Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“It’s going to be very different than what it is today. Technology is going to help us deliver appropriate experiences to all of our guests—more customized menus and services.” —Ralph Brennan, president, Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“The cycles influencing what the industry is going to look like are going to shorten. If you look back a few years, what were just ideas then are now fully implemented. We’re going to see that happen faster. But I don’t think you’re going to replace the human touch.” —Stan Harris, president and CEO, Louisiana Restaurant Association
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“We will continue to look more on technology and teaching our employees to be more analytical with data. But the emphasis on the simplicity of food and eating seasonally is going to continue. Our food is going to continue to be more local, and people love the story of food. That’s going to continue.” —Karen Bremer, CEO, Georgia Restaurant Association
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“Technology will play an important role as part of our future—artificial intelligence will expand into an important role. [Overall], technology will really help us understand what our guests want and how to deliver it.” —Joe Essa, CEO, Wolfgang Puck
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“Amazon used to take two days to deliver food. Now it takes two hours. We need to get better at innovating. We can’t afford to become complacent.” —Steve Chucri, CEO, Arizona Restaurant Association
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“The new generation is going to want things much faster. It doesn’t matter what they get at the end. Faster is not really better. We go to a restaurant with our spouse to have a bottle of wine, for the hospitality. We need to go back to that. We also need more diversity.” —Blanca Cabrera, owner-operator of Sergio’s Restaurant
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“The best restaurant hasn’t been invented yet. The best restaurant meal hasn’t been served yet. The biggest restaurant chain hasn’t been started yet. The opportunities are amazing.” —Ted Balestreri, co-proprietor of the Sardine Factory
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“The industry is going to go through tremendous growth. It’s not something that we can off-shore.” —Brian Casey, president, Oak Hill Tavern and The Company Picnic Co.
6 must-follow trends that dominated day 1 of the National Restaurant Association Show
Photograph courtesy of the National Restaurant Association
“Our industry has always been in industry that evolves rapidly. But that evolution is really speeding up. We’re going to see very focused concepts that exactly follow the lifestyles that are out there. It’s going to become much more responsive.” —Xavier Teixido, owner, Harry’s Hospitality Group
The 2024 awards ceremony celebrated the diversity of the restaurant industry, from Appalachian-inspired cuisine in West Virginia, to Senegalese food in New Orleans and a Japanese baker in Portland, Maine.
The fast-casual chain, working its way through sales and profitability challenges, gave a board seat to an activist investor. But that’s not the only activist it has.
The data firm, a sister company of Restaurant Business, has revised down its sales expectations by 1.5 percentage points. Can a value war bring some of that traffic back?
