ChowNow

MARCH 21, 2025

In this article, you will learn: How to define your restaurants target market to guide your business decisions. Key customer factors that influence dining preferences, from demographics to behavior. These are the people most likely to dine with you based on factors like their age, income, dining preferences, and lifestyle.

Marketing 195

Marketing Social Media Email Marketing Loyalty Program 195

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 16, 2023

With those stats in mind, Causeway Solutions conducted consumer research* on today’s dining trends compared to our research over the past few years. With the COVID impacts behind us, people are back in restaurants but as the CNN article stated, it is different. 46 percent said they occasionally dine at a fast-food restaurant.

Fast Casual 531

Fast Casual Fine Dining 2023 Consumer Goods 531

Culinary Cues

APRIL 14, 2025

The dish was elevated to an entirely different level as the guest became the most important person in the dining room during the process. The story can make the dish but the dish absent the story is just another salad that can be found in fine dining or your local Greek diner. As is the case with Caesar Salad, the story sells.

Fine Dining 339

Fine Dining Seasonal Menu Travel Presentation 339

ChowNow

JUNE 6, 2025

Maybe you’re running a second-generation Italian restaurant, staying true to your family recipes, or maybe after years of working in fine dining, you opened a spot that felt more true to you. A casual neighborhood spot will use different language than a fine-dining restaurant trying to earn a Michelin star.

Social Media 195

Social Media Fine Dining Front of House Customer Experience 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

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

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 28, 2024

In this article: How to calculate your restaurant customer acquisition cost (CAC) How to optimize your restaurant’s CAC and reduce costs What is a good cost per customer acquisition? Instead of casting a wide net with generic ads, use targeted marketing to reach the people most likely to dine at your restaurant.

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Fast Casual Social Media Email Marketing 195

Culinary Cues

JANUARY 8, 2023

The dining room opens in 15 minutes and the adrenaline is starting to churn. At 5:30 the dining room doors open, and early bird diners begin to arrive. Cooks are now bouncing from foot-to-foot waiting for the chime of the printer as orders in the dining room are being taken by servers who put on a show face that projects calm.

Fine Dining 520

Fine Dining Back of House Front of House Food Order 520

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Read any article enumerating the current or emerging trends in restaurants and retail and you will see ideas of health and wellness, environmental sustainability, and brand authenticity coming to the fore. I have been fortunate to work with Sleepy Bee Cafe since its founding in 2013. Green Restaurant and Slow Food were others we considered.

Certification 221

Certification Fast Casual Front of House Government 221

ChowNow

MARCH 7, 2025

When used strategically, customer data can help you personalize marketing, streamline operations, and create a better dining experience for your guests. The more you understand your customers, the better you can fine-tune your marketing and pricing strategies. Or adjust your staffing schedule based on peak ordering times?

Loyalty Program 195

Loyalty Program Email Marketing Online Ordering Point of Sale 195

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.

Fine Dining 449

Fine Dining Back of House Food Truck Pricing 449

ChowNow

JANUARY 23, 2025

At this point, all it takes is one lousy dining experience to sever the connection you once had with a customer who potentially spent thousands of dollars at your restaurant every year. Fine-tuning every touch point a customer has with your restaurant will elevate their experience from: Yeah, I liked it to I want to go there twice a week.

2025 195

2025 Loyalty Program Operations Email Marketing 195

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 15, 2021

Full-service restaurant chains, which primarily rely on dine-in customers and had few if any off-premises services when the dine-in restrictions went into effect, bore the brunt of the transaction declines throughout the pandemic. An Unpopular Year. For full-service restaurants now, it’s about government restrictions.

2021 424

2021 Fast Casual Fine Dining Point of Sale 424

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 16, 2021

Looking back on my last few articles, I have focused on facts, on technology and on the hard time that we are all having hiring staff. One of the fine dining operations that I consult with had a contest for selling the most chef specials, with the prize being that the chef would personally make the winner any item on the menu for dinner.

Front of House 520

Front of House Cash Management Back of House Hiring 520

ChowNow

MAY 16, 2025

A great dining experience starts long before someone walks through your door. 77% of diners visit a restaurants website before they dine in or order takeout or delivery. Nearly every customer journey begins with a search on Google, then a scroll through several restaurant websites before something catches their eye.

