D.J. Costantino

Hey, I'm D. J.

I write for a living — first as a journalist covering chefs and food culture, now leading content strategy in hospitality SaaS.I've everything from research reports, to long-form writing to creating and hosting a podcast that ran six years and hit 100K downloads. I'm currently leading the content function at Upserve, and open to select consulting and content work.

Selected work

The Pre-Shift Podcast
150K+ downloads, 75+ industry pros featured, solo hosted and produced. — 7shifts · 2021–26Restaurant Labor Cost & Profitability Report
521 restaurant operators surveyed on labor costs and profitability. — 7shifts · 20253 numbers every restaurant's POS hides
A 15-minute framework for finding hidden margin in a restaurant's numbers. — Upserve · 2026Restaurant Tech Adoption Report
500+ restaurant operators surveyed on technology adoption. — 7shifts · 2025The Great Resignation: what 3,700 restaurant employees want
3,700 restaurant employees surveyed during the Great Resignation. — 7shifts · 2024Data isolation is AI's biggest obstacle in hospitality
Ghostwritten for Revinate's CRO, on cross-property guest data. — Revinate · 2026The hotel revenue channel you're already paying for
Ghostwritten, on treating the hotel phone line as a revenue channel. — Revinate · 2026What is centralized delivery management
Ghostwritten for Shipday's co-founder. — Shipday · 2026Danny Meyer on culture that attracts and retains
Takeaways from a conversation with the Union Square Hospitality founder. — 7shifts · 2024Chef David Thompson wants you to cook more Thai food
A conversation with the Michelin-star chef on Thai cooking. — Saveur · 2019

What I do

Content strategy: I built the voice and editorial framework for a full rebrand, then ran editorial strategy across blog, podcast, and video.Content audits & refreshes: A tiered refresh program at Revinate that used SEO and semantic analysis to prioritize what to rework over what to write new.Long-form writing: Customer profiles, research guides, and feature stories for 7shifts, Revinate, and Upserve.Ghostwriting: For C-suite executives, founders, and category blogs.Content ops: Planning, briefs, calendars, and workflows built for content teams.

Get in touch

I take on a limited number of consulting and writing projects each quarter. If you're building something worth writing about — or need help finding the story in it — let's talk.