How Storytelling is Shaping the Future of Restaurant Menus
Use compelling storytelling to craft menus that drive growth and guest loyalty. In today’s competitive dining landscape, culinary innovation isn’t just about slapping the newest dish you saw on TikTok onto your menu without a second thought; it’s about figuring out what is authentic for your restaurant brand, what makes sense from a value perspective, and what you can realistically pull off. It also involves crafting a curated, multi-sensory experience for diners with storytelling at the center. This approach requires a delicate balance of creativity, strategic risk-taking, and a willingness to experiment with fresh ideas while staying true to the brand’s identity. It’s a process where trial and error often lead to the most innovative breakthroughs, and limited-time offerings (LTOs) provide the perfect playground for testing these concepts. LTOs play a key role in culinary innovation for restaurants; it allows corporate chefs to test the waters for their best ideas and find out if the products resonate with customers, and if it doesn’t work out, there’s a natural expiration date. For example, even though Whataburger is known for its gourmet burgers, “We give ourselves permission to innovate on the chicken side,” says James Sanchez, executive chef at the Texas-based fast-casual chain. By leveraging existing products and responding to internal creativity, Whataburger quickly launched a hit item. “Earlier this year, really by accident, we launched WhataWings, boneless tenders tossed in a sauce,” Sanchez recalls. “And I say by accident because it was me being in a Whataburger unit … We had the breakfast bowl designed for something else, so we had the carrier; we had four existing sauces that were used for other builds; and then we just presented that idea as an innovation topic.” Whataburger initially launched WhataWings last year as an LTO item with sauces including buffalo, sweet and spicy, honey BBQ, or honey butter wings, but continued adding new LTO sauce drops like Nashville hot throughout the year, and in the spring announced WhataWings would stay on the menu through the end of 2024 due to overwhelming demand. It still remains to be seen whether WhatAWings will eventually make its way onto Whataburger’s All-Time Favorites menu. “Those are the ones that were limited-time offers that did so well that we couldn’t let them go away, so we’ve curated them,” Sanchez says…
Consumers Are Feeling Increasingly Gloomy About the Future
Their six-month outlook plunged to a 12-year low. Consumers are not feeling great at the moment, and they’re feeling even worse about the future. That’s according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index published Tuesday by The Conference Board, a nonprofit business researcher. Consumers’ feelings on the current state of the economy fell 3.6 points, to 134.5. But their outlook on conditions six months from now plunged 9.6 points, to 65.2. That was the lowest level in 12 years and far below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession is coming, according to The Conference Board. Overall, the consumer confidence index fell by 7.2 points in March to 92.9, its lowest mark since 2022 and below the neutral benchmark of 100. It has now declined in four consecutive months. The findings are a worrying sign for restaurants, which began the year with a sense of cautious optimism that consumers would rebound after a tough 2024 marked by inflation and a contentious election cycle. However, a slew of issues has combined to weigh on consumers in the first few months of 2025. Political issues such as tariffs and mass federal layoffs have created economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, inflation has continued to creep up, with egg prices in particular going through the roof due to an outbreak of avian flu. These issues came up again and again in consumers’ written responses, the Conference Board said. The researcher also found that consumers are becoming more pessimistic about their earnings prospects. More than 15% said they expect their income to decrease six months from now, up from 12.8% in last month’s survey. “Consumers’ optimism about future income—which had held up quite strongly in the past few months—largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. The results mirror those of a similar monthly survey conducted by the University of Michigan, which highlighted how things like tariffs may be impacting consumers’ outlook…
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Protect Your Restaurant from Social Engineering Fraud
This tax season. In today’s digital age, virtually every business relies on networks for daily operations, including restaurants and the hospitality industry. This often involves handling sensitive data, such as customer payment cards, W-2 forms, and employee social security numbers. Unfortunately, securing this data remains a significant challenge for businesses of all sizes. These valuable assets are often targeted by cybercriminals who aim to monetize stolen information, particularly during the tax season. With tax season upon us, hackers are especially focused on acquiring W-2 forms. Once in their hands, these forms can be used to file fraudulent tax returns and carry out additional identity theft schemes. Social engineering fraud, an increasingly common tactic, is often the method used to steal such data. This involves a multi-stage process: criminals first gather information, then build relationships with key personnel, and finally execute their scheme, typically via email. Despite these efforts, no system is foolproof, and businesses can still fall victim to social engineering attacks. If this happens, report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a joint initiative with the National White Collar Crime Center. Unlike the poorly worded scams of the past, today’s social engineering attacks are highly sophisticated and can trick even the most experienced employees into disclosing sensitive information. Here are some of the most common social engineering tactics used by cybercriminals…
