QSR June 2023

5 L

YOUNG LEADERS

Robbie EARL

COFOUNDER VIRTUAL DINING CONCEPTS AGE: 29

Robbie Earl recognizes how rare it is to create a new cate gory from scratch. One of his favorite stories is Patagonia founder Yvon Choui nard and The North Face creator Doug Tompkins being lifelong friends, taking road trips together. They carved out an outerwear sports category that “changed the very fabric of everything,” Earl says. Virtual Dining Concepts, founded in 2020 during the peak of COVID, intended to do the same. The company creates food and beverage concepts licensed to operators with additional kitchen capacity. It was formed in response to restaurants needing extra rev enue. “I love the innovation that we’re doing and bringing to the space,” Earl says. “And just seeing people experience the product, whether

VIRTUAL DINING CONCEPTS / RICH POLK

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