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At major chains like McDonald's, AI-powered drive-through systems are reducing order errors, predicting maintenance needs, and cutting waste. For example, Taco Bell is using AI-driven labor and inventory management tools to fine-tune staffing and reduce food waste. For independent restaurants, the same AI-driven efficiency applies.
Fast food and casual dining are currently seeing higher traffic. With guests opting to skip appetizer and desserts, how can operators optimize purchasing dollars and reduce waste? When they do eat out, they're often choosing cheaper options. Menu consolidation will be important if these trends continue.
This zero waste cooking technique will also allow chefs and bartenders to creatively repurpose leftover produce and give it new life. A New York polished casual hot spot’s drink “Always Greener” paired gin, Suze, and sorrel (an herbaceous plant) for a bright botanical kick.
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. AI-driven tools can help optimize everything from labor scheduling to inventory management, reducing waste and improving margins.
With more than 60 percent of diners interested in ordering a take-home DIY meal kit from restaurants1, the Fall Scoop lineup provides a variety of preportioned, prepackaged ingredients ideal for creative takeout options in the form of DIY meal kits and offers operators labor savings, versatility and waste-reduction benefits.
Restaurant industry challenges are pushing operators to be more creative and efficient with many opting for more multifunctional spaces – especially in a fast-casual setting. The big challenge – and advantage – is that they don't allow for a single inch of wasted space. Go big in little ways.
This migration could be a goldmine for casual/fast food brands if only they had the people to support them. It’s not unusual for a fast-casual restaurant with over 1,000 locations to manually save the recipes on these drives and then send them to the field teams, and hope they’re properly uploaded.
Winnow Raises $20M to Fight Food Waste. The company, with US offices located in Iowa City, has recently made headlines in the country, having been selected as a food waste innovator and recipient of the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Kroger Foundation Grant. 63 million tons of food is wasted every year. ” Marc Zornes.
This edition of MRM News Bites features McDonalds, the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, OpenTable, Ordermark, Hudson Group, Hakkasan Group , Waitr and Checkers, ICV Partners, Restaurant Technologies, Diebold Nixdorf and Alto-Shaam. " Reducing Food Waste. Changes at the Top for McDonald's.
B Corp Restaurants As of early 2024, almost 150 restaurants around the world have achieved the certification, from fine-dining independents to fast-casual chains, with hotels, breweries and food delivery companies also dotting the list.
The wrong hire can lead to off-brand posts, low engagement, and wasted effort. A trendy, fast-casual spot will likely need very different content than a fine dining experience. Todays diners scroll before they order, and your restaurants social media presence can make or break their decision to visit.
If the music is too loud or inappropriate, the guest’s night is ruined and their money wasted, no matter how good the food or service. Let’s look at the reasons that full service/fast casual restaurants may have music issues. Either way, it’s a win. Before anyone realizes it, the day is over.
Here is how 3D modeling simplifies renovation planning: Accurate Resource Allocation : 3D modeling software offers accurate material estimation to avoid unnecessary waste and hidden expenses. How Design Technology Improves Space and Guest Experience Every square foot counts when redesigning a fast-casual eatery or a fine dining venue.
A rendering of Perkins Griddle & Go fast-casual concept. Simultaneously, the company also created a fast-casual version of Perkins called Griddle & Go, another nod to younger, on-the-go customers. News food drink Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains.
By focusing on people within a 5-10 mile radius of your location, you can attract more relevant customers and avoid wasting money on ads seen by people who are too far away to visit your restaurant. Fast casual and casual dining restaurants are in the middle ground, between $83 and $125 of paid CAC.
As a step further, offering a flexible menu catered to solo diners – with smaller portions to reduce food waste and allow the diner to taste more dishes – provides waiters with an additional opportunity to make personalized recommendations specific to these menu offerings. Cuisine type?
For casual dining habits at restaurants like Olive Garden: 56 percent said they ate at casual restaurants frequently or occasionally. 29 percent said they rarely ate at casual restaurants. More likely to occasionally eat at casual restaurants. When we asked about fast food: 29 percent said they eat fast food frequently.
Restaurant type: Whether you run a fine dining, fast casual, or quick service concept plays a big role in potential margins. Reduce food waste by tightening portion control and tracking spoilage. They create room to handle unexpected costs, like a spike in food costs or a broken walk-in, without throwing your whole month off balance.
A smaller but significant portion of those surveyed hope AI will strengthen their digital marketing efforts (26 percent), optimize food prep and waste management (25 percent), enhance crew experiences (21 percent), and help them develop new products and concepts (20 percent). What's Fueling QSR and Fast Casual Visits?
When done correctly, dish costing helps you control food costs, reduce food waste, and price items in a way that supports your restaurant’s financial health without alienating guests. Fast casual might push lower to protect volume margins. It’s the foundation of knowing your actual food cost. Every smart pricing move starts here.
.” If separate planning for take-out and dine-in feels like time wasted, consider that when survey respondents were asked when they thought the dine-in segment would recover, just 46 percent said within six months, a steep decline from 71 percent in May 2021. Breakfast and casual eateries/coffee shops can be optimistic.
