Strategies for Operators to Compete
As Consumer dining habits keep shifting. Efficiency will be key in 2025, as restaurants will need to balance promotions with ROI and foot traffic strategies to maximize every dollar. Full-service restaurants continue to face headwinds, with numerous bankruptcies and declines in traffic. The U.S. Census Bureau’s retail sales report showed declines in the restaurant category in 2024, with sales consistently down month over month toward the end of the year. The number of consumers dining out has also decreased, which means restaurant brands are competing for a smaller customer base. Raising menu prices has worked for restaurants in the past, but in 2025, consumers have reached their limit, forcing restaurants to reconsider their pricing strategies. With restaurant category sales on the rise in the most recent Census report, there is hope for the industry. The key to surviving this shift in consumer behavior is recognizing that full-service restaurants are competing with not just other casual-dining brands, but also grocery stores and meal subscription services. As consumers remain cost-conscious, full-service restaurants must adapt by focusing on value, personalization, and experience. To effectively capture consumer spending and secure a larger “share of stomach” within their target audience, restaurant brands must dive deeper into the factors that drive dining decisions. Price sensitivity has become a dominant force in culture, creating unprecedented demand for promotions and value-based offerings among diners. Restaurants can drive sales with strategic tactics like limited-time offers to create urgency and bundled meal deals to enhance value. For example, a “family night” bundle could include a main course, sides, and desserts at a discounted rate, encouraging larger group orders. Not every restaurant needs an app, but all should enhance their loyalty programs. These programs should go beyond point accumulation with tiered rewards, personalized offers, and exclusive experiences. Surprise perks like free appetizers or desserts can also help boost customer appreciation and drive repeat visits…
Restaurants Added Nearly 17K Jobs in April
The industry’s job gains come despite heightened uncertainties. The April jobs report exceeded forecasts, with about 177,000 positions added nationwide, according to federal data released Friday morning. The unemployment rate remained steady month-over-month at 4.2%. Overall, April marked the 52nd consecutive week of job growth. This steadiness comes despite a 205% spike in layoffs in March, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, driven by cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency. The leisure and hospitality sector gained 24,000 jobs in April, including about 16,600 jobs at eating and drinking places. It marked the second straight month for gains, following about 29,800 new jobs added in March, and is a reversal from -28,300 in February and -27,000 in January — the weakest two-month period for the industry in more than four years, according to the National Restaurant Association. The industry’s job gains continue amid heightened uncertainties that kept consumers from visiting restaurants as frequently in the first quarter. That said, eating and drinking places remain about 19,000 jobs below the sector’s payroll level at the beginning of the year. According to the National Restaurant Association, however, the industry’s workforce remains above pre-pandemic levels. As of April, employment was 61,400 jobs, or 0.5% above February 2020 levels. As has been the case since then, the limited-service segment continues to post the strongest job growth, led by coffee and snack concepts, which are up more than 20% versus March 2020. Quick-service and fast-casual concepts are about 2.4% above pre-pandemic readings. Conversely, full-service employment levels are -4.5% compared to early 2020. States with the biggest employment recovery from the pandemic include Idaho (13%), Utah (12%), Montana (11%), Nevada (10%), and Arizona (8%). Meanwhile, 21 states and Washington, D.C., remain below pre-pandemic staffing levels, led by West Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois, and Vermont…
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
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Jersey Shore: 4 Restaurants Open, 7 on the Way
1 is voted down and another has new owners. April was a busy month for the Shore’s culinary scene. We learned of new restaurants on the way, from a world-famous burger chain to a spot serving barbecue by the beach. A Long Beach Island borough voted against a new all-day restaurant, and a landmark in Asbury Park has new owners. Here is the food and dining news we reported on last month. Shake Shack coming to Brick. Ocean County will get its first Shake Shack Wednesday, May 7, when the restaurant opens at 614 Route 70 in Brick Commons. Cheessteaks to open in Belmar. A pair of childhood friends from South Jersey are bringing their Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks to Belmar. Buffalo Wild Wings is replacing the former TGI Fridays at Hazlet Town Center on Route 35. Jersey Freeze, a Monmouth County landmark restaurant and ice cream shop, is expanding into Colts Neck. Harvey Cedars votes down new restaurant. The owners of Azzurri Italian Cucina in Harvey Cedars hope to convert a former real estate office on the borough’s main thoroughfare into