Culinary Cues

MAY 12, 2025

Guests spending hundreds of dollars for a memorable meal and making reservations months in advance just to garner a seat. Meticulously clean kitchens; pristine, starched chef whites; the very best equipment and ingredients from around the world. Fifteen-hour workdays, no time for anything but the pursuit of excellence.

Fine Dining 348

Fine Dining Seasonal Menu Front of House White Paper 348

7 Shifts

NOVEMBER 24, 2024

Whether it’s managing reservations, coordinating with servers, or handling situations with grace, a skilled hostess brings a mix of warmth, professionalism, and operational expertise to the table. How do you balance seating arrangements to maintain fairness and efficiency? How do you ensure guests feel welcome when they arrive?

Hospitality 195

Hospitality Seating Customer Experience Reservations 195

EATER

MAY 14, 2025

Size of restaurant in 2020: 850 square feet, 24 seats (20 dining room, 4 bar) Size of restaurant now: 4,700 square feet, 56 seats (48 dining room, 6 bar, 2 ADA bar) On finding a space We didnt think we needed over 4,500 square feet. We also have two seats at the bar that we reserve for walk-in drinks and la carte bites.

Seating 232

Seating Outdoor Dine-in Beverage 232

Lavu

MAY 30, 2025

The last thing any restaurant should do is make the customer feel like they are being pushed out of their seat for the next guest. Maximizing table turnover is crucial for restaurants to optimize their seating capacity and increase their profitability. However, turning tables must be done tactfully.

Seating 140

Seating Mobile Ordering Customer Service Customer Experience 140

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 21, 2025

They help with reservations and table management, staff scheduling and time management, inventory tracking, rewards programs, automated marketing, and more. Reservation and table management apps. Managing reservations and walk-in traffic can be one of the trickiest parts of running a restaurant.

2025 195

2025 Loyalty Program Mobile Ordering Online Ordering 195

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 20, 2020

Lacking cash reserves and the resources to access money (traditional bank loans), most restaurants were forced to lay off their employees. If, prior to the pandemic, your restaurant had a seating capacity of 120 seats, that may be reduced by 20 percent or more. 75 percent of the prior year’s monthly payroll cost.

Front of House 525

Front of House Back of House Reservations Seating 525

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 22, 2024

With 90% of diners checking a restaurant online before visiting, you also need a strong online presence to attract and boost reservations. Use email newsletters in marketing your restaurant Email marketing is one of the most effective restaurant marketing strategies for driving engagement and increasing reservations.

Book 195

Book Marketing Email Marketing Social Media 195

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 9, 2025

A good patio setup isn’t just about adding seats, it’s about creating an extension of the guest experience that works just as hard as your dining room. Operational control tools are also important, including reservation systems and waitlist management keep things moving smoothly when the patio fills up.

Outdoor 251

Outdoor Mobile Ordering Loyalty Program Fast Casual 251

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 10, 2020

” No one knows for sure, but we are seeing glimpses of a trend that may be the answer for restaurant owners and operators: expanded outdoor seating. ” An (ROI) Argument for Expanding Outdoor Seating. Creating or expanding outdoor seating is nowhere near as expensive as a building expansion. Inside Out.

Outdoor 553

Outdoor Seating Customer Service Small Business 553

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

Too many missed reservations? A smart reservation and waitlist system can help. AI-Powered Chatbots & Reservations : Automated assistants handle reservations, answer customer questions, and offer waitlist updates, reducing the workload on staff. The best tech investments solve real problems.

2025 195

2025 Technology Loyalty Program Mobile Ordering 195

EATER

APRIL 3, 2023

Given the rise of these platforms in New York , I doubt I’m alone in feeling a bit reservationed out. I then made a new private list on Google Maps and used it to save all the places that seemed interesting, skipping sit-down places that I suspected needed a reservation.

Reservations 363

Reservations Food Truck Social Media Travel 363

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 9, 2025

Small dining rooms feature dim lighting, vintage decor, and closely spaced seating that fosters conversation. Tech-savvy tools: Online reservations and ordering streamline service for busy guests. This intimacy creates a sense of belonging that turns dining into a personal, almost home-like experience.

