Restaurants

How Evolving Order Touchpoints Fit into the QSR of the Future

The brands that connect their ecosystems now won’t just keep up — they’ll define what the next generation of the QSR experience looks like [Coates].
🔥AI Hot Take: Most QSR menus weren’t built for omnichannel. Until menu logic matches channel logic, every new touchpoint just amplifies complexity.​

Restaurants

How Restaurants & Venues Can Maximize Revenue During the World Cup

Here is how your venue can move from a “walk-in” mentality to an event-first strategy to win the World Cup [Tripleseat].
​🔥AI Hot Take: World Cup traffic is worthless if your line can’t move. The restaurants that win build game‑time throughput like it’s a sport.

Foodservice

6 Proactive Security Measures to Deter Loitering and Vandalism in QSRs

​Operating quick-service restaurants (QSRs) isn’t easy. Loitering and vandalism are two of the most common and costly challenges you’ll face [Interface Systems].
​🔥AI Hot Take: One sketchy moment can undo a year of brand building. In the age of instant reviews and viral clips, safety isn’t a back‑of‑house concern — it’s a marketing imperative. 

Foodservice

Why Restaurant Marketers Need Guest Satisfaction Data, Desperately

In 2025, restaurants lost 1.4 active guests for every new customer acquired, reinforcing how difficult it has become to rely on acquisition alone for sustained growth [Tattle].
🔥AI Hot Take: You can’t out‑market a bad experience. With 70% of first‑time guests never returning, marketers who ignore satisfaction data are paying to lose customers.​

Foodservice

A Complete Guide to Data Analytics for Restaurants in 2026

Learn everything you need to understand about restaurant analytics, which includes essential tools, key metrics, advantages, and implementation strategies [Livelytics].
🔥AI Hot Take: Analytics is becoming the new margin engine. Every point of waste, over‑portioning, or labor drift is now visible, and fixable.​

Foodservice

Analysis: Chick-fil-A’s Traffic Momentum Holds as Expansion Continues

Chick-fil-A continues to carve out a distinctive growth story in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) space, pairing steady physical expansion with consistent gains in foot traffic [Placer.ai].
​🔥AI Hot Take: Most brands expand and dilute. Chick‑fil‑A expands and strengthens — a rare feat in QSR.

Foodservice

​Value Is in the Eye of the Customer: Understanding QSR Guest Priorities in 2026

Brands that reduce friction, make convenience a priority, and maintain meaningful engagement are earning stronger marks for value, no matter their price point [Voxie].
​🔥AI Hot Take: Clear, proactive communication is now part of the meal. Guests reward brands that keep them informed, not guessing.​

Foodservice

Why You Prep Like a Champion on Super Bowl Sunday but Guess Every Other Day

What if you could run every single shift with the same level of preparation, confidence, and accuracy that you bring to the biggest day of the year? [ClearCOGS].
🔥AI's Hot Take: Super Bowl prep proves it: restaurants don’t need more hustle, they need fewer blind spots.​

Foodservice

RCS vs. MMS: What’s the Difference for Marketers?

If you’re running MMS marketing campaigns, you might be wondering what Rich Communication Services (RCS) actually adds to the mix — and whether it’s worth the switch [Vibes].
​🔥AI's Hot Take: RCS turns messaging into a place where shoppers can explore, decide, and act without leaving the thread.

Foodservice

How Technology, Not Just Taste, Will Decide the Industry’s Future

The next chapter of the industry will be defined by technology, and the brands that embrace AI and intelligent infrastructure will separate themselves from those that don’t [Qu].
🔥AI's Hot Take: With margins collapsing and guests trading down, tech—not taste—is the only lever left that scales profitably.

Foodservice

7 Expert Tips for Restaurants to Maximize Tech Investments

Technology investments can either accelerate growth or drain resources. The difference often comes down to execution, not the tools themselves [Olo].
​🔥AI's Hot Take: Stop buying platforms before defining success—KPIs should drive configuration, not the other way around.