a family restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But last month, the Harvey Cedars Land Use Board denied their application. A new kind of Outback steakhouse opens on Route 35 in Ocean Township. Surf City Dog House is coming to LBI. Long Beach Island’s dining scene will feature a new kind of hot dog this summer. New owners for Asbury Park’s Moonstruck. However, loyal customers and long-time diners can rest assured that the restaurant will maintain its SAME CHARM, SAME CUISINE, SAME STAFF, SAME SERVICE, and SAME COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE. The new owners are dedicated to upholding Moonstruck’s esteemed reputation as one of the premier dining establishments along the New Jersey Shore. Arooga’s Grille House & Sports Bar, which opened on Route 9 in Howell in 2020, has closed. Wonder, a food hall serving dishes from a collection of top restaurants, is up and running in Middletown. The former Sickles Market in Little Silver will reopen under new ownership as The Market at Sickles Farm…
Minimizing Wrongful Termination Claims
How operators can reduce risk with better documentation, consistent policies, and stronger training. I’ll never forget this moment with one of my clients. One of their general managers had just let go of a team member for repeated tardiness. On paper, it seemed like a slam dunk—the employee had been late 18 times in two months. But when I asked about the documentation, I got a sheepish shrug. “Well, we didn’t write her up every time,” the manager said. “But we talked about it a lot.” Turns out, three other employees were just as late—and none of them had been disciplined. One of them was even getting promoted. You can guess how that story ended. Inconsistent documentation, unclear policies, and emotional decision-making are a recipe for wrongful termination claims—and in restaurants, where turnover is high and time is tight, it’s all too common. So how do you protect your business and treat your people fairly? Here’s what every restaurant operator needs to know. Wrongful termination doesn’t mean “someone was fired and didn’t like it.” It means they were terminated in a way that violated the law (discrimination, retaliation, etc.) or their legal rights under a contract or policy. But even when a claim doesn’t hold legal weight, if it’s not handled right—it can turn into:
- A lawsuit
- A complaint to a labor board
- A hit to your culture and reputation
Bottom line: Employees don’t sue because they were let go. They sue because they feel blindsided, mistreated, or unheard. terminations are part of the job—but wrongful termination claims don’t have to be. With consistent documentation, policy clarity, and confident leadership, you can protect your business, your people, and your peace of mind. And remember: the goal isn’t to “win” every situation. It’s to lead with fairness, integrity, and professionalism—every single time. Fair treatment isn’t a feeling—it’s a process. When your process is strong, your risk goes down and your leadership rises…
Three Data-backed Strategies to Reduce Restaurant Operating Costs
Without sacrificing service quality. When restaurant operators think about reducing operating costs, they often think they have to make large, sweeping cuts. While the fastest, easiest option might seem to be letting a number of employees go or drastically changing service hours, such extreme measures can actually backfire. According to the latest 7shifts 2025 Restaurant Labor and Cost Profitability Report, labor costs reaching up to 30 percent of revenue and food inflation ranked as the top concern by 52 percent of restaurant operators in 2025, therefore finding ways to reduce expenses without compromising quality has never been more critical. Here are three ways to reduce your costs without experiencing backlash or sacrificing service quality. Staff Appropriately. When restaurants cut employees or reduce tables, they don’t end up with fewer expenses–they end up with burned-out, disgruntled team members who aren’t operating at their best. This leads to a decrease in the service they provide customers and may even lead to them quitting. From there, you’re forced to vet and hire more employees on a revolving-door basis, and according to CareerBuilder, “introducing the new cost of hiring someone to replace the employee who left.” The true cost of employee turnover is significantly higher than most operators realize. Replacing a front-of-house employee costs an average of $1,056, while back-of-house replacement jumps to $1,491. Management replacement is even more expensive at $2,611 per position—nearly 150 percent higher than front-of-house costs. For a typical restaurant with 50 percent annual front-of-house turnover, this translates to over $10,000 spent on replacing staff alone. This can be astronomical for a restaurant from a purely financial perspective, but the effects on morale are just as damaging. With all this in mind, rather than firing staff members in a knee-jerk attempt to save money, consider adjusting how you’re staffing your schedule instead. Revisit when you’re busiest, and reassign your team based on demand. Cross-training staff has emerged as the most widely implemented and effective labor management strategy. This significantly outpaces other strategies like reducing headcount (38.6 percent), proving that operators prioritize workforce versatility over simple staff cuts…
