ChowNow

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

In this article, well show you how to consolidate your delivery apps into one system so you can end tablet chaos, improve takeout operation, and ensure customers get their food fast, hot, and, most importantly, accurate. Staff training and inconsistent efficiency. Fortunately, theres an easy solution. Order management issues.

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Delivery Online Ordering Customer Service POS 195

ChowNow

JUNE 12, 2025

The real wins come from small, smart shifts; things like improving your online ordering system, highlighting your most profitable dishes, and giving existing customers more reasons to come back. Use photos, item placement, and smart labeling (for example, “guest favorite or “house specialty”) to steer attention toward high-margin menu items.

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Social Media Online Ordering Email Marketing 195

ChowNow

JANUARY 23, 2025

You love seeing them come in, and you say hello, but is that enough to keep them coming back for years down the line? You love seeing them come in, and you say hello, but is that enough to keep them coming back for years down the line? But first, why is customer retention such a big deal? Thats huge!

2025 195

2025 Loyalty Program Operations Email Marketing 195

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 7, 2020

The pink and blue horse illustration at the top of this article is not clickbait. “But the desire is in the air to get back to social life and reconvene the life that has been paused for over two months. . We can't wait to put our chairs back and become a pleasant place to spend time together.

Food Safety 511

Food Safety Front of House Back of House Seating 511

Culinary Cues

MARCH 21, 2025

Each idea finds itself in a file folder until the right location is discovered -then he jumps into action by bringing the story to life through menu, dcor, team building, training, and marketing. Some of those ideas never find a home but continue to exist as incentive to drive the dreaming process. The customer loved them.

Hotels 270

Hotels Back of House Customer Service Entertainment 270

ChowNow

MAY 9, 2025

In this article, you will learn: The five most important restaurant costs to track and manage Easy strategies for controlling food costs and labor costs Tactics to save money without hurting your guest experience Lets start with the big picture and learn where your money is actually going.

Operations 195

Operations Email Marketing Food Supply Seasonal Menu 195

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 7, 2024

In almost every conversation I have with other industry professionals, someone will say “before COVID… ” or “since COVID… ” As a matter of fact, in many of my articles I make the same comparison. I’ll make this connection for you later in this article. This is a trend I hope will go away.

2025 474

2025 Loyalty Program Waste Compost 474

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

In this article, you will learn: How to improve your restaurants visibility so more people discover you Engagement strategies that turn first-time visitors into repeat customers Practical marketing tactics to fill more tables and increase takeout orders Here are eight strategies proven to attract more customers to your restaurant.

2025 195

2025 Email Marketing Social Media Loyalty Program 195

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 23, 2022

The hi-tech workforce has expanded into factories, warehouses, ecommerce delivery fleets, and this article’s focus: quick serve restaurants. The front of the house features POS tablets as well as tablets loaded with digital checklists that chronicle everything from opening and closing tasks to basic store hygiene functions.

Food 474

Food Food Safety Front of House Fast Casual 474

ChowNow

APRIL 15, 2025

Fortunately, though, cutting costs doesnt have to mean cutting corners, sacrificing the qualities of your restaurant that keep customers coming back again and again. Cross-train your team: When hourly employees can handle multiple roles, you get more flexibility and better coverage without needing to add extra shifts.

Operations 195

Operations Online Ordering Customer Service Customer Experience 195

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Back in time, I remember a billboard in New York City’s Times Square that asked: “Would You Be Willing To Sign Your Work?” Name tags for front of the house employees work just as well maybe with the name of the town they are from, or the number of years they have worked in an establishment. I did this, this is my work”!

Seminar 444

Seminar Front of House Back of House Workshop 444

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 22, 2022

This restaurant was their house, and they had a handle on how the house was doing. Bigger is less predictable and much more difficult to control and bigger takes cooks and chefs away from what they love to do, what attracted them to the trade in the beginning – to cook from the heart. That was it!

Seating 474

Seating Front of House Back of House Cash Management 474

ChowNow

MARCH 19, 2025

Repeat business is what drives real growth, yet many restaurants struggle to keep takeout diners coming back. Thats why takeout success isnt just about fulfilling ordersits about giving customers a reason to come back. Takeout now plays a bigger role in restaurant operations than ever before. In a recent survey by ChowNow, 54.6%

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Email Marketing Back of House Food Order 195

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 25, 2020

In this article, we discuss how restaurant design is changing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight how we must rethink the consumer-facing footprint to make the restaurant experience more sustainable and bolster consumer confidence. In a post COVID-19 world, restaurant design must evolve and adapt to the new normal.

