--- title: "On The QSR Evolution Conference Agenda: Golden Corral’s Dan Doulen" url: https://burnaze.com/article/1517a102-feb6-45b2-a916-dd9f33650c9b source: "QSR Magazine" original_url: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/on-the-qsr-evolution-conference-agenda-golden-corrals-dan-doulen/ author: "Danny Klein" category: "Family dining" industry: "Restaurants" segment: "Family dining" published: 2026-07-06T13:04:36.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T13:16:52.375Z image: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Dan-Doulen-QSR-Speaker-2026-v1.jpg --- # On The QSR Evolution Conference Agenda: Golden Corral’s Dan Doulen **TL;DR:** Dan Doulen, senior director of franchise business development at Golden Corral, will discuss smaller-format prototypes and labor efficiency strategies at the QSR Evolution Conference. Doulen brings over two decades of industry franchising experience to the stage, having previously led the function at Wings & Rings. *By Danny Klein, originally published in QSR Magazine on 2026-07-06. [Read the original](https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/on-the-qsr-evolution-conference-agenda-golden-corrals-dan-doulen/).* ## Story Up next on our QSR Evolution Conference Meet the Speakers series is Dan Doulen, senior director of franchise business development at Golden Corral. Doulen brings more than two decades of industry franchising experience to the stage. He previously led the function at Wings & Rings. At Golden Corral, Doulen is closely involved in communicating and supporting the brand’s refreshed development incentive platform, while also helping educate and engage prospects and franchisees around flexible and smaller-format prototypes, conversion opportunities, non-traditional locations, and technology-enabled lead generation. He’s joining the “Is Your Restaurant Easy to Work In” panel at 10 a.m. on September 9, where we’ll explore the old adage, “happy employees make happy guests,” but with a modern twist on what that means in today’s operating environment. A lot to get into. Doulen sat down with *QSR* to share some thoughts ahead of the event. **In fitting fashion, what is one “Evolution” your company has made recently, or plans to make, that’s really helping drive performance?** Over the last several months, our focus at Golden Corral has been improving operational efficiencies without compromising the guest experience. We recently partnered with Profitality to conduct comprehensive time-and-motion studies across virtually every restaurant position and task. The result is a much more sophisticated labor planning and scheduling model that helps operators deploy labor more effectively while maintaining the quality and abundance our guests expect. On the development side, we’ve also evolved our real estate strategy by introducing smaller restaurant prototypes and expanding our conversion program, allowing us to enter markets and sites that may not have fit our traditional footprint. Together, these operational and development initiatives are helping position the brand for sustainable growth. **What’s your best piece of advice on how to get the most out of in-person conferences?** In my experience, it’s important to go in with a plan while also leaving room for new discoveries. During these types of shows, it’s easy to try to fill your calendar with scheduled meetings, but some of my most valuable conversations happened unexpectedly, in the hallway, after a session, or over coffee. I also encourage people to spend time with operators and peers outside their own segment of the industry. When I hear about how others are solving challenges, it often sparks ideas you can adapt to your own business. My goal is always to leave with a few key learnings and two or three actionable ideas I can implement immediately. **What’s a theme, from AI to the consumer to value (or something else) you expect to hear about early, often, and after this year’s event?** I definitely expect AI to remain a hot topic. Right now, I think that the conversations around AI tools are becoming much more practical. Rather than asking whether AI will impact our industry, restaurant executives like me are now asking how it can improve our data-driven decision-making, labor planning, and guest engagement in measurable ways. From a franchise development perspective, I am hoping to learn more about how AI can improve the lead generation/targeting process and the overall franchising process while paying special attention to AI’s role in ongoing data privacy issues. At the same time, I believe value will continue to dominate leadership discussions. Consumers are looking for dining experiences that justify every dollar they spend, and all brand—not just Golden Corral—must balance affordability with rising operating and food costs. Those who succeed will be those who find innovative ways to improve efficiency while continuing to deliver a compelling guest experience. ## Entities - QSR (sector) - franchise development (topic) - QSR Magazine (publication) - restaurant technology (topic) - Danny Klein (person) - Wings and Rings (company) - Golden Corral (company) - labor efficiency (topic) - QSR Evolution Conference (location) - qsr conference (topic) - Dan Doulen (person) - Profitality (company) --- Originally reported by Danny Klein, QSR Magazine (https://www.qsrmagazine.com/story/on-the-qsr-evolution-conference-agenda-golden-corrals-dan-doulen/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/1517a102-feb6-45b2-a916-dd9f33650c9b).