to the report. "I don't care about the backstory." ### What do the two companies agree on? Both speakers pointed to brevity and relevance as the core design rules. FoodService Director reported that Qdoba emphasized bite-sized, personalized content, while First Watch emphasized short videos that show rather than tell. (foodservicedirector.com) The examples were presented as operating guidance rather than a formal joint program. Neither the show website nor the session preview materials reviewed by Reuters-style reporting language described a new shared product or partnership between the two chains; the appearance was part of the show's education programming. (foodservicedirector.com) ### Where did this discussion happen, and who was there? McCormick Place in Chicago is hosting the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show from May 16 through May 19, according to the event website. (foodservicedirector.com) The show markets itself as a four-day trade event covering equipment, technology, food, beverage and operations. Katy Velazquez is listed by the show as vice president of culinary innovation at Qdoba Restaurant Corp., and Shane Schaibly is identified in multiple company and industry profiles as senior vice president of culinary strategy at First Watch. (nationalrestaurantshow.com) Those titles matched the panel coverage published May 17. ### What happens next for attendees who want more detail? May 19 is the final day of the National Restaurant Association Show, and the event website says updated session information is available through the show's official schedule and app. (nationalrestaurantshow.com) McCormick Place show-floor hours on Tuesday run from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to the organizer. (nationalrestaurantshow.com)