ChowNow

JULY 25, 2025

Tracking it correctly will: Reveal accurate profit margins Help set profitable menu prices Flag operational problems Support better budgeting Help you stay competitive Yet, despite its importance and the advantages of using it, many operators don’t calculate it regularly or aren’t confident they’re doing it correctly.

Food

ChowNow

MAY 23, 2025

A spike in food costs, a drop in sales volume, or one slow season can wipe out months of hard work. That includes the ingredients and packaging for your menu items, but not things like rent and payroll. This gives you a sense of how effective your menu pricing is. Your cost of goods sold (ingredients, beverages, packaging, etc.)

Point of Sale

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 27, 2025

percent menu-price inflation rate. With households increasingly treating dining out as a luxury, every menu item and service interaction becomes a potential make-or-break moment. Red Robin climbs 3 percent to 78 thanks in large part to its focus on menu and food. At the same time, U.S. chain sales grew just 3.1

Loyalty Program

Restaurant Business

JULY 2, 2025

Fast-casual Condado Tacos—which prefers calling itself “next-gen casual”—has long had a bar program with a selection of conventional margaritas and beers to go with its Mexican-style menu and vibe. But those same margaritas had been on the menu since 2014 when the bar, so to speak, was set a bit lower. “We

Fast Casual

7 Shifts

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

Have you ever walked into a restaurant, excited for a great meal, but the server can’t answer your questions about the menu? Without the right training, even the best menu or ambiance can fall short due to poor service, leading to dissatisfied customers and lost revenue. Let’s say you run a fast-casual restaurant.

Training

ChowNow

MAY 23, 2025

You can have a crowd-pleasing menu, loyal regulars, and a packed dining roomand still watch your margins disappear. Too many restaurant menus are built on intuition and aesthetics, not real numbers. What Is Menu Engineering and Why Should You Care? Because not every dish thats popular is profitable.

Menu

ChowNow

MAY 2, 2025

The right restaurant newsletter doesnt just share updates; it keeps customers invested in your brand, your menu, and your next move. Its your chance to turn casual diners into consistent regulars, promote new menu items before they even hit the table, and build a real sense of community around your restaurant.

Email Marketing

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 22, 2025

They stick to time-tested methods using hardwood smoke and simple seasoning to bring out deep flavors in each plate. The casual, no-frills atmosphere makes it a comfortable place to grab a filling meal, especially for folks who like honest, straightforward barbecue without the extras.

Back of House

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 28, 2025

Since opening in 2019, it has gained a strong local following thanks to its tender brisket and pulled pork, both seasoned well and served in generous portions. The menu includes both classic BBQ plates and creative sandwiches, using ingredients that are prepared with care and attention to detail.

Fast Casual

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 11, 2024

It's not just the merch on the menu that is driving traffic to the brand with a misison to create spaces that blend sports and leisure and offer innovative cocktails, next-level architecture and high-end designer decor with elevated bar bites, retro games, and exclusive event nights.

Merchandise

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 29, 2025

Whether you’re a local or just passing through, you’ll find plenty of places serving slow-cooked favorites with rich flavor and bold seasoning. The meats are seasoned with house dry rubs and slow-smoked over wood for up to 14 hours. The menu also includes creative items like St. Louis-style pizza topped with smoked meat.

Back of House

ChowNow

JULY 18, 2025

How you approach restaurant marketing can be broken into two main categories: Attracting new customers to your restaurant Earning more from the customers you already have Most restaurant operators pour time and money into the first, but often overlook the massive opportunity in the second.

Loyalty Program

ChowNow

JANUARY 23, 2025

Pick your event idea by looking at your: Venue size and layout Customer demographic Available resources Time of year (season) Community Write out each of these factors, and a picture will emerge of which restaurant event idea will best fit your location. Get the word out to regulars and people curious about your restaurant.

Events

Restaurant Business

JUNE 27, 2025

The pandemic was in full swing, and we got really busy, like 300-400 DMs whenever we dropped a menu,” he said. But the team build a trademarked system—dubbed Au-Dough-Mation”—that can now manage front- and back-of-house operations. So are the roughly 15 schmears, which change seasonally. We’d sell out. She’s on time.

Fast Casual

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 18, 2024

Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine asked restaurant industry experts for their views on what trends and challenges owners and operators can expect to see in 2025. So much data is generated at every point within a restaurant, whether fast casual or fine dining. For the first part, click here and for the second part, click here.

2025

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 18, 2025

Ribs are also a popular choice, praised for their tenderness and steady seasoning. The restaurant uses a Southern Pride smoker with real wood, allowing for a consistent smoke profile across the menu. The menu is straightforward, focused mainly on pork, ribs, and a few Southern sides.

Seasonal Menu

ChowNow

JUNE 12, 2025

In this article, you will learn: Tactics that increase restaurant check sizes without slowing down service How to boost restaurant sales through your own digital channels Proven ideas for driving repeat business from loyal and casual guests alike 1. Trimming underperformers not only reduces food waste; it also improves consistency and speed.

Loyalty Program

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 21, 2025

The menu includes pulled pork with Carolina-style sauce, dry-rubbed brisket, turkey, pulled chicken, ribs, and house-made sausage. The setup is casual, with indoor seating and a bar that serves local craft beer. Their BBQ stands out for its bold seasoning blends and slow-smoking methods that bring out deep flavor in every cut.

Back of House

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 18, 2025

It’s also pet-friendly, which makes it a popular stop for people out for a casual day. The menu is built with care, offering something for every kind of BBQ fan. The menu offers more than just barbecue, with items like wings, catfish, salads, and sandwiches that appeal to a wide range of tastes.

