22/05/2026
Yesterday I had the opportunity to present Hungry Canadian to the Business Club of Airdrie and speak with a room full of local business owners, operators, and professionals from industries ranging from law, insurance, photography, painting, financial services, brewing, and more.
What surprised me most was this:
Even though almost nobody in the room was directly in the restaurant industry, everyone immediately understood the controversy and pressure surrounding modern food delivery platforms — not just as business owners, but as consumers and community members themselves.
The conversations quickly became much bigger than food delivery.
They became conversations about:
• rising operational pressure
• customer acquisition
• platform dependency
• local business sustainability
• and what better long-term local infrastructure could actually look like
That reinforced something important for me personally:
Hungry Canadian may currently be focused heavily on food and delivery, but the underlying conversation is really about strengthening local business ecosystems and creating models that allow independent businesses to compete more sustainably over time.
A huge thank you to the Airdrie Business Club for the opportunity, the engagement, and the thoughtful discussions throughout the morning.
Honestly, I need to do more of this.
— Thomas O’Brien | Founder & CEO
Business Club of Airdrie and Area Kraft & Co. Law Kelly Boudreau