The Core Offering
Decision Logic, the Omaha-based provider of back-of-house operations software for restaurants, has launched Open Semantic Access, a capability that gives multi-unit restaurant operators read-only access to their operating data — complete with business-context definitions — so they can feed that data into any third-party AI tool without paying an additional platform fee.
The product is available now and will be demonstrated at the FSTEC 2026 trade conference. Decision Logic counts Golden Corral, Taco John's, Twin Peaks, RibCrib BBQ, and 54th Street Restaurants among its current operator partners.
Why the Pricing Model Matters
The no-surcharge structure is a deliberate competitive signal. Decision Logic illustrates the cost pressure operators face with a concrete example: an AI or API add-on priced at $300 per location would cost a 450-unit chain more than $135,000 annually, a figure that scales with every new opening. By bundling Open Semantic Access into its existing platform, Decision Logic removes that per-location toll and positions itself against vendors that charge separately for AI connectivity.
The company estimates the approach can compress the time from business question to actionable answer by three to four times in applicable use cases, compared with the traditional workflow of exporting data restaurant by restaurant, cleaning it, and waiting weeks or months for a custom report to be built.
Interoperability as a Strategy
Open Semantic Access is architected around interoperability rather than a proprietary AI chat interface. Operators can connect their Decision Logic data — spanning sales, labor, inventory, food cost, and menu performance — to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any other model their teams prefer. The semantic layer embedded in the export ensures that an AI tool understands operational distinctions, such as the difference between gross and net sales or a case quantity versus an individual unit, before it begins generating analysis.
"Restaurant operators shouldn't have to buy their own data back just because they want to use it with AI," said Keegan Conrey, Chief Executive Officer of Decision Logic. "Open Semantic Access is built around a straightforward principle: it's your data. You should be able to use it with the tools you choose, ask the questions that matter to your business and get answers without waiting for someone else's roadmap."
The flexibility is designed to future-proof operator investments. Because customers supply their own AI credentials and methodologies, they can switch models as the technology evolves without losing underlying data access — a meaningful consideration given the pace of change in the large-language-model market.
The launch arrives as restaurant technology vendors across the foodservice software sector increasingly compete on AI integration, with operators under margin pressure seeking tools that reduce labor devoted to manual reporting. Decision Logic's bet is that owning the semantic data layer — the definitions and context that make raw operational data legible to an AI — is more durable than building a single proprietary chat interface. For operators evaluating back-of-house technology platforms, the ability to avoid vendor lock-in on AI tooling is becoming a procurement criterion in its own right.
For further context on how AI is reshaping restaurant operations more broadly, Food & Beverage Magazine has covered the accelerating adoption of data-driven management tools across multi-unit brands.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
