2026 has been chock-full of exciting restaurant industry events, from the ICR Conference to the National Restaurant Association Show.
While most of the major restaurant industry events have come and gone, a handful are left that can help operators plan for the rest of the year and into early 2027. The remaining events will showcase trends in financing, foodservice technology and investment strategies.
To help you prioritize your travel budget, Restaurant Dive has updated our list of the buzziest restaurant events scheduled through the rest of 2026 and into January.
Top restaurant conferences left to attend in 2026
FSTEC
Sept. 23-25
Location: Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, Grapevine, Texas
FS/TEC is a major foodservice technology conference showcasing innovations in the restaurant industry, with sessions on forward-looking trends and topics like artificial intelligence, the future of work and consumer relationship management tech. FS/TEC typically has more than 70 speakers and has featured C-suite leaders from national brands like The Habit Burger Grill, Church’s Texas Chicken, Denny’s, Panera Bread and Checkers and Rally’s.
Restaurant Finance & Development Conference
Nov. 9-11
Wynn, Las Vegas, Nevada
RFDC is a financial conference for restaurant owners, operators and finance executives. Attendees can learn about key trends in restaurant business and capital markets during educational sessions covering topics including capital-raising strategies, restaurant operations, financials and trends in investments and merger and acquisitions.
This year’s speakers include executives from Panda Restaurant Group, Burger King, Cava, Taco Bell, Chi Chi’s Restaurant, Brew Crew, First Horizon Restaurant Group and Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill.
ICR Conference
Jan. 11-13, 2027
JW Marriott, Orlando Grande Lakes, Orlando, Florida
This invite-only event brings together major public and private companies to share updates about their business models and discuss hot topics within the restaurant sector. Attendees typically include corporate management teams, private equity and institutional investors and sell-side analysts.
Past presenters included Darden, BJ’s Restaurants, El Pollo Loco, Fat Brands, The One Group, Shake Shack and Krispy Kreme.
Disclosure: FS/TEC is run by Informa, which owns a controlling stake in Informa TechTarget, the publisher behind Restaurant Dive. Informa has no influence over Restaurant Dive’s coverage.
