50 Great Ideas

Lots of creative thinking goes on in the restaurant industry, making it difficult to narrow down a collection of great ideas to just 50. We came across hundreds of good ones in the 16 months since our last roundup. Some were interesting but too familiar. Others were whimsical but did nothing to drive sales. What separates the “good” from the “great” here is an idea that differentiates a business and moves it forward. See if you agree with our picks.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Operations

Hitting resistance elsewhere, ghost kitchens and virtual concepts find a happy home in family dining

Reality Check: Old-guard chains are finding the alternative operations to be persistently effective side hustles.

Financing

The Tijuana Flats bankruptcy highlights the dangers of menu miscues

The Bottom Line: The fast-casual chain’s problems following new menu debuts in 2021 and 2022 show that adding new items isn’t always the right idea.

Financing

For Papa Johns, the CEO departure came at the wrong time

The Bottom Line: The pizza chain worked to convince franchisees to buy into a massive marketing shift. And then the brand’s CEO left.

Trending

More from our partners