Foodservice

​Restaurants with These Photo Fixes Make 35% More Online

In today’s online ordering and delivery-first world, visuals are more than decoration — they’re a conversion-tool [Beyond Menu].
🔥AI's Hot Take: Restaurants don’t need more ads—they need better photos. The menu is the marketing funnel.
​

Foodservice

12 Restaurant Technologies To Modernize Your Team

Technology is meant to extend our capabilities. With a well-chosen tech stack, restaurants can improve all aspects of their business [Momos].
🔥AI's Hot Take: The best restaurant tech is whatever kills friction and boosts throughput, fast.​

Foodservice

How Adam Brotman Helped Starbucks Build the Loyalty Playbook Everyone’s Following

When you open your favorite restaurant’s app to order ahead, collect points, or skip the line, you’re using a system that Adam Brotman helped invent [Global Payments].
​🔥AI's Hot Take: Digital fails without discipline—alignment, not features, is the real moat.

Foodservice

How Houston TX Hot Chicken Turned Inventory Accuracy Into Margin Control

The Challenge: As Houston Hot Chicken continued to grow, operational visibility became harder to maintain across locations [Craftable].
🔥AI's Hot Take: Brands that unify inventory, invoices, and POS data will out‑execute those still reconciling problems retroactively.

Foodservice

What QSR Employees Report About Restaurant Tech Problems

72% of QSR employees report recurring drive-thru tech failures. 47% use workarounds weekly. What McDonald's workers say about restaurant tech problems [Canopy].
🔥AI's Hot Take: Burnout spikes when tech fails—nothing exhausts teams faster than fixing the tools meant to help them.​

Foodservice

Your Frontline is Your Superpower. Here’s How to Unlock it.

​The frontline is where your culture becomes real—and where your brand earns (or loses) trust. And when employees feel supported, respected, and listened to, your customers feel it instantly [SMG].
🔥AI's Hot Take: Burnout isn’t the headline—the disconnect is. When employees feel unseen, customers feel it instantly.

Foodservice

How to Simplify Your Restaurant Tech Stack

A patchwork tech setup might feel manageable at first. But over time, it quietly chips away at your operation — your staff, your customers, and your bottom line [Table Needs].
​🔥AI's Hot Take: ​The next competitive edge is consolidation—restaurants that run on one clean platform will out‑execute those drowning in subscriptions.

Foodservice

Common Payroll Mistakes After Minimum Wage Changes (and How to Avoid Them)

Read the most common and highest-risk payroll mistakes businesses make after minimum wage increases, along with what employers should watch for to stay compliant [Workstream].
​🔥AI's Hot Take: ​Payroll mistakes don’t come from wage laws changing — they come from systems that don’t.​

Foodservice

AI Call Agents for Restaurants: How They Are Transforming the Industry

By combining the latest advances in agentic AI, natural language processing (NLP) and voice technology, AI call agents are transforming how restaurants operate, engage with customers and grow revenue [Revmo].
🔥AI's Hot Take: When AI handles the routine calls, staff finally get to focus on hospitality instead of phone triage.

Foodservice

5 Signs Your Restaurant Software Stack Is Too Complicated

When your tech stack becomes a towering collection of disconnected tools, each promising to streamline operations, you create new problems faster than you solve old ones [Chowly].

Foodservice

Restaurant Sustainability Guide: How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

From the emissions released during livestock production to the water used in the food supply chain and the food waste generated along the way, restaurants create a substantial environmental footprint [Lightspeed].

Foodservice

The Economy Is Fine. Your Customers Might Not Be.

Restaurants are useful for assessing the economy because they sit at the boundary between necessity and discretion. People need to eat, but they don’t need to eat out. When money gets tight, restaurant spending is one of the first things to flex [Signal Flare AI].

Foodservice

How AI Menu Generators Can Improve Efficiency

When menu decisions are backed by data and automation, restaurants save labor, reduce waste, and keep profitability front of mind [Restaurant365].

Foodservice

10 Valentine's Day Ideas Your Guests Will Love

There are many creative ways to provide a Valentine's experience with great food and hospitality. Here are the top 10 ideas [Toast].

Foodservice

Super Bowl Restaurant Marketing Ideas to Boost Revenue in 2026

Here are 10 supercharged ideas to drive sales and revenue, streamline operations, and keep your fans coming back long after the final whistle [Tripleseat].

