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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New York Makes Big Moves Against the Delta Variant New York has long been considered an indicator of up-and-coming trends. That’s why so many eyes are on the city lately, as Mayor de Blasio recently announced that dining indoors at restaurants will now require proof of vaccination against COVID-19. This move is the city’s latest attempt to prevent a third wave, particularly as the Delta variant threatens our return to normal. But it’s not New York City’s first go at convincin

Hard Seltzer Sales Go Down During the worst of the pandemic, drink sales skyrocketed. Quarantine made people bored, and they missed going out with their friends, so virtual happy hours via Zoom abounded. Yet throughout that, people also became more conscious of their physical wellbeing. With a deadly virus going around, consumers trended toward healthy eating—and that included alcohol. Sales for everything from beer to hard kombucha went up and up and up. Now with the pandemi

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

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

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

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

What Is Tokenization? Security is paramount when dealing with customers’ payment and personal data. Between growing concerns over security and the legal standards in place, many restaurants now rely on tokenization to lock down sensitive information. Basically, this technology turns private information, like payment details, into virtual “tokens” that have no intrinsic value. However, they do translate into meaningful data points when they arrive at their destination. Tokeniz