Mobile Ordering 195

Mobile Ordering Loyalty Program Online Ordering Download 195

Culinary Cues

APRIL 23, 2023

Fine, that may be the case but let’s just see. I’ve been cooking for 15years now; I should be the chef.” If it’s your time and you’re ready then make it happen, find your spot, push for the job, step up and show them what you’ve got. If you think the answer is YES, then you are not ready to be the chef.

Seasonal Menu 520

Seasonal Menu Leadership Training Fine Dining 520

ChowNow

MAY 23, 2025

In this article, youll learn: Why every operator has to monitor their restaurant profit margins Why it can be so challenging to increase your profit margins How to improve your margin numbers Lets dig into why margins, not just sales, make or break a restaurant business. Your cost of goods sold (ingredients, beverages, packaging, etc.)

Point of Sale 195

Point of Sale Insurance Fast Casual Customer Service 195

ChowNow

APRIL 25, 2025

Every restaurant concept should be intentional about their branding, from food trucks and cafes to brunch spots and fine dininggreat branding is how your restaurant stands out and stays memorable. But how to brand a restaurant isnt always clear. Its more than just designing a cool logo, picking a catchy name, and slapping it on everything.

Mobile Ordering 195

Mobile Ordering Social Media Email Marketing Customer Experience 195

Culinary Cues

SEPTEMBER 1, 2023

How powerful is a complete dining experience and what exactly is it? An owner for whom I worked years ago referred to it as the Total Dining Experience and I have held on to this concept ever since. Is your ventilation system designed to push positive kitchen odors to the dining room or outside the entrance?

Fine Dining 409

Fine Dining Dine-in Front of House Design 409

EATER

JULY 18, 2023

Listen to this article In 1999, the first “dining in the dark” restaurant opened in Zurich, Switzerland. Blindekuh was founded by a blind pastor to generate empathy for blind people, and dining in the dark restaurants have provided reliable jobs for the chronically underemployed blind workforce.

Dine-in 246

Dine-in Restaurant Law Website Management Fine Dining 246

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 11, 2022

If you are a cook who is happy working just for a paycheck – more power to you, but you can probably save some time and not read this article. If, however you have the sense that cooking is more than that and you have your eyes on many years connected to the professional kitchen, then read on. Master your role and support those around you.

Leadership 448

Leadership Fine Dining Workshop Training 448

Culinary Cues

JULY 15, 2024

It’s a disease that seems to creep into the mainstream; a disease that can be kept in check if there is a desire to do so; a disease, in other words, within our ability to thwart. This disease is highly contagious without concern for age, gender, socio-economic status, education level, or factors related to a person’s focus on a healthy lifestyle.

Leadership 472

Leadership Food Truck Employee Relations Training 472

ChowNow

MARCH 14, 2025

Every day, youre juggling staff, food quality, inventory, customer service, purchasing, and moreall while trying to cultivate a dining experience that wows your customers enough to keep them coming back. Its tough, and cant be done passively.

Operations 195

Operations Management Management Front of House 195

ChowNow

MAY 9, 2025

This doesnt mean cutting corners and sacrificing the customer experience; its about knowing where your money is going, spotting leaks early, and fine-tuning whats already working. A good labor cost percentage to shoot for is between 20%-30% , depending on your service style and local wage laws. Are you overstaffed on slow days?

Operations 195

Operations Email Marketing Food Supply Seasonal Menu 195

ChowNow

APRIL 11, 2025

Slim and stylish is fine, but in a restaurant, function beats form every time. Tablets are everywhere in restaurants these days, and with good reason. Their sleek design and intuitive user interface make them a natural fit for a modern restaurants day-to-day operations. Lets break down what to look for in a restaurant tablet.

Front of House 195

Front of House Allergens Online Ordering Back of House 195

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 20, 2022

This is what we discuss in this article. No waiters, just steaming plates and a glass door that's opened by a coin. The ancestors of the first semi-automatic machines to serve food and drink are still in use today, though instead of restaurants and bars, we see them in public spaces, perhaps small shops.

Mobile Ordering 537

Mobile Ordering Food Order Employee Relations Customer Service 537

Culinary Cues

MAY 20, 2024

It’s been 89 years since Escoffier stood in front of a range for the last time, yet his presence is still felt by professional cooks and chefs. In every office where I sat over the past 30 some odd years, has hung this picture of the master craftsman, leader, and ambassador of proper cooking and kitchen organization.

Hotels 341

Hotels Front of House Fine Dining Back of House 341

Culinary Cues

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Long before the restaurant chains of today, decades prior to the birth of fine dining, experience dining, and molecular gastronomy, there were neighborhood cafes that were part of small communities across the country. Ah, but the food and conversation were consistently good, plentiful, and in-expensive.

White Paper 411

White Paper Hospitality Fine Dining Reference 411

Culinary Cues

JUNE 14, 2022

fell in the category of “fine dining”. Now I mention these statistics because they will help to frame what the future may hold for the industry and those considering a career in kitchens and dining rooms across the country. Why would I choose to support a locally owned restaurant? 35 % of the overall male U.S.

Fine Dining 474

Fine Dining Food Supply Customer Service Presentation 474

Restaurant Business

JUNE 5, 2025

On Thursday, the casual-dining chain promoted Lyle Tick, its president and chief concept officer, to the top job. On Thursday, the casual-dining chain promoted Lyle Tick, its president and chief concept officer, to the top job. View All Articles by This Author Want breaking news at your fingertips? By Joe Guszkowski on Jun.

Leadership 159

Leadership 2025 Fast Casual Franchise 159

Culinary Cues

OCTOBER 27, 2020

I have recently read articles that claim that the discipline and order of chefs as far back as Escoffier or as contemporary as Ferran Adria or Thomas Keller are no longer appropriate or needed. A well-run kitchen is not a free-form environment where every cook does his or her own thing or moves to the beat of his or her own drum.

Uniforms 474

Uniforms Airlines Food Order Fine Dining 474

ChowNow

MARCH 13, 2025

In this article, you will learn: How a centralized delivery system eliminates the chaos of managing multiple platforms. Its a recipe for chaos, leading to mistakes, slower service, and shrinking profit margins. But what if all your food delivery apps were in one place? Manual entry leaves room for more errors. Which apps are performing best?

Delivery 195

Delivery Food Food Order Point of Sale 195

Lavu

MAY 30, 2025

In this article, well walk you through 7 easy steps to increase table turnover effectively, helping you boost your bottom line while maintaining a great dining experience. Turnover rate may be higher in fast-casual or quick-service restaurants compared to fine-dining establishments.

Seating 140

Seating Mobile Ordering Customer Service Customer Experience 140

Culinary Cues

AUGUST 22, 2022

Bigger isn’t always better. Bigger brings a significant upswing in headaches, unforeseen challenges, an inability to flex, and long-term costs. 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.

Seating 474

Seating Front of House Back of House Cash Management 474

Restaurant Business

JUNE 5, 2025

He reportedly pled guilty to a charge of simple battery and was ordered to undergo substance abuse testing, complete a violence program and pay fines. He previously was arrested in Chicago after reportedly attacking his ex-wife. By Lisa Jennings on Jun. Photo courtesy of Konro. Members help make our journalism possible.

Fast Casual 146

Fast Casual Leadership 2025 2024 146

ChowNow

MARCH 27, 2025

In this article, youll learn: How to factor in costs, competition, and customer expectations Which pricing strategies work in a real-world restaurant setting How to test and tweak prices without losing loyal guests Lets get started so you can make smarter pricing decisions that support both your bottom line and your guest experience.

Pricing 195

Pricing Menu Point of Sale Customer Experience 195

Culinary Cues

MARCH 4, 2022

I would assume that many chefs who read this article – at least the ones from my generation have reflected on where they are, what they have done, and what they are still able to do. We read the articles and listen to chefs and restaurateurs desperate to fill positions of line cook, sous chef, chef, manager, etc. How true it is.

Coaching 474

Coaching Training Fine Dining Article 474