Foodservice

 6 Proven Subscription Provider Tactics Driving B2C Growth

This article provides a roadmap for automated billing, effective dunning management, and easy integration with your tech stack [Paytronix]. 

Foodservice

Chipotle’s Growth Is No Longer Just About New Restaurants

Chipotle’s visit growth in mid-2025 was driven primarily by unit expansion, but late-year data suggests same-store traffic may be growing after several quarters of transaction pressure [Placer.ai].

Foodservice

26 Key Insights for Every Multi-Unit Operator in 2026

View the key insights for restaurant operators in 2026, and discover the trends, tech priorities and strategies to stay competitive and drive growth [Crunchtime].

Foodservice

Mastering Digital Menu Boards: Your Guide to a Modern Restaurant

Digital menu boards are more than just high-tech replacements for static menus - they're dynamic tools that enhance customer engagement, streamline operations, and offer endless possibilities for creativity [L Squared].

​Making Self-Service Accessible to All

This blog details why accessibility in both kiosk hardware and software is more than a responsibility, but essential for both companies and kiosk users alike [Bite].

Foodservice

From the Tunacado to Tailored Loyalty: Joe & The Juice

Joe & The Juice is stepping up its customer engagement game with advanced loyalty and promotions capabilities, including omnichannel, that deliver personalized offers across touchpoints [Talon.One].

Foodservice

Theft or Teachable Moment?

Discover how automation helps QSRs separate actual fraud from honest mistakes [PAR Tech].

Foodservice

The Long Game: Why Clean Data Makes or Breaks Your Restaurant’s AI Strategy

Restaurants that treat AI as a foundation, not a feature, are the ones building staying power. The work isn’t flashy, but it’s exactly what separates projects that scale from those that stall [Qu].

Foodservice

Restaurant Technology Fear vs. Reality: Why Waiting Costs More Than Acting

Technology adoption succeeds when operators approach it strategically, focus on solving real operational challenges, and maintain commitment to hospitality excellence [ClearCOGS].

Foodservice

Rethinking QSR: Build Better Customer Experiences with Experience Design

Instead of reacting to what happened, experience design starts upstream with the decisions that shape every step of the guest journey before it begins [Service Management Group].

Foodservice

How to Thrive When the Market Tightens

When things get tight, it doesn't have to become a story of survival. Instead, it can be a moment to reset, make smarter choices, and build a steadier footing for whatever comes next [MarginEdge].

Foodservice

5 Defining Hospitality Trends of 2025 That You Should Consider in 2026

From hybrid business models to the return of communal dining, these five trends show how creativity is shaping a more resilient, human-centered industry [Tock].

Foodservice

Chain Restaurant CMO Sentiment Survey

With industry sales for top chains expected to grow at the slowest rate in the past decade (not including 2020), CMOs are pulling out all the stops [Bikky].

Foodservice

Welcome to Reservation Wars 3.0

Get your popcorn out, Reservation Wars 3.0 is here. And on this go-around, nearly the whole restaurant tech ecosystem is involved [Bite].

Foodservice

AWS Outage Reminds Us "Smart" Devices Are Only as Smart as Their Architecture

When a 15-hour outage turned $2,700 smart beds into saunas and left thousands of restaurants unable to process orders, it exposed the fatal flaw in how we're building edge applications [Ditto].

Foodservice

Restaurant Chargebacks: A Guide to Managing Disputes in the Restaurant Industry

A look at why restaurant chargebacks happen, why they’re difficult to fight, and why food and beverage establishments are better off focusing on prevention instead [Chargebacks911].

Foodservice

97% of Diners Will Give One-Star to “Robot Restaurants” of the Future

New data shows that while the promise of the fully automated restaurant may look sleek, diners aren’t buying it. Nearly one in three have avoided a restaurant that felt “too automated”[Harri]. 

Foodservice

Keeping Up in the Fast Lane: A Tech Stack Guide for QSR Operators

​Operators will want to select partners who have deep experience in a broad range of technologies and can help them navigate an increasingly complicated landscape [Presto].

Foodservice

State of Food Delivery & Rideshare Apps 2025: The Gig Economy is Bigger Than Ever

Read how rideshare is capitalizing on sustained momentum while food delivery stages a massive comeback, fueled by India's hyper-growth [Sensor Tower].

