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Trend-driven yet deeply value-conscious, they want personalized nutrition, ethical sourcing, and innovative packaging. Restaurants that offer diverse and innovative menu options can attract this group. Gen Z isn’t just eating out; they’re building relationships with brands that reflect who they are.
Expect to see functional plants like burdock, angelica, and osha root popping up more frequently, adding a fresh, innovative twist to dishes. The findings provide industry partners with exclusive data on emerging consumer preferences and innovation areas poised to differentiate brands in a highly-competitive marketplace.
.” Restaurants should focus on tech that adds real value, not just innovation for innovation’s sake, Fink noted. “Additionally, restaurants across all categories can leverage AI for personalized deals, using consumer data to offer tailored discounts and menu recommendations that drive repeat visits.”
More than eight in ten restaurant operators expect 2025 sales to meet or exceed 2024 levels, but rising competition will require differentiation through experience, service, and innovation, according to The National Restaurant Association’s 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry report. Consumers have pent-up demand for restaurant meals.
But looking back, the decision to launch Ursa was a natural evolution of our belief that creativity, operational excellence, and heartfelt hospitality could transform any space, no matter how humble. Lighting needed to shift the mood from casual to elegant and even the music changed. Our backgrounds are not traditionally culinary.
After successfully opening a second location in Kernersville, NC, and planning for a third one, the fast-casual gourmet slider brand has started franchising and plans to grow strategically in the Southeast region. At Sammy’s Sliders, we see AI as an opportunity to enhance – not replace – human hospitality.
Recognizing that social media could be a powerful tool for the hospitality industry, Kim Beechner founded Embark Marketing in her senior year of college. Why did you want to open a marketing firm with a bar/restaurant/hospitality niche and what is the significance of the name Embark? “That’s the difference. .”
The report reveals that AI investment and adoption differs across the industry as organizations seek to balance experimentation with operational focus, customer-facing innovation with back-of-house transformation, and high ambitions with organizational readiness. What's Fueling QSR and Fast Casual Visits?
Suddenly we find that 2024 is almost behind us now but Future Food would like to share with you the trends and insight that we see across the food and hospitality sector. Innovative trends are emerging, reshaping the industry landscape and offering fresh opportunities for growth. So where are consumers spending on food and hospitality?
So much data is generated at every point within a restaurant, whether fast casual or fine dining. We'll see the continued shift of leveraging AI to help with other commodity tasks to free up humans to have more time to give customers higher-quality hospitality.
When asked more specifically what type of restaurant they plan to visit for Valentine’s Day, nearly half of respondents indicated they would visit a casual restaurant, followed by fine dining establishments (35 percent). However: 41 percent said they planned to dine at home instead of dining out.
All photos courtesy of Ascent Hospitality Management A pair of legacy family-dining brands are out to prove that age is only a number. The of-the-moment menu updates are part of sweeping rebrands at the two chains under owner Ascent Hospitality Management. A rendering of Perkins Griddle & Go fast-casual concept. Sign up here.
Growing menu innovation and healthy fast food further drive the growth of the market. introduced "Perkins Griddle Go," a fast-casual concept for quick on-the-go meals, in 2024, with the first store opening in late October. billion in 2024 and is anticipated to rise at a CAGR of 3.74 percent from 2025 to 2033 and reach US$ 345.6
As businesses seek routes to greater efficiency while still maintaining hospitality, Square’s research shows that 85 percent of restaurant leaders plan to invest in technology, such as new AI and automation tools, to help improve their companies this year. Fast-casual visits overall were down 3.8 ” A Year of Challenges U.S.
Panda Express (Fast Casual) Who is Panda Express? Lower Turnover : On average, Panda Express consistently maintains much lower turnover rates for non-management, management, and General Manager employees compared to their local Fast Casual competitors. LongHorn Steakhouse (Casual Dining) Who is LongHorn Steakhouse?
Kitchen operations, in particular, frequently lag behind front-of-house innovations, causing issues like over-preparing food, poor inventory management, and struggles to meet high demand during peak hours. TL;DR Qu’s Fall Product Release Highlights showcase our ongoing commitment to innovation and operational excellence.
. – Jackie Abril-Carlile, Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts Culinary Instructo r and Executive chef and general manager at North Mountain Brewing Everything Has Changed At the onset of COVID, most fast casual restaurants went from primarily dine-in business to mostly takeout and delivery models.
These changes have challenged operators to adapt, but they’ve also reinforced the resilience and innovation that define the hospitality industry. In Nashville, TN staffing shortages in hospitality were at an all time high as a result of the meteoric growth of the city and its tourism. Innovate or die was the new mantra.
Emerging is a company founded by Mathew Focht that describes itself as investing “at the intersection of restaurant innovation, technology and experiential entertainment.” Probably not The Bottom Line: The fast-casual Mexican chain remains a shockingly good value and its first-quarter sales slowdown was not out of the ordinary.
He focused on what he says matters most whether your a CMO , a CFO , or anyone else on a restaurant teamguest satisfaction, hospitality, and unforgettable experiences. Additionally, this has solidified Twin Peaks’ position as a leader in casual dining. The result? For anyone navigating the restaurant world?
Within QSRs, fast-casual restaurants led the way, growing transactions by 2 percent in March. State of the Plate Olive Garden is the most popular casual dining restaurant with Americans in 2025, with 19 percent having dined at the Italian-themed restaurant in the past 90 days, according to a new report from YouGov.
Why Restaurants Are Going Cashless to Improve Hospitality Efficiency and Embrace Contactless Payments Cashless payments streamline restaurant operations, saving time and money for businesses. Cofounders Jonathan Neman and Nicolas Jammet list crime prevention as a supporting argument for going cashless, but their real motivation is innovation.
