Maya
- Oct 25, 2021
- 2 min
Why Restaurant QR Codes Are Here to Stay
QR codes are cropping up in more and more restaurants. Customers can scan the code on their phones and order from a digital menu. This works on marketing materials and enables in-house ordering too. Lately they’ve become a huge competitor to physical menus. Restaurant staff don’t have to sanitize anything between uses, and you also save on printing costs as well as appeal to customers who support greener businesses. QR Codes Track Orders QR code scans grew 750% in the past ye
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Maya
- Sep 28, 2021
- 2 min
Will A.I. Ordering Take Over Food Service?
The Rise of A.I. Tech Food service is all about convenience these days. From digital loyalty programs that automatically apply saved points, to online ordering platforms with no-contact delivery, customers value ease of use and fast service. That’s part of why A.I. technology is gaining popularity across the industry. With smart technology, restaurants are increasing their speed, accuracy and contactless capabilities. These machines learn what and why guests order most regula
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Maya
- Sep 27, 2021
- 2 min
Behind Google’s Waitlist Feature for Restaurants
The Age of Automated Restaurants The restaurant industry needs automation. Why? Because customers order online all the time. Managers use POS software capable of doing its own payroll and accounting. Artificial intelligence plays a bigger role in food service than ever before with customer-facing technology, auto-modifications, voice ordering and more. Customers can Google restaurants and order delivery without leaving the search engine. Now the mega-corporation is taking it
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Maya
- Sep 26, 2021
- 2 min
Could Pop-Ups Help Struggling Restaurants?
Restaurants Face Trouble Again Usually, pop-ups come before the brick-and-mortar restaurant. Owners can test their concept before launching an expensive, large-scale operation. This typically makes pop-ups invaluable. So why have some restaurants decided to turn the tables, and go backwards? The food service industry has adapted in interesting ways because of COVID-19. As the Delta variant spreads more rapidly, restaurants are once again losing customers and steady profit. It
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Maya
- Sep 25, 2021
- 2 min
The Tech Solutions Defining Restaurants’ Future
The New Tech Solutions Once again, the restaurant industry is changing. The recovery period post-COVID-19 isn’t a linear journey, and so tech solutions are continually coming out to prioritize the new needs of the industry. For example, a year ago businesses prioritized social distance and contactless dining. Now they’re relying even more on digitization. Customers can get their favorite foods much quicker and more conveniently when they order online. Whether it’s through you
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Maya
- Sep 24, 2021
- 2 min
Will the Takeout Surge Cause a Supply Shortage?
Restaurants have enjoyed a massive uptick in takeout orders during this past year and a half. It’s one of the few options available to consumers that don’t potentially open them to COVID-19. Delivery, curbside pickup and takeout didn’t just grow during the pandemic, but new technologies abounded to make these channels more efficient. Since takeout wasn’t always a priority, the burst of interest has the potential to create a shortage of necessary supplies, like boxes, napkins
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Maya
- Sep 23, 2021
- 2 min
Employee Retention Credits for Your Restaurant
Restaurant Recovery Stalls, Alongside Labor As restaurants try to move forward after the pandemic, they face a lot of roadblocks to full recovery. From the labor shortage to supply chain problems to rising menu prices, restaurants need all the help they can get. To that end, the government is offering Employee Retention Credits to spur recovery. This summer, restaurants made $200B less relative to a normal year. There were 8M furloughed or fired employees missing too. Thus, b
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Maya
- Sep 22, 2021
- 2 min
Why Are Menu Prices Getting Higher?
Menu Prices on the Rise During the COVID-19 pandemic, food service took a bigger hit, financially, than many other industries. Yet even now as they start to recover, their troubles haven’t gone away. If they can’t afford the rising costs, it gets passed down to the customer via higher menu prices. Where are these rising costs coming from? In part, issues abound higher up the supply chain. Production can’t necessarily meet the newfound demand as customers flood back out to res
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Maya
- Sep 21, 2021
- 2 min
Why Does Uber Eats Have a Driver Shortage?
Uber Eats Is Losing Drivers During the pandemic, restaurants relied on third party apps to deliver their food. Uber Eats is one of the major businesses that restaurants relied on throughout COVID-19. Now, however, even the delivery giant has a driver shortage. The reasons for this are multifold. Consider the difficult job of an essential food service worker. They’re busy as the face of both Uber Eats and the restaurant for every customer. When problems occur, they’re the one
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Maya
- Sep 20, 2021
- 2 min
Digital Signage Comes Back Stronger
The COVID-19 pandemic caused businesses to shift toward digitization. Relying on mobile orders, webpages and other digital solutions saved many restaurants during the bumpy road to recovery. Down to aspects you may not have expected, restaurants have become more reliant on tech: Digital signage is on the rise now too. The push toward online services never stops. How Digital Signage Got Popular Before the pandemic, restaurants were ready to improve their menus and displays. On
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Maya
- Sep 19, 2021
- 3 min
Domino’s Thrives with Unexpected Tech Solutions
In the wake of COVID-19, restaurants big and small seek solutions to problems they never had before. Social distance, cleanliness and transparency are a must. Throughout the pandemic, digitization became increasingly relevant as mobile solutions advanced to meet customers’ new expectations. As new problems crop up during restaurant recovery, Domino’s Pizza is taking extra measures and relying on technology in innovative ways New Problems, New Tech From the Delta variant to th
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Maya
- Sep 14, 2021
- 2 min
Why Is Alt-Protein Getting So Popular?
