2023

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What Does 2024 Look Like for the Restaurant Industry?

Modern Restaurant Management

A new year brings new beginnings and opportunities for transformation in the restaurant industry. It’s the perfect time to look back on a few things we learned in 2023 – based on recent survey data from our restaurant partners – as well as what we predict for the industry in 2024. A Look Back at 2023 To gauge the state of the restaurant industry, including the industry’s most pertinent worries around food and labor costs, Restaurant365 conducted a survey of over 730 custo

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Disgraced Chef Mario Batali Teases a Comeback on Instagram

EATER

Scott Eisen/Getty Images He’s in his “virtual events” era, apparently After a nearly six-year social media hiatus, disgraced chef Mario Batali is officially back on Instagram. The chef made his comeback to the platform on October 21, complete with a slightly blurry photo of red-sauced pasta and a cryptic announcement: “Mario Batali virtual events coming soon.

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Beyond the Plate: The Future of Restaurants in a Tech-Driven 2024

Modern Restaurant Management

As the calendar turns towards 2024, the restaurant industry stands at a crossroads, with innovation and adaptation at the heart of its ongoing evolution. This vibrant sector, a cornerstone of the global economy that tantalizes taste buds and fuels job markets, is bracing for transformation that will redefine its future. However, persistent labor shortages are pushing restaurants to explore automation and artificial intelligence to streamline operations – from kitchen management to customer

2024 202
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Beef prices are soaring. It won't get better anytime soon

Restaurant Business

With beef inflation expected to stick around for the next few years, steakhouses and meat-focused concepts are creating strategies to manage sourcing and the menu. It's all about being flexible.

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Join Full Course Navigator: Your Path to Professional Growth in Restaurant Leadership

Full Course Foundation is dedicated to nurturing excellence in restaurant leadership. Our Navigator program offers a wide range of resources tailored for professional growth. From high quality training to personalized coaching, Navigator equips restaurant leaders with the tools they need to thrive in their careers.

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What’s the future for espresso?

Perfect Daily Grind

It is impossible to deny just how popular espresso is around the world. According to some sources, espresso – after water – is the second most consumed beverage in Italy. Moreover, in the fall edition of its National Coffee Data Trends report, the National Coffee Association states the second most popular specialty coffee beverage in the US is espresso , behind the latte.

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Restaurants are suddenly all about dessert

Restaurant Business

State of the Plate: RB menu trends columnist Nancy Kruse dishes on the rising popularity of the last course, which is no longer operators' problematic stepchild.

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How Butter Beans Went From Gross to Glamorous

EATER

Lille Allen | Eater The unlikely “it” bean of 2023 has had a meteoric rise, thanks largely to vegan and vegetarian influencers who are embracing it as a main character, not a forgettable side dish About six months ago, I started noticing food influencers on TikTok going gaga over butter beans. As an omnivore who loves meat and whose husband leans vegetarian, I often rely on TikTok for recipe inspiration, so the idea of substituting animal protein with beans wasn’t new or shocking.

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The Restaurant Industry Has a Child Labor Problem

EATER

A protest against child labor outside a Popeyes in Oakland, CA | Fight for $15 Over the past few years child labor violations have surged across the food industry. Why? If it seems like child labor has been in the news a lot lately, that’s because it has. In recent months, a number of companies, many of them in the food industry, have been accused of violating federal and state labor laws by allowing children to work long hours in sometimes hazardous conditions.

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Pumpkin or sweet potato pie? There's a rich history behind both

The Salt

The two desserts have similarities — both are orange, sweet, and have a bit of spice — but they have distinct histories that have led to dedicated followings. (Image credit: Tristen Rouse/St.

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Individual Development Plan Template

There’s no way around it: sometimes employees need your help. Use this free template to clarify expectations, share resources, and set a timeline. Best case scenario, this process helps them improve. Worst case, your great recordkeeping keeps you compliant even if they move on. Download the template today!

