Jul 14, 2026 · 1 hr 15 min · 12 segments
In this episode of the Restaurant AI Podcast, host Matt Wampler, Co-Founder and CEO of ClearCOGS, sits down with Shaz Khan, Co-Founder and President of Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks. Shaz calls himself…
Shaz KhanGuest
Matt WamplerHost
On today's episode of "The Restaurant AI Podcast," I am joined by Shaz Khan, the co-founder of Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks.
He is a electrical engineer by trade and got his career started in industrial automation as an engineer before his best friend, Antonio Gambino, convinced him to enter the pizza business.
A decade later, they're building towards 16 locations across four brands in the Twin Cities.
Shaz also serves on Toast Customer Advisory Board, Google's advisory forum, and was recently named a 2026 Food on Demand Outstanding Operator and Minneapolis 40 Under 40 honoree.
He's got an engineer's first principle mindset, but has to operate the day-to-day realities of the restaurant business.
We dig into why smaller restaurant groups are building increasingly sophisticated technology stacks, where AI can genuinely improve the restaurant operations, and why Shaz believe hospitality must always sit above systems, no matter how capable the technology becomes.
Read the full transcript.
Create an account to read the whole episode, search across every transcript, and follow the shows you care about.
On today's episode of "The Restaurant AI Podcast," I am joined by Shaz Khan, the co-founder of Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks.
He is a electrical engineer by trade and got his career started in industrial automation as an engineer before his best friend, Antonio Gambino, convinced him to enter the pizza business.
A decade later, they're building towards 16 locations across four brands in the Twin Cities.
Shaz also serves on Toast Customer Advisory Board, Google's advisory forum, and was recently named a 2026 Food on Demand Outstanding Operator and Minneapolis 40 Under 40 honoree.
He's got an engineer's first principle mindset, but has to operate the day-to-day realities of the restaurant business.
We dig into why smaller restaurant groups are building increasingly sophisticated technology stacks, where AI can genuinely improve the restaurant operations, and why Shaz believe hospitality must always sit above systems, no matter how capable the technology becomes.