Restaurants Jump Through Hoops to Lure March Madness Fans
College basketball fever goes beyond sports bars. Sports bars and wing chains typically vie for college basketball fans during the annual NCAA tournament, but this year, concepts ranging from steakhouses to Japanese restaurants are promoting March Madness specials. The latest to join the party is Pizza Hut, launching two menu items Wednesday in time for the start of the Sweet 16. Both are designed to dip and dunk while watching the action on the court. To begin, the Plano, Texas-based chain is bringing back its Cheesy Bites Pizza, which features 28 pull-apart, cheese-filled bites in place of a traditional crust. This format is convenient to share and dip into the new Ranch Lover’s Flight, a trio of sauces that includes classic Ultimate Ranch, smoky and bold Chipotle Ranch, and Pepperoni Ranch flavored with pepperoni spices. Customers can order a large one-topping Cheesy Bites Pizza and Ranch Lover’s Flight package for a limited time, available for delivery, carryout or dine-in at participating locations. Along with the menu items, Pizza Hut is introducing a new TV spot and brand campaign starring the fictional “Peter Zahut”—the ultimate delivery guy who “brings the pizza and the party.” Fans looking for something a bit more upscale and unique can order a Big Game Bundle from full-service chain The Melting Pot, and hold a fondue-at-home viewing party. Each package (about $165) feeds up to 10 and includes two Aged Cheddar & Gouda Cheese Fondues, a selection of proteins such as tenderloin tips, boneless chicken breasts, meatballs and kielbasa, the brand’s signature garlic and wine seasoning, and accompaniments including garlic butter baguettes and caramel apple tartlets. Buffalo Wild Wings is a magnet for sports fans, and March Madness is no exception. The Atlanta-based casual-dining chain is sweetening the pot with new menu items and cutting-edge technology. On the food side, there are two new sandwiches on the permanent menu and a pair of new sauces. The sandwiches include the Beer Cheese Cheesesteak Sandwich with shaved sirloin steak, beer cheese and American cheese, grilled onions and scallions on a toasted roll, and a Chicken Parm Melt layered with mozzarella sticks, Parmesan garlic sauce, pepper jack and Parmesan cheeses, marinara sauce, and Italian seasoning. Buffalo Bleu, a Buffalo sauce mixed with blue cheese, garlic and cayenne, and BBQ Ranch, a blend of ranch and barbecue sauce, are the limited-time sauce additions.
Is the Doggy Bag Dead?
Restaurateurs in big cities have noticed a somewhat surprising shift in diner behavior. Emmett Burke has noticed something unusual in his Manhattan restaurants. Half-eaten pizzas dot tables and bar space, left behind by those who ordered them. At Emmett’s and Emmett’s on Grove, Mr. Burke’s two Chicago-style pizzerias, diners seem increasingly uninterested in asking for boxes to take home leftovers. “I will look at the plates coming back to the kitchen and all the food we are throwing out, and I will ask if something is wrong,” he said. “I would assume most people would love to have a quarter of a pizza in their fridge.” A number of restaurateurs in New York and other cities have observed this surprising shift in behavior. They attribute doggy-bag aversion to a number of factors, including social stigmas, the ease of ordering takeout and a return to sharing food after the pandemic made doing so taboo. The average American leaves 53 pounds, or $329 worth, of food on the plate at restaurants every year, according to 2023 data from ReFED, an organization that works to reduce food waste. Changes to that number over time are hard to track, said Dana Gunders, the group’s president. But anecdotal evidence suggests such a change in diners’ perception of leftovers that the organization plans to commission a study on the topic. “There are some people who have a thing against them,” Ms. Gunders said. “People who just say, ‘I don’t eat leftovers,’ as a matter of principle.” But for others, she said, leftovers are a question of logistics. How much food is left? How many boxes are needed to take it home? How much time do I have to eat it? What am I doing after I leave? Mr. Burke estimates that three-quarters of his customers don’t take home leftovers, and has noticed that many of them are young. His theory: Members of Generation Z grew up with the ability to order whatever they want, whenever they want, from their phones. Why bring home food from one restaurant when you can easily order something fresh the next day?…
The Legend Behind One of the Oldest Burger Restaurants in America