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Is Your Restaurant AI the Real Deal? Here Are Five Questions to Ask Vendors

Modern Restaurant Management

The restaurant industry is undergoing a technology renaissance. Everywhere you care to look, AI and automation can be found taking on critical roles and supporting restaurants, bars, cafes, and coffee shops still battling against labor shortages and rising inflation. Robots are helping with food prep and even serving dine-in customers. Data-driven analytics tools are allowing restaurants to optimize pricing and personalize menu options.

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The Best Pre-Launch Marketing Strategy for Your Fine Dining Restaurant

Modern Restaurant Management

Launching a fine dining restaurant is an undoubtedly exciting venture, but it's not without its challenges. With the fierce competition in the food industry, a well-thought-out pre-launch marketing strategy is crucial to ensure your restaurant gets the attention it deserves. With 60 percent of new high-end restaurants failing within the first year, it’s clear that far too many budding restauranteurs are not pursuing the optimum marketing strategies.

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Exploring the Factors Behind the Surge in Restaurant Automation

Modern Restaurant Management

If you've been paying attention to the tech scene, you have surely noticed a significant upswing in interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. It seems almost everyone, from social media influencers to evening news anchors, is extolling the capabilities of this emerging tech. From softwares like ChatGPT to self-driving cars like the Tesla Model 3, AI and automation are making remarkable strides In the restaurant industry, these solutions are streamlining various aspects, includ

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A CPA’s Insight on Top Issues Restaurant Owners Face

Modern Restaurant Management

For restaurant owners, there are a number of issues in their workplace keeping them up at night and hindering them from successfully managing and operating their restaurant efficiently. As a firm that specializes in working with clients in the restaurant industry, we regularly assist restaurant owners with many of these issues, particularly in areas like tax compliance, payroll, bookkeeping, and providing sound financial advice to help manage cash flow and business growth strategies.

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How to Build the Ideal HR Team

HR doesn’t exist in a vacuum. This work impacts everyone: from the C-Suite to your newest hire. It also drives results. Learn how to make it all happen in Paycor’s latest guide.

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Why Manual Workforce Management Processes Should be a Thing of the Past for Restaurant Owners

Modern Restaurant Management

Scheduling employees is one of the most time-intensive tasks for restaurant managers. They often have to rely on historical data to forecast customer demand, and typically can’t take into account the impact of weather and other local events on demand. Additionally, they have to remember how this demand aligns with employee skills and availability, before they begin creating shift schedules – often using pen and paper or an Excel spreadsheet.

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Three Things Your POS Can’t Do if You Lose Internet

Modern Restaurant Management

Nearly every restaurant in the United States relies on a Point of Sale (POS) system for the majority of its front-of-house operations. That system needs access to the internet in order to keep functioning. But what happens when your restaurant suffers an internet outage, taking your POS system with it? Not only can that become frustrating for your guests, but it can also make in-house operations much more difficult.

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Six Important Steps Restaurants Should Take to Build a Strong Food Safety Culture

Modern Restaurant Management

Ensuring food safety is essential for restaurant brands and others within the food industry. A weak food safety culture can have severe consequences, including product recalls, foodborne illnesses, reputational damage, diminished customer loyalty, and financial losses. Restaurants and other food businesses must prioritize building and maintaining a strong food safety culture to mitigate these risks.

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Why Setting Wait Time Expectations Is Key to a Good Customer Experience

Modern Restaurant Management

Not much sours a customer’s perception of a restaurant as fast as unwieldy lines and long waits. Especially for fast-paced establishments, managing wait time expectations is a significant challenge and can cause patrons to leave — or, worse, never return. Although management can’t always eliminate the wait for service entirely, they can use modern technology to set reliable wait time expectations from the start.

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Planning Your Restaurant's Path to Profitability

Speaker: James Kahler, COO of Full Course

Ever wondered where to splurge and where to safely conserve when it comes to operating and growing your restaurant? 🤔 Join James Kahler, COO of Full Course and industry visionary, in this new webinar where he'll talk all about best practices to invest in your restaurant's success! Whether you're a new business or an established restaurant, a seasoned pro or a rookie, you'll learn the keys to sustainable success in this competitive industry.

