When times are tight, where do you start cutting restaurant costs? The natural inclination for many restaurateurs is to look at your two biggest expenses — staff and COGS (cost of goods sold) — and slash from the top down, until you can make ends meet. But a savvy restaurateur knows there’s more than one
Plant Butchery: The Most Convincing Meat Alternatives in Restaurants
Often, when we think of meat alternatives for vegans and vegetarians, what can come to mind are vaguely meat-like substitutes that don’t really provide the umami or texture savvy diners are looking for in animal-based proteins. So it’s understandable that many restaurants avoid meat alternatives altogether. Instead, many restaurants stick with salads and traditionally-cooked veggie
Defining What’s “Healthy” on Your Restaurant Menu
This past September, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a request for public feedback on labeling food in terms of “healthiness.” The American public was specifically asked to describe what they thought it meant for a particular food item to be “healthy.” While the request is open through January 26th, the feedback has already
15 Restaurant Food Trends in 2017: What to Expect
December might just be the most wonderful time of the year, not only for the holiday season, but for the exciting predictions of restaurant food trends in the upcoming year. Unique proteins and preparations broaden the horizons of the culinary palate, while creative takes on veggies, sweets, and drinks round out dining experiences and should
How to Use Restaurant Menu Design to Increase Your Sales
Your restaurant menu is likely the first (and most lasting) impression customers have of your business, but that’s not all it needs to do. Ask yourself: Can my menu help increase my restaurant sales? In our newest report, we walk through four big factors that can help you decide whether your restaurant menu design is
Putting Your Best Grape Forward: Developing Your Restaurant Wine List
It’s no secret that a wine list can be both a significant revenue stream and a customer draw for a restaurant. How thoughtfully a restaurant compiles and presents their list can determine whether or not a customer orders a bottle, opts for other beverages, or even chooses another establishment. While there is no right or
Fixe-r Upper: Prix Fixe Menus in Restaurants
No matter whether you’ve been running a restaurant for years or just starting one up, the idea of a prix fixe menu will probably come up at some point. Prix fixe (literally in French: “fixed price”) is a type of menu that features a set multiple-course list at a set single price, without the option
Thanks, but No Thanks: Should Your Restaurant Stay Open for Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is a special — and hectic — time of the year for everyone. As the official start of the holiday season, Thanksgiving is also one of those days that can be difficult for those in the restaurant industry to know what to do with. Should you stay open for the day? Will you lose
What to Know About the LTO: Limited Time Offers in Restaurants
Whether you’re looking to shake things up at your restaurant or simply generate some extra profit for your bottom line, a smart (and often low-risk) opportunity is the classic LTO, or “limited time offer.” These are dishes that do not currently reside on your menu, that you can advertise as a special offering. Critical to
Not So Millennial: Restaurant Food Trends for Generation Z
The term “Millennials” gets thrown around a lot when discussing any food trends that fall outside of Baby Boomer interest. And it’s easy to think of Millennials as pretty much “anyone young,” but the reality is, the majority of Millennials are now in their late twenties and early thirties, with kids of their own. Now,
