Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 31, 2024

Fast Food Flavor Report Fast food brands and restaurants are scratching their heads trying to figure out what flavors are a bonafide trend and which are just a fleeting fad. A New York polished casual hot spot’s drink “Always Greener” paired gin, Suze, and sorrel (an herbaceous plant) for a bright botanical kick.

2025 451

2025 Beverage Fine Dining Guest Recovery 451

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 8, 2025

“AI should be introduced where it adds the most value—fast food and fast casual restaurants can benefit from kiosks and automated ordering, while full-service restaurants should focus on enhancing hospitality and personal service rather than automation,” said Fink.

2025 283

2025 Fast Casual Consumer Goods Seasonal Menu 283

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 9, 2025

Joe Gale has more than 30 years of sales, operations and account management experience, including 20 years with Coca-Cola North America Foodservice where he worked closely with numerous QSR and fast casual brands. Furthermore, the real estate, design and marketing support we offer enhances our capabilities as an ideal franchisor.

Franchising 221

Franchising Franchise Loyalty Program Training 221

Restaurant Business

APRIL 9, 2025

A Technomic Ignite Consumer report found a significant increase in average checks at both quick service and fast casual establishments. There was a nearly 8% increase in average check at quick service and a whopping 15% increase at fast casual establishments when kiosks were used for orders rather than employees.

Take-out 186

Take-out Technology Fast Casual Inventory 186

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

The research stems from in-person chef interviews and a nationwide survey of more than 400 restaurant owners and operators spanning 47 states with respondents ranging from fine dining establishments to fast-casual venues, breweries, and caterers. "This

2024 252

2024 2025 2023 Loyalty Program 252

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 6, 2024

The experience agency, who designed new restaurant prototypes for clients such as Burger King, Panda Express and Panera Bread, surveyed consumers to gain a better understanding of the current customer journey and what guests value most about the restaurant experience, particularly at casual dining and fast casual restaurants.

Customer Experience 494

Customer Experience Fast Casual 2024 Dine-in 494

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 15, 2022

For fast-casual or QSR brands, digital tableside ordering is equally beneficial. One example of a restaurant chain leveraging similar tableside technology is the growing chef-driven Mexican fast-casual concept, Tocaya. It relieves cashiers and reduces long lines. Digital Ordering to Eliminate Friction Points for Cashiers.

Technology 564

Technology Loyalty Program Fast Casual Email Marketing 564

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 18, 2024

Instead of engaging in this “value war,” fast casual restaurant concepts should focus on excellence in restaurant operations to increase store traffic and maintain strong margins. This extends to both our new prototype designs, including a higher ROI small-format design and our newly launched drive-thru format.

Operations 221

Operations Loyalty Program Fast Casual 2024 221

7 Shifts

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Restaurant concepts define the overall theme or idea behind a restaurant, including cuisine, service style, music, and menu design. Here are a few examples of restaurants with names that ooze concept: Parm: Casual Italian, known for their Chicken Parm Sandwiches. Umami Burger : Casual burger spot with an empaths on flavor.

Fast Casual 370

Fast Casual Food Truck Casual Customer Service 370

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 29, 2021

“We are seeing sign-on bonuses at fast food and fast casual locations, something never seen before in the industry. Fast casual will continue to push out full-service brands because they can assemble food in front of you and get food to the customer more quickly.

Fast Casual 554

Fast Casual Hiring Online Ordering Front of House 554

ChowNow

MARCH 21, 2025

A restaurant target market is the specific group of customers your restaurant is designed to attract. Lifestyle Choices: Do they prefer fast, casual meals or long, social dining experiences? Understanding customer behavior helps you refine your approach to service, marketing, and menu design. Why does this matter?

Marketing 195

Marketing Social Media Email Marketing Loyalty Program 195

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 16, 2021

What issues have affected the industry over the last five years in the topics of marketing, design, operations, law, finance, technology and equipment? Tableside ordering via tablets, tableside payment, POS systems designed with mobility and flexibility in mind have dominated the market growing out of the fast casual.

