What’s top of mind for restaurants and how tech can help

The restaurant community has overcome so many challenges over the last few years. With the pandemic, inflation, supply-chain issues, and hiring difficulties, we know there are essential areas restaurants will focus on as they adapt, innovate, and plan for the future.

Last week we released a new survey, Voice of the Restaurant Industry, served by Toast. We polled more than 900 restaurant decision-makers to gain insight into how they are adapting to the challenges of today, their most critical focus areas over the next 12 months, and how tech can help them thrive. I’m pleased to see the survey findings are on track with what we’re already focused on at Toast.

Inflation and tracking key ingredient costs

Restaurants have been adapting at lightning speed to rising inflation. As prices for food and services rose, restaurants reacted in various ways, including reducing the number of items on their menu and increasing prices, but the top response was tracking the cost of goods. About 39% of restaurants said they started tracking the price of key ingredients in response to inflation.

Price-tracking technology like xtraChef by Toast enables restaurants to track individual ingredients over time so that operators can make strategic decisions about menus, recipes, and purchasing habits. Jerome Skaggs, the culinary director for Defined Hospitality and executive chef at Suraya in Philadelphia , said that xtraChef by Toast allows them to see exactly which ingredients are on the rise so they can make better business decisions.?

"Everything in the kitchen is more expensive now. ... [xtraCHEF by Toast] allows me to figure out where it is ballooning so you can get in front of it quicker. So if you need to make menu changes, if you need to look for another item… whatever solution you need to come up with, you know what you’re solving for."

Doing more with less as the appetite for in-person dining grows

Approximately 44% of restaurants believe in-person dining will be a top focus area in the next 12 months. With continuing labor challenges, restaurants can use technology to fill the gaps as demand for in-person dining continues . Whether by implementing kiosks or mobile ordering at the table, there are now more ways than ever for guests to take control of their dining experience. Toast found that the average restaurant has seven service models, with some restaurants even offering up to 11 different models for service, such as counter service, table, curbside, takeout, catering, and wholesale.?

Equipping waitstaff with handheld devices so they can serve more tables and earn more tips is another excellent way technology is helping the front of house. Café Gratitude , a southern California plant-based restaurant group, found the Toast Go Mobile POS handheld devices allowed servers to take on 12 to 15 tables at a time, compared with seven to eight with a traditional terminal.

At The Listening Room Cafe , a music venue and full-service restaurant in Nashville, Toast Go? Mobile POS enables servers to make more money , keeping staff and guests happy. “Handheld tablets create a far better experience for our guests, and my staff loves it because they make more money on every table,” says owner Chris Blair.

The unique venue opens for two shows a night, where staff serves 250 people simultaneously before the act begins. “If it takes 15 minutes to get a beer, you’re not going to order as many,” says owner Chris Blair.?

Catering and events without the chaos?

As restaurants diversify their revenue streams, more are looking toward catering to expand their business. About 44% of restaurants said that they anticipate increased interest in catering as events return and people make up for all of the moments missed from the pandemic.

Digital invoicing that’s fully integrated with your restaurant instead of having to string together multiple systems and hard-to-read carbon copies makes running catering a breeze. Restaurants can quickly receive, schedule, and fulfill catering orders from anywhere. And instead of tracking down payments, customers can easily pay their invoice 24/7 and be automatically reminded when it’s due. Think, if only Carmen from “The Bear” could manage all of his chaotic paper invoices with a single integrated system.

Luna Bakery , a specialty bakery in Cleveland, is turning its catering business digital and has vastly improved its ordering system. Owner Erin Seeds said that going digital is more efficient and allows the bakery to take more orders and finalize them faster.? “At this point, I don’t think I could live without it,” Erin Leeds said.

The future of restaurants is bright. They deserve a trusted partner to help them innovate. Keeping up with the rate and pace of change is a tall order, but restaurants are leaning into the new challenges and opportunities.?

Whether it’s tracking key ingredients, improving the in-person dining experience, diversifying to events and catering, or other vital areas of focus, technology can help streamline operations so that restaurateurs can spend more time delighting guests and less time on technology.

Check out all of the findings from the Voice of the Restaurant Industry, Served by Toast survey, and tune into Spark , a restaurant innovation event on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.