Serial entrepreneur and rock legend Gene Simmons will be the master of ceremonies at the Nation’s Restaurant News Hot Concepts celebration, NRN announced.
The event will be held during the MUFSO conference in Dallas Sunday, Oct. 1, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., honoring emerging chains Bibibop Asian Grill, Bubba’s 33, Flower Child, New Bohemia Wurst + BierHaus and Public School on Tap.
Casual-dining chain Rock & Brews Restaurants, of which Simmons is co-founder, is sponsoring the celebration.
Simmons, who is front man and co-founder of the band Kiss, also owns a mini-golf course in Las Vegas and some 5,000 licensed Kiss products — from condoms to caskets, as he likes to say.
The Hot Concepts winners will serve their specialties during the celebration, and then Simmons will emcee the awards presentation.
Simmons is no stranger to the MUFSO crowd, having been a keynote speaker at the conference in 2015, when attendees were provided with autographed copies of his book, “Me, Inc. — Build an Army of One, Unleash Your Inner Rock God, Win in Life and Business.”
He told attendees that customers want from restaurants the same thing that Kiss fans want from concerts: A show.
“Once they walk into your restaurant, you’re on,” he said.