Fine Dining 221

Fine Dining Influencer Dine-in Innovation 221

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 13, 2020

" Bo Peabody, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of restaurant reservation and rewards app Seated , Board member of Boqueria Restaurants, and Co-Owner of Mezze Restaurant Group , suggests: Beyond spacing out tables, take advantage of outdoor space if you have it available. "Be smart about choices."

Front of House 499

Front of House Back of House Restaurant Law Food Safety 499

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 15, 2021

As part of their service, they offer Pickup and Delivery solutions; Reservation, Waiting, and Seating Management; Data and Guest Profiles; Guest Engagement, and Marketing. That was their lightbulb moment: Instead of focusing on the consumer, what if we focused on the operator.

Customer Service 450

Customer Service Customer Experience Seating Reservations 450

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 13, 2020

Social distancing requirements : Outdoor seating options have become more important, and restaurants that don’t have this option are navigating how to maximize outdoor space like parking lots, sidewalks and more. From PPE to greeting methods to personal hygiene, it’s a whole new world for wait staff.

Consumer Goods 539

Consumer Goods Food Safety Hiring Customer Service 539

Modern Restaurant Management

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

In a typical month, we used to help restaurants seat over four million diners. After speaking with restaurant owners and operators, we realized we needed to expand our product offering beyond just helping manage their front-of-house better with Yelp Waitlist and Yelp Reservations. In April, I watched that number plummet to nearly zero.

Front of House 488

Front of House 2009 Reservations Website Management 488

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 31, 2024

While swicy took the front seat this year, Rubix’s proprietary research found that 5 percent more Gen Z respondents reported having frequent sweet and salty cravings over sweet and spicy. ” “We are controlling our reservations for winemaker dinners to keep the atmosphere more intimate. Move over “swicy.”

2025 450

2025 Beverage Fine Dining Guest Recovery 450

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 7, 2020

With social distancing guidelines in place and capacity and party size restrictions like we’ve seen outlined in other states , we can expect to see increased spaces between tables, eliminated host stand waiting areas, reductions of bar seats and even entirely new layouts for restaurants that highlight contactless offerings.

Food Safety 480

Food Safety Mobile Ordering Front of House Seating 480

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 28, 2021

A friend of mine recently told me that her group had reservations for a large party on a Sunday night at one of their favorite restaurants. She called to confirm the reservation on Friday only to be told that the restaurant is no longer open on Sundays. The restaurant had reservations and did not call any of the guests.

Customer Service 465

Customer Service Reservations Specials Training 465

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 31, 2021

If possible, restaurants should consider expanding into casual and comfortable outdoor seating arrangements that can feature a more pre-pandemic feel. Other practices can be updated to enhance the feeling of personal service; for instance, table settings can be placed as guests are seated.

Customer Service 474

Customer Service Customer Experience Online Ordering Hospitality 474

Lavu

OCTOBER 13, 2023

This should include all tables available for seating customers. Efficiently manage reservations: Ensure that the booking system is organized and avoids overbooking to prevent delays in table turnover. Use technology, such as a restaurant management software, to track who chose to reserve a table, and manage waitlists effectively.

Seating 174

Seating Mobile Ordering Customer Service Online Ordering 174

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 13, 2021

Searches on Yelp for restaurant reservations are up 134 percent, and searches for online waitlists , like the waitlist feature in Yelp Guest Manager, are up 82 percent, in October 2021 compared to the same period a year prior, suggesting that consumers are once again making plans to dine out and don’t want to sacrifice convenience.

Management 474

Management Management Seasonal Menu Customer Experience 474

7 Shifts

JULY 10, 2020

Set a goal for your restaurant’s grand opening—whether it’s seating capacity, an order volume, or revenue for your first day back in business. Adjust floor plans to fit local seating capacity and social distancing regulations Demarcate floor with markers for any areas where a line up may occur (restrooms, pick up areas, etc.)

Events 351

Events Social Media Seating Kitchen Safety 351

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 27, 2022

Get Ready for Reservations (or Don’t). The first big decision you need to make for any major holiday is whether or not you’re going to accept reservations. For example, by accepting reservations you’ll allow a select few parties to skip the wait, ensuring that they’ll have a great spot and a great time.