Design 531

Design Guest Recovery Consumer Goods Fine Dining 531

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2023

It’s the fire in the belly waiting to take charge, the anxiety being held in check, cold sweat running down your back even though it’s 120 degrees where you stand, and the nervous chatter of tongs clicking to the beat of a cook’s rhythm. To many cooks, it is the rush of adrenaline that calls them back every day.

Fine Dining 520

Fine Dining Back of House Front of House Food Order 520

Culinary Cues

MAY 1, 2023

And, I have witnessed the apologies and hugs between front and back of the house that said: “Sorry I may have been abrupt, it was the heat of the moment, and you know I truly care about you.” There are many reasons why I am so grateful for the decades I spent in front of a range. In all cases – I have learned something from them.

Front of House 474

Front of House Back of House Food Order Small Business 474

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

Whether its takeout, delivery, or even in-house orders via QR codes, customers want a seamless and convenient way to order online. When customers order through a third-party app, you dont get access to their contact information, making it harder to bring them back. In 2025, the US online food delivery market is expected to reach $424.9

Online Ordering 195

Online Ordering Ordering Email Marketing Mobile Ordering 195

Culinary Cues

JUNE 23, 2024

THEY ARE OUT THERE, and they are willing to teach, train, support, and inspire those who want to be great. Not all kitchens are alike. Not all chefs are the same. Not all cooks step to beat of the same drum. So, how detrimental is this “bad press” and what can be done about it?

Uniforms 448

Uniforms Front of House Back of House Food Supply 448

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 5, 2023

In all cases I would encourage you to take a step back, breathe deep, put down your knife, and check your enthusiasm for right now. Patience, knowing that you probably don’t know what you don’t know, and fall back on perfecting what you do know first, and realize that when you are ready, you will be ready. You want more!

Kitchen Safety 447

Kitchen Safety Food Safety Back of House Front of House 447

Culinary Cues

APRIL 1, 2024

Looking back can provide us with context and content for making future decisions – lessons learned and all that, or it can also help us to relish what worked and hold on to that for inspiration. SOME TIME IN THE LATE 1960’S: Walking through the back entrance to the Statler Hilton Hotel was like stepping into a totally different world.

Back of House 424

Back of House Kitchen Safety Hotels Front of House 424

ChowNow

MARCH 13, 2025

In this article, you will learn: How a centralized delivery system eliminates the chaos of managing multiple platforms. This constant back-and-forth leads to confusion, missed orders, and costly delays. Are delivery prices aligned with in-house costs? But what if all your food delivery apps were in one place?

Delivery 195

Delivery Food Food Order Point of Sale 195

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 18, 2023

Whenever we (chefs) look back on our time in the kitchen, we’re able to categorize experiences in one of three silos: a learning experience, mission accomplished, or inspiration. The rhythm between front and back of the house is seamless, tempers are in check, and the night ends with everyone sharing fist bumps and high fives.

Back of House 468

Back of House Front of House Education Café 468

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 28, 2023

I am tired of the media focusing on the stories of exception, drooling about zealous articles that point to unacceptable kitchen environments, glamorizing the negative through their “reality” shows and movies, and then following up with dramatic writing about how hard it is for restaurants to find help and survive in such a fragile marketplace.

Entertainment 419

Entertainment Back of House Consumer Goods Recruiting 419

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 20, 2024

It is important to always keep in mind that dining out is still a luxury, even though more and more families have built it into their lifestyle. Whether a quick service restaurant, family dining, food truck, or white tablecloth fine dining operation – there will always be some level of price sensitivity. Not necessary!

Fine Dining 449

Fine Dining Food Truck Back of House Pricing 449

Culinary Cues

JULY 31, 2023

A few years back, I posted an article about the UNWRITTEN RULES of the kitchen. The article was my first to go viral allowing me to realize that so many chefs and cooks were looking for a structure that defines what it means to be a professional. Anyway – use as you see fit.

