Leading with Empathy as On-Demand Dining Flourishes
Meet dish. trailblazer Stephanie Donnan, Eastern Canada Restaurant Success Lead at DoorDash Canada.
Stephanie Donnan has never officially clocked in for a restaurant shift, learned a wine list, or closed a kitchen deep into the night. “I never had that classic restaurant job,” she admits. “No time behind the bar, no shifts waiting tables.”
What she has had from the beginning was a service mindset—a deep belief that every role, whether in retail, events, or the non-profit world, ultimately comes down to people. “I’ve always been drawn to helping,” she says. “Figuring out what someone needs, how they operate, and how to support them.”
That instinct to listen before leading has become the throughline of her career. As Eastern Canada Restaurant Success Lead at DoorDash, Donnan leads a growing team dedicated to supporting small and medium-sized restaurants across the region. Her path to this point may not have followed the traditional route through kitchens or dining rooms, but in hindsight, it’s perfectly aligned. “I didn’t know much about restaurants when I started my career,” she recalls. “I just led with empathy. I asked questions, listened, and built relationships. That’s how I learned the business—and that’s still how I approach it today.”
I didn’t know anything about restaurants when I started, I just led with empathy. I asked questions, listened, and built relationships. That’s how I learned the business—and that’s still how I approach it today.
A Different Route
When Donnan joined her first foodservice technology company, she entered a world that felt fast-moving, high-pressure, and unfamiliar. “They were just building their account management team,” she recalls. “I came in with zero restaurant experience—but a lot of experience in listening.”
That skill became her edge. “I started from scratch,” she says. “No industry language, no playbook. Just conversations—hundreds of them—with restaurant owners trying to make their businesses work.” Through those conversations, Donnan gained a new understanding of what hospitality truly means. “From the outside, you think of restaurants as places to eat,” she says. “But from the inside, you realize they’re community anchors. They’re where people go to celebrate, to belong, to feel known.”
Donnan’s career has often unfolded in rooms where women are the minority. “I’ve been the only woman in the room for most of my career,” she says. One moment stands out for her vividly. “I was pregnant—very pregnant, actually—walking into a boardroom full of male executives. The CEO cut me off mid-presentation and turned to my male director with a question. I could’ve just let him answer. But instead, I looked the CEO in the eye and said, ‘I can actually answer that for you.’ And I did.”
Now, leading a team of 16, that moment continues to guide her leadership style, and the way she works to encourage team members to be confident in expressing and advocating for themselves. “It wasn’t about proving a point—it was about claiming the space I’d earned,” she says. “Confidence doesn’t mean being the loudest voice in the room. It means trusting that you belong there. I encourage authenticity because that’s where confidence comes from. You don’t need to mimic someone else’s style to be effective. You just have to show up as yourself.”
Confidence doesn’t mean being the loudest voice in the room. It means trusting that you belong there.
Grounded in People
Donnan’s team focuses on small operators—family-owned, community-rooted, often immigrant-run restaurants whose survival depends as much on meaning as on margins. “For a lot of them, the restaurant is their life,” she says. “It’s their savings, their story, their way of building a future.”
That understanding shapes how her team approaches every partnership.
Her team acts as both advisor and advocate, helping restaurateurs integrate delivery and digital tools in ways that enhance rather than dilute their identity. “We can bring data and tools,” she says, “but the human part—trust—is what makes it work. You can’t go in thinking you know better because you have a big company behind you. You have to approach with care. Listen first, advise second.”
One of her favourite success stories that demonstrates this approach is PAI, Chef Nuit Regular’s celebrated Thai restaurant in Toronto. “PAI treats delivery as part of their hospitality experience,” Donnan explains. “It’s not an add-on—it’s integrated into how they serve their guests.”
Her connection with PAI runs deep, stretching back to a previous role before joining DoorDash. “I had worked with them at a previous company,” she says. “So, when they joined DoorDash last year, it felt like coming full circle. I already knew how deeply they cared about every part of the guest experience, and that makes them a dream partner.”
The relationship has since become a model for how restaurants and platforms can grow together. “They’ve evolved their business and strategy to really embrace delivery as part of their core,” Donnan says. “They’ve built it into their brand in a way that’s seamless—without ever losing what they’re known for, which is excellence and heart. It’s a two-way relationship—we share insights, but they also bring ideas to the table.”
Recently, PAI approached DoorDash with a proposal to improve the experience for Dashers—independent contractors who connect restaurants with customers via delivery. “They asked, ‘How can we make this better for them?’” Donnan says. “That kind of thinking—seeing Dashers as part of the hospitality chain—is rare and really inspiring. It shows how they view every touchpoint, from kitchen to customer, as part of their responsibility.”
For Donnan, that’s what success looks like: collaboration built on shared values. “It’s about partnership in the truest sense,” she says. “When both sides are invested in each other’s success, that’s when innovation actually happens.”
From Empathy to Empowerment
When asked what separates thriving operators from the rest, Donnan doesn’t hesitate. “Persistence, patience, organization—and heart,” she says. “You can be the best cook or have the smartest business plan, but if you don’t care about people, it shows. The best restaurateurs never lose sight of that.”
For Donnan, that same human-centred philosophy extends far beyond the restaurants she supports. It shapes how she leads her own team—and how she advocates for women across the industry. The qualities she most admires in great operators are the same ones she tries to cultivate in her colleagues: resilience, empathy, and the courage to keep showing up. “Impostor syndrome is real,” she says. “You walk into a room and assume everyone else knows more than you. But mentorship changes that. Having women who challenge you and advocate for you makes all the difference.”
Restaurants are built on heart. You see it every day—in the people, in the work, in the stories behind every menu. That’s what keeps me here.
Over the years, Donnan has learned that leadership isn’t about hierarchy—it’s about reciprocity. “Find those people,” she says. “The ones who see your potential, who push you to grow. And when you’re in a position to do it, do the same for others. Lead with empathy. Lead with authenticity. Everyone you meet in this business has a story and, if you take the time to listen, you’ll always find the common ground.”
That mindset has also shaped how Donnan navigates an industry defined by constant evolution. After years of working alongside operators, she’s learned that uncertainty is the only constant. “This industry moves fast,” she says. “When I started, delivery was barely part of the conversation. Now it’s essential. You can’t plan for every change—you just have to stay open and roll with it.”
What keeps her in the game isn’t the technology or the metrics; it’s the connection. “You have to love it,” she says. “Restaurants are built on heart. You see it every day—in the people, in the work, in the stories behind every menu. That’s what keeps me here.”
Learn more about Stephanie
Stephanie Donnan is the Eastern Canada Restaurant Success Lead at DoorDash Canada, where she helps small and medium-sized restaurants grow online and reach more customers. With nearly a decade of experience in the foodservice and hospitality industry, she brings a ground-level perspective on the challenges restaurateurs face and prides herself on building collaborative partnerships that drive long-term growth.
Stephanie began her career in retail operations and non-profit event management before moving into restaurant technology, giving her a people-first approach that shapes her team leadership today. She holds a BA in Women’s Studies from Queen’s University and a Certificate in Project Management from the University of Toronto. Based in Toronto, Stephanie enjoys discovering new local restaurants and spending time with her family.
Connect with Stephanie Donnan on LinkedIn.
dish. is Restaurants Canada’s bold new event and content series crafted to empower and elevate women leaders—and rising stars—in hospitality and foodservice.