Management 531

Management Management Customer Experience Reservations 531

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 11, 2020

While having to reduce the number of seats is never ideal for a restaurant, many states are requiring it. The best option is to remove some tables and chairs from your dining room altogether in order not to have a bunch of empty seats as reminders of restrictions. Give your outdoor seating the same importance you give indoor.

Customer Experience 516

Customer Experience Dine-in Food Safety Kitchen Safety 516

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Your restaurant website needs to help your guests find you online, inform them about your menu and, possibly, help them reserve a table or order a delivery directly from you. Implement an online reservation system. Implement an Online Reservation System. But have you thought about your website design? Represent the whole menu.

Design 520

Design Online Ordering Mobile Ordering Reservations 520

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Hoteliers and restaurant operators are increasingly demanding POS systems that seamlessly connect with CRM, loyalty programs, reservation systems, inventory management, and payroll. In terms of operations, we're seeing a trend towards integrated systems.

Loyalty Program 221

Loyalty Program Mobile Ordering Customer Experience Customer Service 221

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 1, 2021

This piece in your technology stack should give your customers accurate wait times based on the tables already seated and allow them to make reservations so they can plan around current capacity limits or patronize your restaurant for special occasions. Let’s come back to Henry.

Technology 508

Technology Front of House Back of House Point of Sale 508

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 1, 2022

Many operators will devote their resources to online or app ordering, reservations, mobile payment, or delivery management, in addition to back-of-the-house technology. restaurant operators think the availability of seating on a sidewalk, parking lot, or street will become more common within their segment this year.

2022 518

2022 2030 Food Supply Recruiting 518

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 3, 2020

Masks and distanced seating are great short-term adaptations to the current climate but restaurants must work toward returning to full capacity. While it may seem like restaurants can survive and return to normal with band-aid solutions like masks and distanced seating, this is not the case.

Technology 450

Technology Consumer Goods Customer Experience Seating 450

Restaurant Business

APRIL 25, 2023

Toast Tables allows restaurants to manage seating and waitlists for a flat monthly fee. It puts the big supplier in competition with online booking services like OpenTable and Resy.

Reservations 284

Reservations Seating Book Management 284

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 19, 2020

Call out any new policy changes as necessary on your site, have you stopped taking group reservations for parties over six? Do people need to make reservations in advance? In order to ensure a safe dining environment we are requiring advance reservations. Add a simple banner to your site that explains this.

Guest Recovery 474

Guest Recovery Kitchen Safety Food Safety Email Marketing 474

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 12, 2024

For example, implementing a seamless online reservation system optimizes the restaurant's scheduling while offering convenience to customers. Seating to First Server Contact : Cameras can track the duration from when a customer is seated to when a server approaches them.

Loyalty Program 473

Loyalty Program Mobile Ordering Dietary Restrictions Customer Experience 473

EATER

JUNE 4, 2024

Make reservations. For restaurants that accept reservations, reserve. It can be hard for diners to tell if a place requires reservations or not, so unless a restaurant specifically states on its website that it doesn’t accept them, assume you’ll need to book. If you make a reservation, honor it. at 20 o’clock.)

Fine Dining 301

Fine Dining Reservations Seating Online Ordering 301

The Rail

JANUARY 15, 2025

Look for underutilized corners, walls, or other spaces that could serve additional purposes, such as hosting extra storage, decorative elements, or seating options. Another key point is using slim chairs that allow more seating without crowding. Similarly, flexible seating arrangements keep operations smooth.

Outdoor 130

Outdoor Seating Customer Service Customer Experience 130

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 13, 2024

Establishments are grappling with a complex crisis characterized by empty seats in dining areas and behind the scenes, where a shortage of skilled workers is keenly felt. The restaurant industry has always been dynamic and challenging, but the labor shortage has pushed it to a critical juncture.

Loyalty Program 491

Loyalty Program Customer Service Customer Experience Insurance 491

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 5, 2020

Therefore, maximizing the ability to utilize outdoor space to increase seating capacity will be critical for restaurants during this period. That said, it can be expected that consumers will likely feel more comfortable if the restaurant has socially distanced outdoor seating option available.

Outdoor 420

Outdoor Seating Government Employee Relations 420