Fast Casual 391

Fast Casual Front of House Fine Dining Mobile Ordering 391

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 3, 2025

Plaid represents structure, heritage, and intentional design. From there, we can start developing the brand identity (think color palettes, typography, and logo design). The restaurant needs cohesion, from signage to menu design to uniforms. It’s a timeless and bold pattern, much like a strong brand identity.

Social Media 251

Social Media Customer Experience Email Marketing Loyalty Program 251

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 21, 2020

Restaurant marketing strategy, design, and internal systems will evolve for independents and chains alike in the coming year. In 2021, restaurant marketing strategy, restaurant design, and internal systems—for independents and chains alike—will evolve, and technology and robotics will become commonplace.

2021 479

2021 Online Ordering Email Marketing Advertising 479

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

In the short term, it’s QSR that will experience labor improvement, then fast-casual. Restaurant design footprint will fundamentally change with more BOH kitchen size needed and less FOH seats as more people gravitate toward digital and delivery. Restaurants will become increasingly casual.

Mobile Ordering 540

Mobile Ordering Front of House Customer Service Customer Experience 540

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 24, 2024

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.

Certification 221

Certification Fast Casual Front of House Government 221

Modern Restaurant Management

APRIL 1, 2024

While they crave the value of QSR – 34 percent of families reporting higher spending at QSRs this month compared to 18 percent of childless households – they are inclined toward fast casual and full-service restaurants as well.

Catering 488

Catering Fast Casual 2024 Customer Service 488

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 30, 2021

This program, piloted last year, is designed to help KFC team members build short-term savings and create lasting savings behaviors. Founded in 2006, Just Salad is the fast-casual restaurant industry’s leading proponent of zero-waste practices.

Franchising 510

Franchising Franchise Fast Casual Point of Sale 510

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Whether it's the utilization of AI-driven analytics to elevate menu design or the precision of robotics transforming kitchen operations, a new era in dining is taking shape. This requires a modular design approach, from adaptable kitchens to multifunctional dining spaces.

Fast Casual 296

Fast Casual Fine Dining Customer Service Customer Experience 296

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Ghost kitchen and virtual brands are prime strategies for this growth strategy, both of which require a thoughtful approach to menu design, production and fulfillment. Fast casual will continue to shine as it has since the pandemic generating the highest asking prices in the marketplace.

2023 419

2023 Loyalty Program Fast Casual Customer Experience 419

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 21, 2022

Instead, as these solutions advance, companies should refer to their technology as “Smart Carts,” or something in the same vein, to give a more accurate representation of what they provide and come off as warm and welcoming tools designed to elevate hospitality. In addition there is also a poolside bar.

2023 495

2023 Loyalty Program Mobile Ordering Customer Experience 495

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 12, 2024

The team said they spent four months on the process – One month to plan and implement design, three months testing and resetting based on guest and employee feedback at the corporate location. They used a combination of independent research, guest reviews, product mix sales reports, and employee and franchisee feedback.

Menu 450

Menu 2001 Franchising Franchise 450

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

This might mean weaving elements of fast-casual dining into your design. A Forbes report detailing an interview with industry expert Jason Clampet highlighted the growing move toward spaces designed for Instagram users. Renovation is becoming a common theme in the restaurant industry. The need for upgrades is clear.

Fast Casual 397

Fast Casual Equipment Small Business Mobile Ordering 397

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

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. The average time per order at fast food restaurants in 2020 was 6 minutes – nearly 30 seconds slower than 2019.

Mobile Ordering 510

Mobile Ordering Marketing Menu Fast Casual 510

ChowNow

FEBRUARY 12, 2025

The industry is evolving fast, and simply relying on word-of-mouth or foot traffic isnt going to cut it. A casual brunch spot in a college town will attract a different crowd than a high-end steakhouse in a business district. Logo Design and Color Schemes : A great logo is simple, memorable, and aligned with your brands vibe.