Consumers Expected to Spend 7% Less on Restaurants This Summer
Consumers are already feeling the pinch of inflation and shrinking incomes, expect tariffs to raise prices. At-home meal occasions could increase at the expense of restaurants. Sixty-nine percent of consumers said they are eating more at home, and 85% of that cohort said they are doing so to save money. Thirty-nine percent of consumers said their incomes declined, roughly double that of last year’s report. A majority (79%) said they expect tariffs to increase prices. Among consumers that dine out, 26% said they are eating more frequently at quick-service restaurants. This coincides with a push among QSRs to offer buy-one-get-one offers, value meals and promotions — a trend that took off last summer. Breakfast is the meal most likely to be prepared at home, with 75% of consumers saying they eat at home during the morning daypart, compared to 67% who do so for lunch and 68% for dinner. This could be a cause of concern for many QSRs, like Wendy’s and McDonald’s, which are increasingly focused on boosting their breakfast offerings. However, the fact that most consumers dine at home during breakfast also means there’s significant space to grow meal occasions in that daypart. “We see a more selective and cost-conscious summer ahead,” Duleep Rodrigo, KPMG Consumer & Retail Leader, wrote in an email. “People aren’t just pulling back—they’re recalibrating.” These findings coincide with Attest’s 2025 US Spending Trends Report, which shows restaurant spending still is heavily dependent on household income. Nearly half (41%) of consumers said that they have a monthly disposable income of less than $200, per that report. Despite this lack of funds, takeout is one of the top “luxury” spending items for Americans, with 57% of consumers spending money on to-go food each month. That spending isn’t necessarily high: 19% of consumers said they are dishing out less than $50 of their monthly spending on takeout and 11% spent the same level on dining out. Comparatively, only 8% said they are spending over $200 on takeout each month. Interestingly, 12% of consumers said they are spending over $200 on dining out, suggesting that high-income households have yet to pull back on restaurant spending…
Restaurants Are Hard Enough to Run
Try doing it with your Mother. Jennifer Lu stood quietly behind a wooden counter modestly adorned with a golden bucket of candy and red flags celebrating the Year of the Snake, which also happens to be the name of her daughter Patty Lu’s pastry pop-up. On that particular day, Patty Lu stood zen-like and laser-focused, flipping pastries with chopsticks in the fryer in the cavernous commercial kitchen they operate out of in Berkeley, Calif. But the elder Ms. Lu admitted later in a phone call that they have sometimes fought in front of customers — loudly. When Patty Lu started her pop-up in the East Bay three years ago, she recalled being in the weeds and behind on orders, when her mother appeared in line with her friends to buy pastries. She immediately jumped in to help. “She’s shown up every weekend since and just hasn’t left,” said Patty Lu, whose mother continues to drive two hours each week to help out. Parents have become more involved in their adult children’s lives and most report that it’s for the positive. According to a Pew Research Center survey, nearly 41 percent of parents reported that their young adult child relies on them for a strong amount of emotional support, with mothers identifying as the source of emotional support more frequently than fathers. The feelings are mutual, and many adult children describe their relationships with their parents as healthy and fulfilling. Still, even the healthiest mother-child dyad lacks immunity against the stress of running a food business together. That particular insidious pressure is commonly known: The restaurant industry is identified as having one of the highest failure rates among businesses in the United States…
Did You Know?
Empowering Restaurant Staff: How Technology Solutions Reduce Burnout and Boost Efficiency. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant industry has faced a severe staffing crisis that remains unresolved to this day. With 70 percent of operators struggling to fill job openings and 45 percent reporting they don’t have enough staff to meet customer demand, according to the National Restaurant Association. This ongoing labor shortage not only disrupts daily operations but also places immense pressure on existing employees, leading to burnout and high turnover. To tackle these challenges, restaurant owners are relying more on digital tools like mobile ordering, self-service kiosks, and AI-powered workforce management. These technologies help streamline operations, lighten the workload for staff, and create a better experience for both employees and customers.…
Employee Tip
Why Restaurant & Foodservice Cleaning Strategies Must Evolve for the New Workforce Reality. In today’s foodservice industry, labor is harder to come by and even harder to keep. Restaurant operators are constantly adjusting to staffing shortages that put pressure on every part of the operation—including cleaning. Traditional methods, built for larger teams with more time, don’t hold up in leaner, faster-paced environments. Cleaning strategies must evolve, not only to keep up with hygiene standards, but also to support limited teams, improve workflows, and protect the customer experience…
