The Hat Selects Square to Power Multi-State Expansion

DISTRIBUTED-WORKFORCE/OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2026--

Square today announced that The Hat, a quick-service restaurant (QSR) beloved for its pastrami sandwiches for 75 years, has selected Square as its unified commerce platform. With Square’s technology foundation now rolled out across The Hat’s 11 locations in California, the brand is ready to embark on its first expansion out of state. This month, The Hat is opening its 12th restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada, marking a new chapter of multi-location management supported by Square for Restaurants.

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Founded in 1951 as a roadside stand in Alhambra, The Hat remains beloved in Southern California for its generous portions, high-quality ingredients, and neighborhood warmth. With old-school hospitality a key part of the brand’s identity – including cash acceptance, printed order numbers, and order call-outs by counter teams – it was essential for The Hat to preserve its human connection as the technology behind the business advanced. The Hat's leadership undertook a rigorous, multi-month evaluation to find the platform that could support the restaurant’s complexity and ambition, without compromising the welcoming experience customers have long known and returned for.

A Rigorous Road to the Right Commerce Platform

“Choosing Square as our new technology partner was a decision we took seriously and viewed as a long-term move," said Jarred Conzonire, Director of Marketing and Operations at The Hat. "We ran a thorough evaluation, going location by location. What we found was a system that matched how we actually work, instead of one that asked us to change what makes us who we are. That's a rare thing. With Square, we’re able to preserve our legacy, while innovating for the future."

The Hat's path to Square was deliberate. Jarred Conzonire led a side-by-side pilot evaluation in a live testing environment, assessing Square against competing platforms before committing. Square stood out for its ease of use, intuitive staff experience, and ability to be configured around The Hat's real-world workflows across locations.

Square’s rollout began with one restaurant in December 2025. From there, The Hat’s district managers were active participants in validating the platform across locations before full deployment. The team’s confidence in the Square platform at scale served as the green light to continue. By March 2026, not only were The Hat's 11 restaurants onboarded to Square, but plans were made to open the brand’s first out-of-state destination in Las Vegas, Nevada – a decision bolstered by Square’s ability to support the brand’s expansion into new markets.

“A technology provider isn’t simply about the product they offer, but the team behind that product,” said Joe Conzonire JR, CFO and COO at The Hat. “In addition to Square’s ease of use, the team at Square has delivered on their promise to provide the human support our organization requires. This allows The Hat to become the best it can be.”

Multi-Location Management for a High-Volume QSR

As the pastrami sandwich QSR sustained its momentum, The Hat’s corporate owners and district managers required more than new registers to further scale. They needed real-time visibility, brand standardization, and interconnection across their entire portfolio. Square for Restaurants gives The Hat centralized menu management and unified reporting tools, empowering leadership with comprehensive operational insights. The Hat also uses Square Register (paired with receipt printers and cash drawers) configured for high-volume counter service. Online, Square Marketing is positioned as a key tool for deepening customer engagement and loyalty as the brand geographically expands.

"Legacy QSR brands don't switch platforms lightly," said James Schonzeit, Head of Food & Beverage at Square. "The Hat spent months stress-testing Square against the realities of their business: the volume, the pace, the workflows their staff and customers depend on. The fact that they’ve not only deployed Square across all locations – but are also bringing it into new markets – tells you what the results looked like and will continue to unlock."

Learn more about how Square powers restaurants at: https://squareup.com/us/en/restaurants

About The Hat

Founded in 1951 in Alhambra, California, The Hat is a family-owned quick-service restaurant (QSR) brand specializing in its World Famous Pastrami Dip Sandwich. With 11 locations across Southern California and a 12th opening in Las Vegas, The Hat has served generations of loyal customers through a fast, quality-driven counter-service model unchanged in its spirit since the brand's founding. For more information, visit thehat.com.

About Square

Square helps businesses turn transactions into connections and businesses into neighborhood favorites.

In 2009, Square started with a simple invention – the first mobile card reader, which changed how the entire financial system thinks about small businesses. Square has since grown into a global business platform helping millions of sellers of all sizes participate and thrive in their communities.

Whether independently run or a global chain, Square understands that sellers succeed when they have the freedom to focus on the experiences that keep customers coming back. From point of sale and payments to online commerce, staff management, cash flow tools, and more, Square brings together the tools sellers need to run and grow on one intelligent platform. For more information, visit squareup.com.

Las Vegas location, photo courtesy of The Hat

WASHINGTON (AP) — The NAACP is calling on Black athletes and fans to boycott the athletic programs of public universities in states that are taking steps that the nation's oldest civil rights group says are restricting Black voting rights.

Launched on Tuesday, the “Out of Bounds” campaign urges prospective Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to “withhold athletic and financial support” from major public universities in states that “have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation.”

If Black athletes participate in the boycott, it could deplete rosters for powerhouse football and basketball programs across the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.

The NAACP is among groups responding to a wave of gerrymandering in the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling that winnowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The boycott comes as civil rights activists have mobilized across the South to protest redistricting plans by Republican state legislatures that eliminate majority-Black congressional districts after the high court's ruling. Activists have looked for pressure points to dissuade GOP-led states from redistricting maps, including calls for mass protests and economic boycotts.

“Across the South, Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in America,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. Johnson noted that the programs “generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, national television value, alumni donations, merchandising sales, ticket sales, and brand equity — much of it powered by Black football and basketball talent.”

The NAACP’s campaign calls out Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and South Carolina as states to boycott, arguing that the athletic programs of those states' flagship universities are especially reliant on Black athletic talent and should protect Black political interests.

“Black athletes should not be asked to generate wealth, prestige, and power for state institutions while those same states strip political power from Black communities,” said Johnson.

Black lawmakers themselves are also putting pressure on athletic leagues to take action against Republican-led states that may redistrict longtime Black members of Congress.

The Congressional Black Caucus on Monday sent a letter to the commissioners of the SEC and ACC athletic conferences, as well as NCAA President Charlie Baker, that its members will oppose the SCORE Act, a bill to standardize athletes’ contracting rights across the country, unless conference leaders oppose GOP-led redistricting efforts in states that include major conference members.

“The Congressional Black Caucus believes institutions that profit from Black talent and Black communities have a responsibility to stand with those communities when their fundamental rights are under attack," the CBC said in a Monday statement. “Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality — it is complicity.”

A man sings a spirtual song during a voting rally, Saturday, May 16, 2026, in Montgomery, Ala. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A vote pin is seen on the lapel of Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, during a rally after a special session of the state legislature to redraw U.S. Congressional voting maps Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

FILE - NAACP President Derrick Johnson arrives at the 57th NAACP Image Awards, Feb. 28, 2026, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)