What Is Alt-Protein? Lately, more and more customers are seeking better alternatives to traditional meals. From gluten-free to vegetarianism, healthy trends are on the rise. Especially given the global pandemic, consumers are more concerned about their physical well-being and taking care to nourish their bodies well. That’s part of the reason that meat alternatives, and particularly alt-protein, have been on the rise. Thanks to technology, plenty of faux meat tastes pretty re
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Maya
- Sep 12, 2021
- 2 min
Drone Delivery: The Future of Takeout?
El Pollo Loco is a chain of Mexican-style restaurants with nearly 500 locations nationwide. Like many others, they experienced a sharp rise in delivery orders during COVID-19. Now El Pollo Loco is launching a drone delivery service to take takeout to new heights. On June 24th they launched the pilot program. “Air Loco,” as it’s called, makes what’s already convenient even easier. It’s cheaper to use drones than people, and better for the environment since it produces less emi
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Maya
- Sep 10, 2021
- 2 min
Is Direct Mail Advertising Right for Restaurants?
When you’re considering how to market your business, direct mail advertising may not be your first idea. Given the increased dependency on digitization that’s sprung up during COVID-19, mobile service is going strong. Email newsletters, which you may use now, is just one example of how online marketing has become so common. But direct mail isn’t dead. When the pandemic shut down dine-in services, people began eating at home more often. Although they’re on their phones and lap
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Maya
- Sep 8, 2021
- 3 min
Which Service Model Is Right for Restaurants?
Before the pandemic, restaurants stuck to the core service models that most diners expect. From fast-fine to buffet style, you likely saw these in abundance before the pandemic. Now, however, new consumer expectations might mean to consider an alternative service model that better fits the new way of doing things. Especially with COVID-19 an ongoing concern, restaurants need safer ways to run their businesses. Which Service Model Is Right? Photo courtesy of eatOS 1. Delivery
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Maya
- Sep 7, 2021
- 3 min
Serving Robots: The Next Front of House?
Since the pandemic, restaurants have come up with creative solutions to save money. Whether cutting costs, upgrading technology, or finding some other way to adapt, the foodservice industry is exploring unexplored territory. Take, for example, one Florida seafood place that just invested $30K in robots. Image by TheDigitalArtist from Pixabay Who They Are Mr. Q Crab House in Hollywood, Florida installed three new workers on their service floor this month. The owner, Joy Wang,
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Maya
- Sep 6, 2021
- 2 min
How to Reduce Employee Turnover at Your Restaurant
What’s Going On With the Labor Shortage? Restaurants are experiencing a labor shortage right now. Employee turnover skyrocketed during the pandemic, creating difficulties in finding workers who would stick around long-term. Even as restaurants reopen this summer, they don’t have the staff for full capacity There are a few reasons for that, among them low pay and concerns about COVID-19. Whatever your workforce’s reasoning, restaurants are struggling. The first step to reducin
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Maya
- Sep 3, 2021
- 2 min
Immigrants' Roles in Food Service
Immigrants Are All Over the Restaurant Industry If you look at food service overall, you’ll see immigrants baked into the fabric of the industry. They’re front of house workers, back of house workers, managerial staff, business owners and every role in between. They make up 2.1M jobs in the food supply chain, which equals 22% of workers despite encompassing only 17% of American employees overall. Immigrants are… 34% of all bakery workers 37% of the meat processing industry 26
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Maya
- Aug 31, 2021
- 2 min
Why QSRs Attract Different Age Groups
The Rise of Online Ordering in QSRs QSRs are an integral food service model. They’re convenient to use both in-person and online. As digitization swept the restaurant industry the past two years, fast food shouldered the change particularly well. Counter service is easier to transform into takeout and delivery, especially if you already have a drive-thru ready to use. Contactless service became a must in the early days of the pandemic, so it makes sense that online takeout ro
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Maya
- Aug 28, 2021
- 3 min
How Much Does a Bar Cost to Open?
So the COVID-19 pandemic is finally waning, and you’re ready to open up the bar you’ve been dreaming about. The expenses associated with running a business vary depending on several factors, and you should be aware of them before taking on a new venture. As you get ready to open up a bar, consider these 3 big influencers of your budget. Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash The Cost of Starting a Bar 1. Location Where do you plan to start this new venture? Not just the state, but
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