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Strategy A La Carte: The Dish on Digital Marketing Trends for Restaurant Brands 

Modern Restaurant Management

The future is digital. Restaurant brands around the world are finding that their audience is craving something more than pretty pictures of delectable dishes, but rather a need for community and discussion. They want engaging content that keeps them entertained. Effective full-funnel marketing strategies are vital for the success of any business, but are definitely the garnish on top for those in the food and beverage industry.

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Three Holiday Workforce Trends Restaurant Managers Need to Know 

Modern Restaurant Management

The restaurant workforce is largely back to pre-pandemic levels, signaling a much-needed reprieve amidst the larger, ongoing hospitality labor crisis. However, the typical increase in consumers wanting to dine out during the holiday season – not to mention the continued demand for take-away and delivery services – could disrupt this balance, even as businesses attempt to bolster their staff with seasonal hires.

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How Technology Is Transforming Restaurant Checkouts

Modern Restaurant Management

When you ask your diners how they would like to pay, when was the last time they handed over physical cash? Perhaps you don’t even accept cash anymore? You wouldn’t be alone; well-known brands including Prezzo, Itsu and Côte Brasserie have all made the decision to go card-only for good as a means to reduce costs and speed up customer service.

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Optimize Local SEO for Your Restaurant

Modern Restaurant Management

When it comes to attracting customers to restaurants, local SEO is crucial and can optimize their online presence to attract more local customers. What Is Local SEO? Local Search is a search format where Google's algorithms rely on location data to display specific results according to the geographic location of the user or other locations suggested by them.

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Top 5 Ways to Optimize Your Loyalty Strategy

Speaker: Lauren Barash, Vice President, Brand Marketing

In an ever-evolving industry, building and retaining loyal customers is critical to the success of any restaurant business. Join Lauren Barash, VP of Brand Marketing at Full Course, as she delves into the world of restaurant loyalty programs, and reveals the top five essential strategies to optimize your approach! This webinar will explore: Loyalty trends and what you should be focusing on 📊 Actionable insights and ideas to help you develop the most powerful and effective loyalty program

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Transforming Customer Experiences: Four Ways to Embrace Innovation in the Restaurant Industry

Modern Restaurant Management

In the dynamic and ever-evolving restaurant industry, culinary experiences are shaping customer preferences. After all, this business is all about people with customers at the forefront of decisions being made. In order to achieve long-term success and build essential brand credibility, restaurants must cultivate meaningful experiences and relationships to help drive growth and expansion.

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How AI Alleviates Restaurant Pain Points

Modern Restaurant Management

Since the pandemic, restaurants have endured a plethora of issues ranging from fluctuating dining restrictions to supply chain issues to rising food prices. But arguably no issue has proven to be as constant and bedeviling as the labor shortage. Recent research has proven the industry is still struggling to rebound on staffing, reporting a woeful 500K fewer employees than before the pandemic.

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IoT Is Revolutionizing The Way Restaurants Operate and Manage Food Safety

Modern Restaurant Management

IoT has become an indispensable tech solution for the restaurant industry. Integrating IoT devices and connectivity drives efficiency, enhances food safety, mitigates risks, increases transparency, reduces waste, and provides many other benefits for restaurants. In fact, leveraging IoT is revolutionizing the sector by optimizing supply chain management, enhancing the customer experience, and facilitating data-driven decision-making.

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MRM EXCLUSIVE: Consumer Data Analytics Reveal Dining Patterns to Attract Customers 

Modern Restaurant Management

The last few years have not been easy for several key industries in the U.S., including restaurants. According to CNN, there are fewer U.S. restaurants today than in 2019 and it is not clear when —if ever — they’re coming back. In 2022, there were about 631,000 restaurants in the United States. That’s roughly 72,000 fewer than in 2019.

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2024 Restaurant Spending Trends to Stay Ahead of the Curve

How do you stay on top of what your customers are expecting when they step through your doors? Do you know what’s on their mind? How are you going to account for what they’re planning on doing months from now? As we head into 2024, price-related issues are still top-of-mind for restaurant customers after the inflation boom earlier this year. In this new report, we give you the latest insights on consumer spending trends, attitudes on tipping, and how you can respond.