2025 195

2025 Marketing Email Marketing Operations 195

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

The modern restaurant ecosystem demands that businesses of all shapes and styles, from full-service fine dining to quick-serve fast-casual, incorporate third-party delivery systems into their business models, strategic planning, Front and Back of House training and physical design.

Delivery 494

Delivery Front of House Back of House Fine Dining 494

Modern Restaurant Management

JANUARY 12, 2021

According to Upserve’s 2020 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, the industry will collectively lose $240 billion, with casual dining sales volume down by 60 percent and fast casual down 50 percent. There’s no disputing that the past year has been extremely hard on the restaurant industry overall.

Fast Casual 412

Fast Casual Food Safety Loyalty Program Customer Experience 412

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 18, 2024

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.

2024 476

2024 Food Truck Fast Casual Consumer Goods 476

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 18, 2021

Honeygrow, the Philadelphia-based fast casual restaurant, for instance, engages customers only through image-rich digital kiosks, collapsing menu, ordering, and check-out into a single experience. To work fast, work in parallel to define what we’ll do and how we’ll do it. Diner Preference. Patrons standing back?

Back of House 476

Back of House Seasonal Menu Customer Experience Fast Casual 476

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 7, 2021

On The Border is taking it back to the 1980’s with the debut of its new prototype that pays homage to the brand’s first design and renowned experience, top photo. ” On The Border’s new design is part of an overall brand enhancement to improve the guest experience. . On the Border Debuts New Prototype.

Franchising 434

Franchising Franchise Sustainability Fast Casual 434

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 3, 2024

Whether someone is the designated driver, pregnant or choosing to abstain from alcohol for health reasons, alcohol-free socializing is on the rise. There’s no longer a stigma for being sober-curious and mocktails are gaining popularity as sophisticated alternatives to beer, wine and traditional cocktails.

Menu 373

Menu Fast Casual Beverage Social Media 373

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 21, 2024

Remain Price-conscious : Price matters in fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, ranking second among the factors customers consider. Building Check Across All Channels We found that beverage preferences vary by category, customer, and channel.

Beverage 495

Beverage Fast Casual Seasonal Menu Customer Experience 495

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 26, 2021

Flynn now owns and operates a combined total of 2,355 quick-service, fast casual and casual dining restaurants, generating $3.5 We are optimistic the Fuzzy’s brand will resonate with those in the area looking for affordable, approachable, fast casual dining,” said Pittsley.

Franchising 430

Franchising Franchise Fast Casual Loyalty Program 430

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 28, 2021

Adding to the 20 Noodles & Company locations in the metro Chicago market, the ghost kitchen will help reach a new customer base through its digital channels and give the fast-casual brand a presence in-between local locations. "We're flip'd by IHOP. Egg Combos with choice of breakfast meats.

Franchising 475

Franchising Franchise Fast Casual Loyalty Program 475

Modern Restaurant Management

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

Eight months after the acquisition by Capriotti’s, Wing Zone is rolling out a brand refresh which features technology upgrades, a revamped menu, an energized restaurant design and experience, a new logo and other assets designed to further position the brand as one of the undisputed leaders in the chicken wing category.

Franchising 472

Franchising Franchise Food Fast Casual 472

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

Nowadays, vegan food is becoming normal in restaurants and fast food joints. Plant-based eating was previously limited to some selected restaurants and casual cafes. Vegan restaurant industry has a bright future as fast food giants like McDonalds, KFC, Subway, and Burger King enter the vegan food industry.

Fine Dining 554

Fine Dining Fast Casual Food Supply 2022 554

Modern Restaurant Management

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

On the surface, you may not think a roadside diner or downtown café would have much in common with a fast-casual chain, not to mention an elegant stand-alone restaurant where couples and families celebrate over a two-hour, five-course meal. But the truth is they have a lot in common when it comes to selecting their furniture.

Fast Casual 451

Fast Casual Uniforms Dine-in Customer Experience 451