When you’re running a restaurant, there’s a lot to keep up with.
In times like these when the state of the supply chain is a constant worry and health regulations can shift from day to day, managing a restaurant is more than a full-time gig. With online disinformation at an all-time high, you need restaurant management resources you can trust to bring you timely, trustworthy information. Here’s a list of the most informative and reliable websites and blogs you should be following. Pick the ones that best fit your restaurant style and stay on top of the changing industry landscape!
17 Restaurant Management Resources to Set Yourself Up for Success
1. National Restaurant Association
The National Restaurant Association sets the standard for foodservice trade association blogs. It’s chock full of all kinds of information covering every aspect of restaurant management. It’s the go-to restaurateur resource for restaurant owners, consultants, chefs, managers, and other industry professionals. Regardless of the size of your operation, from one tiny sandwich shop to a multi-state chain, you can find helpful advice relevant to your business. The blog covers everything you might want to know about running a restaurant. It should be every restaurateur’s first stop for knowledge.
2. Food Tech Connect
One of the hardest things for busy restaurant owners and managers is keeping up with technology trends. Food Tech Connect keeps you up to date on what’s up-and-coming, from fungi-based steaks (really!) to food system cyber-attacks that threaten the industry.
3. Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN)
This informative blog covers restaurant industry news – the business side of the business. Learn about what other restaurants are doing, follow new technology, and see where the industry stands with Nation’s Restaurant News.
4. Fast Casual
Fast Casual has been around since 1997 and covers all things about the fast-casual trend. Blog topics include franchising, operations, marketing, delivery, and more. If you’re operating a fast-casual restaurant, this is the restaurant magazine for you.
5. The Restaurant Times
Filled with informative content, The Restaurant Times offers an intriguing mix of how-to tutorials, interviews with foodpreneurs, case studies, and great advice on just about anything food industry-related, all presented in an attractive, easy-to-read format.
6. Modern Restaurant Management
As you may have guessed, Modern Restaurant Management is about the business of managing a restaurant. From finance & legal matters to restaurant design, this restauranteur resource covers the nuts and bolts of running a successful operation, from small restaurant management to big chain concerns.
7. FSR Magazine
If you prefer to flip through an actual print magazine, FSR (Full Service Restaurant) is the publication for you. FSR’s goal is to “provide ideas and insights for chefs, owners, executives, and decision-makers in the full-service restaurant industry,” and it really delivers!
8. QSR Automations
The QSR Automations restaurant management and technology blog is a great restaurant management resource, full of info, news, and interesting stories. While they specialize in technology know-how, they cover all kinds of restaurant info and news.
9. Eater
While it’s not strictly a restaurant management resource, Eater is all about food and food trends, and the local feature lets you hone in on the food scene happening in your area (not all areas are covered).
10. Next Restaurants
You can have the very best product in the world, but without marketing, you can’t shift the product. The same applies to restaurants. Next Restaurants focuses on restaurant marketing, bringing together all the information you could want about social media, mobile, and email communications and how to use them to increase your customer base, with a bit of humor thrown in. You’ll find access to hundreds of articles and case studies, links to other respected blogs, and how-to guides, all about marketing for your independent restaurant. And if you run a sports bar, there’s an entire section just for you, specifically about practical marketing ideas for your sports bar.
11. Restaurant Owner
Success for independent restaurant owners isn’t always guaranteed. A lot of work goes into making an independent restaurant successful. Restaurant Owner offers proven advice for independent restaurants owners, with practical tips and advice about every aspect of running the business.
12. Pizza Today
If your dream has always been to run your own independent pizzeria, this blog is for you. Pizza today has everything – and I mean everything – related to running a pizza restaurant. You can find practical tips and advice on front-of-house duties like customer care, food delivery, and properly cleaning equipment, to the latest craze in pizza topping flavors, recipes to try, and plant-based food recommendations. There’s even advice and points of interest for those running the back office, like hiring advice, team morale-boosting tips, and info on accessing employment benefits for you and your employees.
13. The Digital Restaurant
Covering all things marketing, The Digital Restaurant blog is full of articles with specific and practical advice for marketing your restaurant. They talk about marketing to Gen Z, using Instagram and other social media for best marketing success, and much more.
14. The Perfect Daily Grind
Boutique coffee shops rely on baristas who know their stuff and, of course, great-tasting coffee. The Perfect Daily Grind provides informative articles on sourcing your coffee, growing, picking, processing, grinding, brewing, and of course, marketing your unique coffee blends. The daily content is published in 3 languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese), making it one of the most accessible and popular coffee blogs available. There’s also a range of management tips to help your cafe grow and thrive.
15. The Restaurant Technology Guys
If you like podcasts and automation, you’ll like The Restaurant Technology Guys. They do deep dives into all the restaurant features and functions you can automate, from POS table service to automatic ordering. Imagine the time you can save by automating repetitive tasks…and the efficiencies you can create with automated ordering.
16. Foodable
Foodable has a massive selection of videos, podcasts, and virtual events aimed at restaurant owners and management. Alongside articles covering topics like AI use in service and the latest trends in the restaurant trade, there are celebrity interviews, mouthwatering recipes to try, and a whole lot of practical tips and advice to help your restaurant flourish.
17. Open for Business by OpenTable
The Open Table blog covers many restaurant industry topics useful for both experienced restaurant owners and newbies opening their first restaurant. Subjects include behind-the-scenes reveals, opening a restaurant, and daily operations. You’ll love the marketing and operation ideas and gather inspiration from other restaurant owners who share their secrets.
Staying on top of restaurant industry news is critical to remain competitive but not always easy to follow. These informative restaurateur resources will help keep you in the know and on-trend.
