2024 Outlook: Restaurant Trends and Challenges
Part One. The restaurant experience remains deeply personal and profoundly human. And while automation and robotics can help streamline some elements of operations, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a newfound appreciation for human connection and dining experiences. We’ve reached a point where we’re recognizing the value and limits of these technologies. There’s an acknowledgment that not everything can be resolved through the use of robots, AI, and automation alone. The artistry of chefs and the creativity of restaurateurs will continue to be at the forefront, while these tools become operational enhancers. The cultivated meat industry is entering its next chapter. With products now cleared for consumer sale in both the United States and Singapore, the cultivated meat industry is moving from proof of concept and early-stage R&D to a focus on demonstrating scalability, sustainable unit economics, and consumer and customer demand. Scaling will require deep capabilities and infrastructure, and we expect more industry collaborations and consolidations, particularly given the current funding environment. In the context of 2024, we anticipate the cultivated meat industry expanding its horizons by forging more meaningful partnerships with a diverse array of stakeholders, such as governments, large industrial and agricultural players, NGOs, academia, and investors. This could take the form of creative blended financing structures, open innovation platforms, infrastructure partnerships, and commercial collaborations as the industry enters its next phase of maturity. This shift will position cultivated meat as a long-term venture with the potential for far-reaching positive impacts on future generations. Just as the transition to renewables and electric vehicles has thrived on collaborative efforts, we foresee more collaboration for the cultivated meat industry in 2024.
Restaurant Promotion Trends for 2024
How to build customer communication. At the beginning of the year, we like talking about trends. They seem like anchors for the new year. Trends create frameworks to understand where to start and what to focus on. I want to highlight trends in restaurant promotion for 2024. We will discuss how to build customer communication and what aspects to prioritize to make your establishment stand out and thrive. Trend One: Offering Ready-Made Solutions for Customers: In today’s world, restaurant operators face guest attention deficit. This issue is primarily associated with the overwhelming amount of information that surrounds individuals today, demanding their attention. To deal with it, restaurants need to offer ready-made solutions for customers. Many guests do not want to analyze and make decisions themselves; they want the restaurant to think about their needs and provide the best solution. How can you achieve this? Identify the consumption situations most commonly implemented by guests in the establishment. The main goal is to clarify why people should choose your establishment, how they can utilize your products, and what benefits guests will gain from visiting. A social media presentation is crucial. For example, consider a post idea: “You can order your morning takeaway coffee in our cafe.” Although the concept seems simple, the way you present it matters.
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
“DINER BOB” GILLIS LISTS ANOTHER NEW JERSEY DINER
OCEAN COUNTY DINER FOR SALE
Photo used to depict “A Diner” only. Not actual representation.
Ocean County, N.J. Family-owned and operated since 1984, this retro-style roadside Diner is now on the market! Seemingly untouched by time, the Diner has a loyal clientele who enjoy the “breakfast-all-day” theme offering fresh strong coffee, homemade soups, chowder and chili, and all the Jersey Shore diner specials. The subject property consists of a 2,000 square foot, single-story, Kullman Dining Car style building with seating for (60) in booths or at the counter. The lot is .46 acres with private parking for (30) cars. Surrounded by a mixture of residential and commercial businesses and strip centers, the neighborhood contributes positively to the value of the Diner. PRICED TO SELL at $ 895,000
Contact Robert Gillis 732.673.3436 for additional information.
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Five Priorities Operators Must Follow
To successfully run a restaurant. Do you ever feel overwhelmed as a restaurateur? Are you working IN the business instead of working ON the business? Do you feel like you are drowning in the details and endless attention-robbers that suck all of your attention and energy? I get it. I’ve been where you are. You may very well feel like your service staff in the weeds. You can’t seem to focus on one thing, get it done, and move to the next. If this is you, STOP! It doesn’t have to be that way. You are probably over-complicating what is needed for success. Instead, do what I did to overcome where you are now. Put all your focus, priority, and effort into only these five things: People—This includes your guest, your team, investors, vendor partners, and local community. People are the most important focal point of the restaurant and our focus. Prioritize your team even before your guests. Having the right people in place will help you focus on the guest. Here is a simple six-part plan to help you crush it with your people: RECRUIT, DEVELOP, DELEGATE, SUPPORT, FOLLOW-UP, REPEAT. Regarding your guests, be present on the floor. You and your leadership team must run your business on the floor. This doesn’t mean that you as the owner shouldn’t take time off of the floor to work on your business. But it does mean that someone in authority needs to engage with the guests. Being on the floor does five things.
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Entertainment Venues Shifting Toward a Self-Serve-Centric Model
Eatertainment, which blends dining with entertainment, is experiencing a remarkable resurgence. Post-pandemic, this sector has shown not just resilience but significant growth, evidenced by a 23% year-over-year increase in visits as of January 2023, according to industry reports. This surge underscores a robust demand for experiences that seamlessly combine dining and drinking with interactive entertainment, presenting unique opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners. In these dynamic eatertainment spaces, the traditional roles of guests and hosts are undergoing a transformation. Patrons are no longer just passive diners; they are active participants in their own dining experience. Self-serve technology, as pioneered by PourMyBeer, perfectly complements these environments by enhancing the guest experience through autonomy and a playful approach to beverage selection. This innovative approach to beverage service allows patrons to pour their own drinks like beer, wine, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages from self-pour taps. As a leader in the self-pour arena, PourMyBeer has established a significant global presence, with over 500 locations across 29 countries. Notable venues like Dave & Buster’s have successfully integrated a self-serve-centric beverage model, leading to increased customer engagement and satisfaction. This model aligns well with the current consumer trend towards personalized and autonomous dining experiences. Similarly, GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness Club’s adoption of self-pour technology has not only streamlined operations but also significantly elevated the customer experience, demonstrating the technology’s versatility and appeal in diverse settings.