Foodservice

Smoking Profits: How Dickey's Balances Legacy and 15% Margins 

​Dickey’s CEO, Laura Dickey, talks about brand building, maintaining steady margins and keeping your folks (employees & guests) happy in part 1 of a 2-part episode [Milagro].

Why Gen Z’s “No Tab” Habit Is Costing Your Bar Staff Time (and Tips)

Gen Z’s habit of refusing to open bar tabs is more than just a generational quirk. It is slowing down service, frustrating bartenders, and cutting into your bottom line [OpenTab].

5 Ways to Safeguard Your Restaurant’s Supply Chain

Learn how to thrive amid the effects of inflation, product shortages, and the lingering pandemic on your restaurant’s supply chain [TimeForge].

Do QSR Value Promotions Still Resonate With Consumers?

The recent revival of McDonald’s Extra Value Meal has fueled speculation that the QSR space might be gearing up for another round of value wars. See what the data suggests [Placer.ai].

How AI and Machine Learning Are Revolutionizing Restaurant Customer Engagement

Read how AI and machine learning are reshaping restaurant customer engagement with smarter marketing, personalized experiences, and optimized operations [Incentivio].

How Piper’s Ice Cream Bar Built Stability Beyond the Seasons

Co-owner Chip Adkins shares the cash flow system that helps him slash operating costs by 12%, create financial stability for the business, and build sustainable wealth [Square].

Tip Pooling: What Every Restaurant Operator Should Know

Learn how tip pooling works, the laws that govern it, and how restaurants can streamline the process using tip management software [SpotOn].

Agile RFP Process Leads to Accelerated Digital Transformation for Dewey’s Pizza

Chris Abrams, Director of Innovation at Dewey's Pizza, shares how the company uses tech to facilitate an agile RFP process and collaborate with department heads needs requirements and solution sourcing [Olive].

The QSR AI Revolution: How Agentic Intelligence Is Redefining Fast Food Success

As consumer expectations evolve toward fast, frictionless, and highly personalized service, QSR leaders face an urgent strategic choice: leverage advanced AI solutions or risk falling behind [Solugenix].

How Culture-Led Change Drives Scalable Transformation in Restaurants

Align your people, processes, and purpose to accelerate adoption, maximize ROI, and drive lasting change [Point B].

Drive-Thru Tech Gets a Thumbs-Up from 92% of Customers

Learn why simple upgrades are helping QSRs tune into what customers really want behind the wheel [Mood Media].

Pandemic Reflections: What Lessons Has the Restaurant Industry Learned?

​The pandemic forced the restaurant industry to reinvent itself overnight, moving from a primarily in-store dining experience to an omnichannel, digital-first business [MTech Mobility].

Digitizing QSR Inventory Will Soon Seem as Obvious as the POS Revolution

Digitizing inventory—bringing real-time visibility, automation, and predictive insights into food, packaging, and supplies—will become as essential as the POS transformation did decades ago [NomadGo].

Customer Sentiment Analysis vs. Traditional Surveys: Which One Tells the Real Story?

In today’s customer-driven competitive world, feedback is like a goldmine. But how we collect and interpret that feedback is evolving faster than ever [LiveLytics].

Restaurant SEO: 9 Best Practices That Will Attract More Customers

Are you tired of empty tables on a Tuesday night? It’s more important than ever for restaurants to have a solid SEO strategy to attract customers in a competitive market [Tripleseat].

Weathering the Storm: Why Customer Loyalty Beats Cost-Cutting

The question isn’t whether technology will transform the restaurant experience, its which restaurants will lead the transformation and reap the rewards of increased customer loyalty, frequency, and revenue growth [SoundHound AI].

QSR Snapshot: What’s Working, What’s Not, and Where the Industry Goes Next

A study reveals a clear disconnect between what draws U.S. customers to QSRs and what ultimately disappoints them [Storesight].

Dave’s Hot Chicken: Managing a Red-Hot Expansion

Managing explosive growth while maintaining operational consistency and controlling real estate risk, Dave’s sought a modern solution for lease and location management [Leasecake].

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