For example, near-field communication payments, digital wallets or a tap-to go friendly terminal will be more beneficial for fast casual restaurants whereas a payment app will be better suited for dine-in guests. This is a small step, but one that many fast food and fast casual restaurants are already embracing. In fact, in the U.S.
After fast-casual chain &Pizza heard from customers that its prices were too high , it lowered them late last month and simplified its menu structure to highlight affordable options. Wendy’s launched a 100 Days of Savings summerlong promotion, serving up a variety of deals through its app. It’s a unique spin on Southern comfort.
Salad is rising as the next drive-thru concept The fast-casual Greenlane is plotting growth across Florida with investor and NFL star Rob Gronkowski working the drive-thru window. But Tampa-based Greenlane is among a growing number of fast-casual concepts making freshly prepared salads a drive-thru option. By Lisa Jennings on Jun.
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.
Not quite yet Food An easy way to bring bold Korean flavors to modern menus Food From BBQ to beverages, menus are seeing a lot of action Premium Food An eye on food waste inspires a chicken salad that becomes a best seller Exclusive Content Premium Emerging Brands Forget coffee.
Apart from always being more profitable, large fast casual chains could exploit the situation and simply buy out the out-of-business bistros located at the nicest downtown corners. They became even more cost-efficient, food waste conscious and generally more responsible.
Private-equity firm Savory Fund made a major investment in casual-dining chain Hawkers Asian Street Food. Premium Food An eye on food waste inspires a chicken salad that becomes a best seller Behind the Menu: Millers All Day repurposed leftover breakfast waffles into croutons to create a new signature—the Chicken and Waffle Salad.
That’s much more money than I ever had to spend on marketing but a drop in the bucket compared to what other fast casual brands spend for much less impactful results. Actions like waste reduction are actually cost savers. Lastly, reduce waste by cross utilization of ingredients and cooking a la minute.
News technology delivery finance Joe Guszkowski is a senior editor with Restaurant Business covering technology and casual-dining chains. Premium Emerging Brands Pepper Lunch carves a niche in the Panda Express-dominated world of Asian fast casual The Japan-born franchise brand has 540 units globally, but only nine in the U.S.
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. Chef driven fast casual restaurants feed consumers’ desires for high quality menu items delivered quickly and on the go.
To eliminate waste, I always make pickles or fermentations with excess vegetables and dry cure meats for our charcuterie program to utilize any excess proteins. Waste reduction- We practice utilizing our waste as much as we can away from the generalist notion of putting things up as specials.
Fast Casual Dining Navigating a delicate balance between convenience and culinary craft, the fast-casual dining sector shines as the industry's hybrid powerhouse, marrying quick service with gourmet cuisine. New entrants face the challenge of creating a flexible framework that combines prompt service with upscale offerings.
Quick service restaurants will continue to outperform casual dining establishments as their drive-through formats enabled them to remain open throughout the pandemic, Fahy said. But casual dining restaurants still did a significant job of rapidly pivoting from 90-100 percent dine-in to curbside pickup, To-Go and delivery. "This
In addition to the above, adding this kind of technology can increase order volumes, reduce food waste and improve the guest experience as reduced in-store labor deals with maximizing the in-store guest experience. What are the most common friction points customers report? Waiting on hold!
One of the key functionalities within many QSR and fast casual mobile apps these days is the ability to order ahead and select curbside pickup. This all equates to less wasted ad spend and a more loyal user base. They can even gather information about the customer experience via location-triggered exit surveys.
Other benefits include greater product consistency, which is especially important for operators, and less wasting from chopping, scooping, and prepping fresh produce. This was painfully evident when a couple of my coworkers and myself went to eat at a fast casual chain and waited over a half hour for food. Supply Chain Shortages.
Meanwhile, sales at cafes, fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, and casual-dining establishments fell by 27 percent. This has resulted in under-ordering (and dissatisfied customers) or over-ordering (and increased waste). What about issues concerning reducing food waste? Conclusion.
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. This capability can prove invaluable for refining pricing strategies, optimising ingredient and waste management, and planning forthcoming shifts, among other benefits.
It reduces waste, alerts managers when stock is low, and helps staff to follow good practices. Check out the impact of social media on restaurants to see how it can improve your customer experience from start to finish and how it can turn casual diners into loyal customers. Inventory management software: Tracks stock in real-time.
Furthermore, it also improves food safety and minimizes waste; moreover, it will contribute directly to your bottom line, which has seen participation from Walmart and Nestle. Piya has no confirmed locations, but it will have a private omakase dining room and a fast-casual area where NFT holders can access exclusive events. Camboflare.
"Like so many industries, full-service and fast-casual restaurants are feeling the impact that inflation is having on their business and guest count. These regulations vary by state and restaurant owners should be sure they are aware of their state’s policy before adding service fees to customer tickets.”
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.
Thanks to the arrival of food delivery applications, the casual diner can now satisfy his or her cravings whenever he or she pleases. To allow them to live a sustainable lifestyle, you can help them minimize their carbon footprint by creating a zero-waste kitchen.
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