Pandemic Effects on Funding, Growth and People
Plus, predictions for 2024. As we marched into 2023, interest rates and uncertain economic conditions continued to impact the withdrawal capital from restaurant technology investments. Investments in venture capital had a massive retreat in 2023, hitting the technology sector very hard. As we look back, there was a long-overdue flood of tech investment into our industry, largely as the result of the boon of food delivery during the pandemic. As delivery dropped back down to more normal levels, we saw a number of delivery start-ups and tech dying on the vine. However, our industry still is an attractive space for well-suited technologies, improving efficiencies at every level of the restaurant from inventory to customer service. It will continue to be a rapidly evolving area for growth for players who understand the game, but like all investments, will likely be subject to market conditions. There is no historical playbook on how to forecast economic conditions post-pandemic, especially considering the amount of economic stimulus that was pushed into the industry. The current inflationary pressure seems to be reducing and will likely drop slowly over the next year. What we do know is banks pulled back on commercial lending at every level, from local to goliaths.
3 Anvils Hanging Over Restaurateurs’ Heads
Here are some what-ifs that may be difficult to tune in. If there’s an overriding lesson from the pandemic, it’s that you never know what surprises could lie ahead. The best any businessperson can do is consider the possibilities, based on what’s happening right now, and contemplate what changes the unexpected developments might trigger. Here are a few of the what ifs that are on our minds. What if menu prices move beyond consumers’ comfort zones? Restaurants would not have become America’s kitchens if dining out wasn’t an affordable option. The modern industry really came to be in the 1970s and ‘80s, when the rise of the two-wage-earner household relieved parents of traditional every-night kitchen duties. A family could afford to dine out at the slew of chain restaurants that sprang up to meet the need. Restaurant trips became routine indulgences, eating up more than half of every dollar Americans spent on food. That positive has eroded significantly in recent years. For a variety of reasons, food and labor costs soared. Landlords, insurers and utility companies upped their charges. Operators felt they had no choice but to raise menu prices by an average of 8%, an unprecedented increase for modern trade. Customers were willing to pay those higher charges, just not as often. Traffic slid as the public cut back. What happens if prices don’t stabilize, or, worse, rise again because of anything from unforeseen wars to weather catastrophes? The industry is counting on technology to boost efficiency and thereby offset higher labor expenses, and that will undoubtedly help.
On Restaurant Menus, Texture Matters More Than You Think
Americans are culinary adventurers; they remain pickier when it comes to how a food item feels. Americans have become dining adventurers. Globalization, immigration, generational change and thriving food media have combined to broaden our collective palate and boost our willingness to engage with the culinary unknown. Restaurants remain the gatekeepers and points of entry for unfamiliar foods, and over the years, chefs have steadily weaned diners away from the bland in favor of brighter, more assertive flavors. Their success is evident in recent chain promotions like Quiznos’ Kimchi Philly Sub, Grimaldi’s Exxtra Pepperoni & Hot Honey Pizza and Wendy’s Ghost Pepper Fries. But while many consumers will happily turn up the heat with dash of Sriracha on their scrambled eggs, far fewer of us are willing to experiment with texture. A story titled “Taste the Feeling” appeared in The New York Times Magazine last summer and reported that, while the Chinese language has an estimated 144 terms for food texture and Japanese more than 400, English lacks a similarly robust vocabulary. We also consume a much narrower range of textures, the author says, with crunchy and creamy our two most craveable. In other words, we are textural neophytes, stuck in rut between crunch on the one hand and cream on the other, which makes texture a kind of culinary final frontier.
How do I find on-trend items to add to my restaurant’s menu?
Setting the bar higher: prioritizing the customer experience in 2024. First, well done on aiming to keep things current. It seems the world is getting smaller and faster thanks to social media. Guests are hearing about new dishes daily and want to see them reflected on menus. A word of caution: while I am all for updating a menu to be aligned with what guests want (or think they want), I caution against trend-chasing. Offering the hot new thing if you don’t have the capabilities or comfort with the cuisine can backfire. Before incorporating a new menu item, be sure you can execute it well, make business sense, and that it is aligned with your concept.
Employee Tip
How to unite technology and staff for restaurant success. There’s a feeling of tension and anxiety among many restaurant workers these days. Interestingly enough, the very source of a lot of this tension — technology — can also be the solution. When thoughtfully deployed, restaurant tech can help make restaurants a better place to work, which is good for everyone involved: patrons, employees, and operators. As a former operator myself, I spend a good chunk of each day chatting with restaurant owner-operators. Some folks sense the uneasiness among their staff. News headlines give you a pretty good idea of what’s top of mind for employees at QSRs and fast-casual locations:
