Nation's Restaurant News On the Go Newsletter #33
Nation's Restaurant News
The #1 source of news and business intelligence for restaurant and foodservice industry professionals
Should you be worried about AI?
While everyday restaurant operators spend most of their time in the trenches, trying to keep up with the pressures of running a restaurant in 2023, AI is the looming question mark in the back of their minds. Questions like, “Do I have to use it?” “Will it replace my staff?” and “how do I even afford yet another component to my tech stack?” are normal, especially at this stage of the AI technology development.
Right now, generative AI — also known as artificial intelligence that can create or generate content, like ChatGPT — is in its infancy stages. AI represents a world of endless possibilities (and headaches) for the restaurant industry, and we’re just starting to get a taste of what it can do, like write social media posts, respond to Yelp reviews, create a custom own online ordering portal, and write recipes for new menu items.
Of course, the technology is far from perfect and can lead to some amusing robot errors — see my personal experience testing out ChatGPT-powered tech below — but it’s slowly improving.
The one thing that AI can’t replace, though — no matter how good it gets at developing recipes or writing email marketing blasts — is the human touch. Cheesy as it might sound, people are at the heart of hospitality and in the future, we’re likely going to be using AI as a tool to make our lives easier, not to automate the entire industry.
Tech Tracker: Is the restaurant industry ready for generative AI?
While AI has been one of the biggest trends in the restaurant industry this year, NRN has mostly been tracking how operators put AI voice chat to work in the drive-thru lane and in call centers. But with the rise in prominence of generative AI technology like ChatGPT, there are several more areas of foodservice operations that could be aided – or taken over by – automation, from social media post creation to menu image generation and even menu development.
More and more tech vendors are introducing AI-driven features and capabilities to their turnkey operations. This month, Swipeby introduced Swipeby AI, which allows restaurant operators to automatically generate and respond to social media posts; RestoGPT is a new vendor with the capability of automatically generating an online ordering portal complete with AI-created menu images; and Velvet Taco became the latest restaurant to add a ChatGPT recipe to its menu.
Chick-fil-A is testing two new restaurant designs to meet digital demand
Chick-fil-A is testing two new restaurant designs – an elevated drive-thru concept and a walk-up concept – aimed at meeting consumers’ changing needs, including and especially their digital needs. Both concepts are set to open in 2024 and are run by local owner/operators. The goal of the tests is to ensure the company is future proofed as it continues to grow.?
Chipotle navigates ‘low-grade inflation’ in Q2, may revisit pricing increases
Chipotle reported Q2 results Wednesday, including a 7.4% increase in same-store sales, $2.51 billion in revenues (a 13.6% increase), and restaurant-level margins of 27.5% (a year-over-year increase of 230 basis points). The company also opened 47 new restaurants in the quarter, 40 of which included a Chipotlane.
While these numbers were largely positive, they fell short of analysts’ expectations and sent shares tumbling after hours. Still, executives are optimistic, especially given the company’s transaction growth of over 4% – somewhat anomalous as the industry has experienced some traffic flattening and even erosion in recent months against a continued uncertain macroeconomic backdrop.
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NRN announces new Investment Summit to kick off CREATE Experience in Palm Springs
Nation’s Restaurant News announced that it will host its first-ever Investment Summit as part of its annual CREATE: The Experience event, held this October in Palm Springs, Calif.
The Investment Summit, held on Oct. 1 from 12 p.m.-4 p.m., will bring together members of the investment community — including representatives from private equity firms, banks, financial institutions, business services companies and more — with leaders of emerging restaurant brands for education and networking.
Presented with strategic partners Savory Fund and The Elliot Group, the Investment Summit will be hosted at the top of Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs, accessible via an aerial tram that offers 360-degree view of the cliffs of Chino Canyon and the valley floor below.
The Investment Summit will include educational panels featuring financial experts from across the capital community. The Summit will also include a roundtable networking opportunity providing brand leaders face-to-face access with leading investors and financial experts.
Capacity at the Investment Summit is extremely limited and will be first come, first served. To qualify for the Investment Summit, restaurant representatives must be in senior management or decision-making roles at restaurant companies with fewer than 100 locations.?
To register for CREATE: The Experience and the Investment Summit, click here .
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democrats introduce $17 minimum wage legislation
House and Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I- Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, introduced the Raise the Wage Act, which would gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $17 by 2028, or more than double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. The legislation would also seek to eliminate the tipped sub-minimum wage over the next seven years (and eliminate the tip credit for workers with disabilities over the next five years).
PODCAST: Chick-fil-A is diving head first into the off-premises channel
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