Back of House

ChowNow

JUNE 6, 2025

And operators who don’t have one at all are missing out on a huge opportunity to tell their restaurant’s story, connect with new customers, and distinguish themselves from other restaurants in their area. A casual neighborhood spot will use different language than a fine-dining restaurant trying to earn a Michelin star.

Social Media

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 30, 2025

The menu covers a wide range of barbecue staples, and the portions are generous for the price. Though it doesn’t have a permanent location, it operates through pop-ups at local markets and breweries, and often draws a steady crowd. The combination of smoky cooking, rich spices, and casual setup keeps people coming back.

Outdoor

Restaurant Clicks

AUGUST 1, 2025

The brisket and ribs are juicy and well-seasoned, and they pair well with sides like baked beans, potato salad, and fried Brussels sprouts. The space feels casual and friendly, like a backyard cookout with solid attention to detail. The space feels casual and friendly, like a backyard cookout with solid attention to detail.

Back of House

ChowNow

AUGUST 1, 2025

It’s probably fair to say that most operators know why they should use social media marketing for their restaurant. Replying to comments, reacting to stories, and engaging through direct messages turns casual followers into regulars. It’s these small actions that create real relationships and get people talking about your restaurant.

Social Media

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 30, 2025

Growing menu innovation and healthy fast food further drive the growth of the market. The demand for fast food is still strong because it is affordable, convenient, and offers a wide variety of menu items, which is why it is the go-to option for millions of Americans every day. billion transactions and $67 billion in sales in 2024.

Fast Casual

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 31, 2024

This final edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup for 2024 features news of operator challenges and priorities, delivery trends, wages and hourly worker considerations. The primary response was menu price increases, with nearly 61 percent of respondents adjusting prices to cope with the new reality.

Franchising

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 31, 2025

Connecting with the consumer through loyalty programs and better customer data is a key focus for operators – more than seven in ten restaurant leaders (71 percent) are planning to increase investment in their loyalty or reward programs to keep customers close over the next 12 months. Fast-casual visits overall were down 3.8

Marketing

Restaurant Clicks

JULY 23, 2025

While each place has its own way of doing things, they all share a focus on slow cooking, seasoned pits, and a strong sense of community. Customers often mention how consistent the food is, with meats that are well-seasoned and cooked just right. Portions are generous and served quickly in a relaxed, casual setting.

Back of House

Future Food

NOVEMBER 27, 2024

Even as some food and beverage businesses face financial hurdles, the resilience and ingenuity of the industry continues to shine, promising an exciting future for consumers, F&B operators, clubs, shopping centres, mixed-use precincts and landlords. Declining average spend, uptake and frequency reflecting about an overall 2% decrease.

Hospitality

ChowNow

JUNE 27, 2025

Restaurant review sites aren’t just for diners—they’re also savvy tools for restaurant operators to gather customer feedback and help control the narrative around their dining experience. Google also pulls in data like price range, categories ( like “brunch” or “outdoor patio”), your star rating, busy times, and snippets from reviews.

Website Management

ChowNow

APRIL 25, 2025

Building a restaurant email marketing list might be the single most underrated move an operator can make to grow their business. Theyve either dined with you, placed online orders, or want to hear about upcoming events and menu items. You can also train staff to mention sign-ups casually during checkout.

Email Marketing

SpotOn

NOVEMBER 29, 2024

"Gastropub" has become a popular restaurant industry term, alongside "fast casual" and "small plates." " The term gastropub combines "gastronomy" and "pub," promising high quality food and drinks and a down-to-earth, casual vibe. The scotch egg is a classic gastro pub menu item.

Fast Casual

Black Box Intelligence

MAY 12, 2025

They honor top-tier brands that have not only excelled in operational metrics but have also fostered environments that prioritize employee satisfaction and customer delight. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, the company operates over 1,000 locations across the United States and employs more than 16,000 individuals.

2025

SpotOn

FEBRUARY 26, 2025

Now, as a copywriter at SpotOn, he helps restaurant owners and managers learn how to run a more profitable operation. Direct operating expenses. Gross sales are used to identify trends, seasonal shifts, and the impact of marketing campaigns.   Handhelds are another way to reduce labor costs in full-service operations.

License

Restaurant Business

JULY 15, 2025

Chris Tomasso, CEO of First Watch, and Barry McGowan, CEO of Fogo de Chao, are both joining a new board for Hawkers Asian Street Food, the casual-dining chain Savory acquired last month. Hawkers was founded in 2011 and operates 15 locations that each average $4.6 McGowan is a 40-year industry veteran. million in revenues per year.

Leadership

Restaurant Business

JUNE 11, 2025

The convenience-retailing giant on Wednesday announced a Craveables Value Menu, pitting it in head-to-head competition with fast-food chains also looking to win consumers over with low prices. By Heather Lalley on Jun. Photo: Shutterstock 7-Eleven is ready to do battle in the summer value wars. By Heather Lalley on Jun.

Fast Casual

Lavu

AUGUST 1, 2025

Offers real-time data, easy menu updates, and scalability. This makes it easier to manage loyalty programs and streamline operations. Another standout feature is real-time analytics, which provide valuable insights into sales patterns, peak hours, and your best-selling menu items. Costs: $600–$1,200 upfront, $40–$300/month.

POS

Restaurant Clicks

APRIL 30, 2025

Martin’s stands out because it sticks to tried-and-true methods while still providing a comfortable, casual experience. The restaurant offers a casual setting, focusing on quality and consistency. Founded by seasoned pitmaster Butch Rives, the restaurant has become a favorite among both locals and visitors.

Sourcing