General

The National Restaurant Association (NAR) reports that bottom-line costs are impacting restaurants. If you haven't used menu engineering, you might be making less on former profitable items than you realize. Profitable restaurants don't reach profitability by chance - it's a strategic process.

Offering free WiFi to your customers is a major selling point for your restaurant. In fact, 96% of consumers prefer locations that offer free WiFi. But what if you could turn this perk into a profit-generating marketing strategy?

Commercial grills for restaurants offer high-volume cooking options, suitable for everything from meat to veggies and cheese. Your grill should make it easier for you to be able to cook high-volume orders faster.

Restaurants have a lot of costs: rent, utilities, supplies, insurance, labor or many others. And one of the highest costs will be – your labor. A lot of money in the hospitality industry is spent on labor. Even a fast food or quick-service establishment will have high labor costs that quickly cut into profits. If you want to better manage your restaurant’s labor costs, you have a few options available.

Social media marketing for restaurants helps eateries attract new, loyal customers. If you want to reach your ideal target market, you can be sure that they’re on social media. Restaurants marketing campaigns must include social media as part of the entire marketing plan.

And while it’s easy to learn how to open a deli, it’s still a lot of work to run one. For every successful deli, you’ll find plenty that go out of business. You must provide customers with the food they want, great prices and offers that keep them coming back for more. The question is: how?

Everywhere seems like a target market for food trucks in 2024. You'll find many brick-and-mortar eateries transitioning into the food truck business model. If you drive around the country, you’ll find that even in rural areas, this is a viable, thriving option.

The world runs on coffee. In fact, 12.6% of the world’s population – that's 1 billion people – drink coffee. To cater to as many customers as possible, your restaurant should keep the coffee flowing all day long. The question is: which coffee machines should you invest in? Let’s look at our top picks for the best commercial coffee maker this year and how to choose the right machine.

Restaurant sales forecasting helps you better manage your inventory and goods so that you know exactly what items you need to stock up on and which are running low. If you have insights into your future sales, it opens the door to streamlined operations and better management of your eatery.

You’ve already, at least once, taken the steps to open a restaurant. But when you go to establish a second (or third) restaurant, it will require a few additional tasks that you didn’t have to complete the first time around.

We’re going to outline each of the five steps that you must take to open a new location.

Amidst a world reshaped by the pandemic, shifting labor markets, and changing consumer behaviors, restaurant proprietors are increasingly embracing technological advancements. These often inconspicuous yet profoundly impactful innovations are quietly revolutionizing culinary practices and guest interactions.

A dishwasher in restaurant kitchens is the backbone of back-of-house operations. You want to be able to service customers quickly without straining your staff too much. The cost of commercial dishwasher units will repay themselves multiple times over.

Trust and loyalty in the restaurant industry is hard-earned. Consumers are accustomed to their favorite restaurants switching owners, chefs leaving and quality varying. You must build customer trust through the actions you take.

Restaurant reviews online are the gateway to gaining customers. Over 90% of patrons look for reviews for eateries before they go to one. If you have bad reviews, it will be looked at negatively by customers, but you’re bound to have one or two people who are unhappy with your service.

And if you ignore the ramifications of poor reviews, it can have a negative impact on your sales.

Shortages during the pandemic found over 96% of operators had either supply shortages or delays. If you’re a pizza and rib restaurant, and you have no ribs, imagine what happens to your eatery’s reputation. You’ll be left with a lot of unhappy customers who don’t understand the supply chain of a restaurant – at all. While you only have so much control over your supply chain, you can take proactive steps to help deal with future issues. We're going to outline key steps that you can take to lower the risk of restaurant supply chain issues impacting your company.

Gratuity and tips are often confused. As a consumer, you’re more concerned about having to pay more for the service that you receive than anything else. However, there’s a major difference between the two.

What are the differences?

Restaurant owners and managers need to know the legal ramifications of charging automatic gratuities and what it means for their establishments.

Local store marketing ideas for restaurants haven’t changed – much – in the last year. You'll find plenty of opportunities to promote your eatery to locals this year. And with digital still being a must-have form of marketing, you’ll want to spend a lot of time working on your offline marketing.

We're going to share some great local marketing ideas that will help you attract new customers this year.

Want to grow your restaurant this year? Restaurant sustainability may be the key. An estimated 70% of diners care about how their food is sourced, according to the National Restaurant Association. More than 1 in 4 consumers also say that they would pay more for sustainable food.

There are 1.13 billion websites, and this figure grows every day. If you want to build a restaurant website, you need to make it stand out. Your potential customers need to be able to look at your eatery’s menu and operating hours, and maybe have the option to order.

You can hire someone to design a custom site for you, or you can use a website builder for restaurants.

A glass froster or glass chiller is all about presentation – and a little bit of cooling, too. If you sell beer or high-end alcoholic drinks, you’ll appreciate the functionality that frosters offer you. We're going to review some of the best models to consider buying in 2024.

Building an in-house online ordering system is unrealistic for most restaurants, and there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel either. You’ll find dozens of pre-built solutions that will work just fine for your eatery.

In this article, we’re going to review the best online food ordering systems in 2024.

Restaurant public relations remain a crucial marketing component at a time when there are more restaurants and options than ever before. You need to do a little bit of everything, from having a presence online and content marketing to hosting events and working with charities.

And when restaurant public relations work, it helps create a loyal customer base that keeps coming back to your eatery.

If you’re trying to find public relations event ideas for 2024, the list below can help you get started.

Are you redesigning or building a new website for your restaurant in the coming year? If so, it’s crucial to make sure you’re giving visitors the best possible online experience before visiting your establishment.

In fact, research shows that 77% of diners visit a restaurant’s website before they dine in or order takeout. 

While your site should be a reflection of your brand and its image, there are some features that the best restaurant websites in 2024 share.