The “hamburger salesman.” On Tonnelle Avenue in Jersey City, four lanes of traffic lurch under power lines, screeching and growling day and night, past a shuttered auto body shop covered in faded graffiti, a cargo truck repair facility, and a liquor store. It’s all cinder block structures until the corner of Manhattan Avenue, named Mario Costa Plaza. There, a white-paneled, circular building with a dotted red crown looks like it could light up and lift off into outer space — White Mana Diner. The building was constructed for the 1939 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows to showcase how you could cook, serve, and plate burgers without moving your pivot foot. That was a year before McDonald’s first opened. Louis Bridges bought the building and transported it to its current location in 1946. It still retains its charm because longtime owner Mario Costa hasn’t changed much, least of all himself. Costa began working there as a teenager in 1972, mopping between the ankles of powerful mobsters. By 1979, he owned the place. Today, the slick-haired, unlit cigar-chewing old Portuguese man owns just about everything on the block: There’s a row of five houses, one of which contains Ringside Gym — a no-frills boxing gym where champs have trained under Costa’s management — and Ringside Lounge, a Portuguese bar and restaurant where he keeps boxer Mike Tyson’s pigeon coops on the roof. Still, Costa is not above swishing a wet mop over a spilled Pepsi. Folks from the surrounding housing projects and more than a few celebrities call him the Godfather because of the stabilizing effect his humble and consistent presence has had on their lives. On a Friday in November, under the blue evening sky, I walked up the few stairs and opened the door of the Mana hoping to meet Costa. The smell of grilled onions hung in the air. Menu items like a Taylor ham sandwich were printed on sheets of paper taped to the back wall. One sheet indicated filming dates for Bob Dylan’s biopic A Complete Unknown. Timothée Chalamet filmed a scene here, though the place was then disguised as a Chinese restaurant…
Is Non-Stop Content Creation Now What It Takes for Restaurants to Survive?
We talk to the restaurants riding the wave of viral-video success. Will Murray isn’t sure about the toad in the hole. In the soft gleam of a prep kitchen, deep below St James’s in London, the chef-patron and co-founder of Fallow frowns at a pan of puffy bronzed batter and extruded sausages. “Do you think we need to do it again?” asks one of his chefs, Emma Taiwo, approaching the pass. “I think we need to do it again,” says Murray, striking an apologetic tone amid the waft of simmering gravy. On the face of it, this level of perfectionism is not surprising – Murray and his fellow chef and co-founder Jack Croft both emerged from the fastidious, Michelin-starred environment of Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner. What is unexpected is that the people this dish is being made for will never actually taste it. Next to the worktop where Murray and Croft stand, a three-person production crew fiddles with iPhones, audio equipment and propped-up wearable cameras. That toad in the hole is one of 14 dishes being cooked and tasted during a day of filming for an “Iconic British Dishes” YouTube challenge that will be beamed out to Fallow’s 1 million subscribers and beyond. It’s the latest in a long line of attention-grabbing videos that have seen Murray and Croft compare scrambled-egg techniques, turn beef fat into soap and replicate a cockentrice, a complicated Tudor dish. “Yeah, that didn’t really work,” says Croft. Welcome to the weird and increasingly lucrative world of restaurant social media and content creation; a digital-age gold rush that has seen hospitality businesses of all kinds seek to transform their fortunes through Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. From the moment Croft, Murray and restaurateur James Robson launched Fallow, initially as a pop-up in 2020, they have been embracing the potential of a savvy online presence. What began with social-media accounts for their three restaurants (including chicken shop Fowl and Canary Wharf blockbuster Roe) has mushroomed into four accounts with millions of views a month across different platforms. They feed into an operation that employs 345 people (six of whom are part of a dedicated content team) and, in Fallow, has a flagship restaurant doing 5,200 covers a week…
Did You Know?
The power of continued community partnerships in restaurant marketing. The most effective partnerships go beyond donations; they integrate into your brand’s story and values, reinforcing a restaurant’s role as a vital part of the local community. Building strong community partnerships isn’t just about giving back — it’s also a strategic advantage. At Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, we’ve seen firsthand how meaningful collaborations can drive brand loyalty, enhance customer engagement, and create a lasting impact. The most effective partnerships go beyond donations; they integrate into your brand’s story and values, reinforcing a restaurant’s role as a vital part of the local community. Here are six key strategies for developing impactful community partnerships and why they matter…
Employee Tip
Unlocking Employee Potential at Every Level of the Restaurant. A successful restaurant requires more than just a great menu. From the corner office to the kitchen, every employee must bring their A-game to take a concept to the next level. Creating an environment that sets every team member up for success is the secret ingredient to thriving in a competitive industry. So, how do you get the best out of everyone, regardless of their role? Here’s the recipe…