In the ever-changing world of hospitality, efficiency is the name of the game. A Case Study in Success: 54 th Street Grill & Bar Consider 54th Street Grill & Bar, a casual dining chain that implemented both ConnectSmart Host and ConnectSmart Kitchen. Want to read more success stories? Check out our case studies!
The casual, down-to-earth setting provides the perfect place to enjoy a satisfying meal. The casual, welcoming atmosphere and helpful staff keep customers coming back. The restaurant has gained a loyal following thanks to its commitment to serving high-quality smoked meats and innovative flavors.
Transition Represents New Era of Innovation and Growth Louisville, KY. This investment represents a pivotal moment in QSR Automations’ history, positioning the company for accelerated growth, enhanced innovation, and expanded market reach. In restaurant tech, Battery has backed Olo (NYSE: OLO), Crunchtime, and Vita Mojo.
Recognizing this shift, Freshii , a fast-casual franchise with hundreds of locations globally, created a corporate partnership that enables companies to offer meal kits and market baskets at a discount to their employees. Strategies like those employed by Prairie keeps the supply chain moving, costs constant, and food waste limited.
Hospitality Recovery Coalition. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) announced the formation of the Hospitality Recovery Coalition with the goal of supporting on-premise partners, including restaurants, bars and distilleries, facing harsh economic impacts due to the COVID-19 crisis. NAB Acquires SALIDO.
We look forward to continuing to innovate and find ways to make ordering plant-based at Taco Bell even more accessible at a great value,” said Taco Bell Corp Chief Food Innovation Officer Liz Matthews. Healthier Hospitals. Council introduced the Healthy Hospitals Amendment Act of 2019.
The owner of Delicious Raw, a healthy fast casual concept launched in 2013, is looking to grow the brand and create a one-stop-shop for healthy consumables for a broad audience. I traveled all over the world and have lived in a number of different countries, and I always had a great appreciation for food and ambiance and hospitality.
People will increasingly choose innovative products not only because they align with their values, but because they taste and perform better or otherwise meet personal preferences or needs. The hospitality industry suffers the most from labor shortages.
Although we are not having guests eat in our dining rooms, Teriyaki Madness is utilizing technology to combat the fallout through an emphasis on pickup and delivery, innovative curbside service and social media promotions across its website and mobile app.
According to a study conducted by Technavio , the fast casual restaurant industry will witness a compound annual growth rate of over 12 percent from now until 2026. I believe that fast casual continues to be a great place for savvy multi-unit restaurant franchisees to diversify. Which brings us back to the restaurant industry.
The visionary panel that explored dining away from home included members with specific expertise and interest in restaurant dining and the hospitality industry. Among the findings: Casual experiential dining appeals on many fronts to consumers of varying ages in different parts of the country looking for affordable culinary experiences.
“We are seeing sign-on bonuses at fast food and fast casual locations, something never seen before in the industry. Fast casual will continue to push out full-service brands because they can assemble food in front of you and get food to the customer more quickly. This is what has been working for me.”
After these episodes, my conversations with culinary leaders continue to highlight that a of people left the hospitality business for good. Since the pandemic, many chefs created fast-casual concepts and we see more and more tasting and prix-fix menus. And finally, chefs will find out what their peers are doing.
Key figures on the restaurant workforce include: Roughly 50 percent of restaurant operators in the fullservice, quickservice, and fast-casual segments expect recruiting and retaining employees to be their top challenge in 2022. There will continue to be ample opportunities for growth in 2022 and beyond."
With more options to work outside of the hospitality industry, operators must offer employees more scheduling flexibility, facilitate transparent communication between management and team members, and avoid overworking staff. Rick Camac, Dean of Restaurant & Hospitality Management at the Institute of Culinary Education.
Elo’s Sonal Apte, vice president of retail and hospitality. At Capriotti’s we are on a continuous and ever accelerating path toward innovation while building on our unique heritage. In the short term, it’s QSR that will experience labor improvement, then fast-casual. Restaurants will become increasingly casual.
– Cultivate Hospitality founding partners Sam Bakhshandehpour and Peter Peterson. Brands that offer value and consistently deliver on the fundamentals of hospitality will undoubtedly do well. " – Matthew Eisenacher, SVP Brand Strategy & Innovation, First Watch. "The The strong will get stronger."
" – Andrew Glantz, GiftAMeal Founder/CEO Guest data is the key to driving hospitality at scale. In 2024, brands will continue to overcome the challenge of accessing and aggregating this valuable owned data to cultivate this level of hospitality and long-term brand loyalty.
This trend reflects the growing popularity of drive-thru and fast-casual dining, coupled with the demand for digital technologies such as QSR digital signage and QR codes. Tech has come into play by creating strong operational systems and making the job more approachable so that hospitality is a more enduring career choice.
“At CPK, we take great pride in sharing our passion for California-style pizza, fresh and creative ingredients and best-in-class hospitality with our guests around the world,” said Jim Hyatt, CEO of CPK. Bojangles' Culinary Innovation. locations, whether joining us on vacation or business travel.
Major advances in menu innovation, a field my org has some experience in, have shifted course in the past year as many restaurants have switched to almost entirely off-premise meals. At Vespertine in LA, there is no menu at all; each course simply appears in a carefully coordinated sequence of surprises. Diner Preference.
Randy’s has already received approval for one store in LAX Terminal 7 pending the full re-opening of the airport hospitality facilities. To showcase bold new flavors, On The Border has elevated its menu, and the innovative new dishes will be available for guests visiting North Point.
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