Kitchen Safety 414

Kitchen Safety Back of House Front of House Food Safety 414

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 3, 2022

I can feel the knot in that muscle move slowly from the top of my ankle to the back of my knee. By 7am I am walking through the back door of the kitchen. I polish off breakfast in record time, kick back another coffee, tie on an apron, and walk through the kitchen with clipboard in hand. I nod and give him a thumbs up.

Back of House 437

Back of House Hotels Front of House Book 437

Culinary Cues

JULY 29, 2024

I was talking with a seasoned friend the other day, a person who has a successful professional and personal life to look back on, and we were reminiscing about how easy it seems for people to disregard the past, traditions, work ethic, strong memories, and just move on. I’m going to sound old and too nostalgic now but think about it.

Back of House 458

Back of House Take-out Café Blog 458

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 4, 2022

Thinking that the way to recover from the financial pains of a once in a century pandemic is to cut back on quality product and service and push the ceiling on pricing is short-sighted and ill-conceived as a strategy. Well then – what will? Try apathy on for size. Is it a case of not knowing how to be great or is it a real lack of desire? “Is

Front of House 432

Front of House Back of House Coaching Customer Service 432

Culinary Cues

APRIL 18, 2023

Covid pulled the drapes back to reveal OZ as just an average guy trying to hide his inadequacies with smoke and mirrors. Plan, equip, train, evaluate, educate, and celebrate each and every employee. Everything is different since the pandemic, yet so many things are no different than they were 5 0 years ago.

Food Truck 387

Food Truck Back of House Education Training 387

Culinary Cues

MAY 27, 2023

Dedicate the effort to make it special, make the time to allow everyone to sit down TOGETHER and break bread, talk, relax, and laugh together (front and back of the house). We need to embrace the good and understand the bad and the ugly. But we need to be cognizant of a primary reason for “being connected”. Try “FOOD” on for size.

Technology 418

Technology Front of House Social Media Back of House 418

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

It was strange at first, but then we gradually dressed up a room in our house, set up our computers, turned on the Keurig Coffee Maker and spent our days flipping from one virtual meeting to another. This may seem like a strange topic for a blog focused on the restaurant industry and the world of food but hear me out. So why not?

Social Media 442

Social Media Food Safety Small Business Retail 442

Goliath Consulting

JUNE 15, 2021

Since so many workers are being afflicted with COVID-19, we’ve seen the farming sector experience a widespread shortage of workers who have been trained to complete specific tasks. We saw customers stockpiling on groceries and supplies in homes instead of going out to eat, raising retail sales by 29 percent over the previous year (1).

Supplies 414

Supplies Food Supply Front of House Fast Casual 414

Culinary Cues

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

Does that story take people back in time and allow them to think about the impact the place, building, people, and food had on who they are today? Yes, life – since those who find that higher purpose will likely invest a significant amount of time in a restaurant kitchen, not because they must, but rather because they want to.

Back of House 449

Back of House Transportation Café Food Order 449

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 8, 2022

The anxiety building up to a full house in the hotel packed with a series of food events has made it impossible to relax. Well, here we go. I haven’t slept much at all over the past few days and certainly won’t until the weekend is over. The preparation has been mind boggling, now we just have to execute. Things looked good.

Front of House 450

Front of House Back of House Seating Food Truck 450

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 24, 2023

Everything has a place, and everything is in its place, is a mantra that becomes an obsession with cooks and chefs. It is the very act that allows cooks to push through the chaos of a restaurant kitchen day with military precision and awareness of looming uncertainty. Cooks seem to willingly drink the Kool-Aid”.

Back of House 419

Back of House Front of House Food Order Definition 419

Culinary Cues

JUNE 16, 2023

Next week he would graduate from high school and James the cook at his diner invited him back for dinner and a chat. It was great, but my back didn’t agree, and I eventually had to step out of that role. Last summer he had a job as a dishwasher in a local diner. Too many of his friends took the wrong fork in the road.

Kitchen Safety 415

Kitchen Safety Back of House Hotels Food Safety 415

The Rail

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

A great restaurant stays with its patrons' hearts and brains, inspiring them to come back and suggest it to others. This article will look at strategies to make a restaurant unforgettable for patrons, so they leave with a pleasant experience that lasts. Special events can make an average eating experience remarkable.

Customer Service 130

Customer Service Customer Experience Back of House Consumer Goods 130