Bilt Filled 50 Covers on a Rainy Manhattan Monday Night

By Amara Osei

A Bilt campaign brought 50 diners to a restaurant in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District on a rainy Monday night, according to Sam Bakhshandehpour, Bilt’s president of local merchants. The campaign targeted residents in nearby apartment buildings who would not have to travel far for dinner.

Bakhshandehpour said the campaign illustrated an opportunity for restaurants facing rising costs and pressure to fill seats on slow nights. “No one’s traveling on a Monday night to go grab a meal,” he said.

The restaurant’s chef-founder was pleased, according to Bakhshandehpour. “We got 50 covers locally, came on a Monday night where it would’ve been a disaster of a night,” Bakhshandehpour recalled the founder saying. The diners also spent more on average and joined the restaurant’s loyalty program, Bakhshandehpour said.

Who makes a new neighborhood their own?

Bakhshandehpour spent six years helping lead José Andrés Group, most recently as CEO, before joining Bilt. He said years of running hospitality businesses had given him problems he wanted to solve. “The costs are going higher, and our margins are getting squeezed every single day,” he said.

Bilt founder Ankur Jain asked what restaurateurs needed help with, Bakhshandehpour said. He answered: “How much time do you have?”

According to Bakhshandehpour, Bilt began by letting residents earn rewards on rent payments. He said the housing network created an opportunity to connect local businesses with people moving into nearby homes.

Residents make important decisions within their first 30 days in a neighborhood, Bakhshandehpour said. “This is my dry cleaner. This is my pharmacy. This is my restaurant, my bar,” he said. “And they’re loyal to their local neighborhood.”

Restaurants once sought those introductions through flyers and menus slipped under apartment doors, Bakhshandehpour said. “That’s been digitized,” he said. “And that has been localized and personalized to you.”

On the rainy Monday, the campaign gave nearby residents a reason to try the restaurant, according to Bakhshandehpour. He said the first visit gave the team a chance to earn the next one.

Can restaurant technology reduce work?

A restaurant sent something to a table as a complimentary gesture, then found it on the guest’s bill. “I didn’t order this, and now you charged me for it,” Bakhshandehpour said. “Thanks for that level of hospitality,” he added sarcastically.

The restaurant intended a thoughtful gesture, but a missed instruction turned it into an awkward conversation, Bakhshandehpour said. He described the handoff behind a reservation: a request arrives by text, someone responds and passes it along, and the team prepares for the guest. “You’re able to focus on what you do best, and that’s deliver hospitality to your guests, not worry about the reservation book,” he said.

Every new tool can create another responsibility, Bakhshandehpour said. As Bilt developed its use of AI agents, Jain set an expectation Bakhshandehpour remembers clearly: “This can’t be more work for the teams.” Bakhshandehpour said an operator should be able to ask, “Who’s coming to my restaurant tonight?” in everyday language, without learning how the technology behind it works.

Bakhshandehpour said he sees that simplicity in a device his father already uses. “My 84-year-old father sets up his iPhone in a matter of minutes,” he said. “It’s effortless.”

Restaurants also depend on existing systems, Bakhshandehpour said. He said operators using Toast could connect to Bilt without replacing their point-of-sale platform. “We can integrate, you keep Toast,” he said.

How Bilt tests the customer experience

Bilt sends executives to different cities each quarter for gatherings called Close Friends, according to Bakhshandehpour. Members are invited to give candid feedback on where the experience needs work. “They’re the ones who challenge us, they give us the straight talk,” he said.

For restaurant teams, Bakhshandehpour said, the value comes through in follow-through. The reservation is ready, instructions reach the right employee, and a dish sent as a gift arrives without a charge.

Who is behind the discussion?

The interview appeared in Restaurant Influencers, a series brought to you by Toast, with PepsiCo Foodservice as sponsor of the episode. Toast describes its point-of-sale and management system as helping restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

PepsiCo Foodservice says its partnership helps operators drive sustainable growth through smarter digital experiences, AI-backed menu optimization and tools designed for more profitable online orders. Bilt’s next proof point is whether first visits become repeat business while its AI agents leave restaurant teams with less work.