When you own a restaurant, it’s important to keep up-to-date on the different restaurant trends that are dominating the market. Whether it’s food trends, dessert trends, or more general restaurant trends, incorporating what’s popular can help your business thrive. That said, not every trend will make sense for your restaurant. Wondering how mom and pop restaurants can thrive? Give these 2020 restaurant trends a try!
Restaurant Trends 2020: Think Local
Mom and pop restaurants offer a different experience than chain restaurants, and if you want your mom and pop restaurant to thrive, you need to capitalize on these differences. One way to do this is by thinking local when making decisions for your business.
Sustainability & Transparency Reigns Supreme
These days, consumers are much more focused on sustainability and transparency, which offers a great opportunity for mom and pop restaurants to think local when making decisions like where to source food. Not only is it more sustainable to shop locally, but it also offers transparency for consumers who want to know where their food comes from.
Find Ways to Build Community
But thinking local isn’t just about where you source your food. Find ways to build community through your restaurant. This can be through supporting local charities or sports teams, catering local events, or even buying locally made art, furniture, etc. By getting involved with your community and offering a uniquely local experience for diners, you can grow your clientele and build loyalty.
Restaurant Trends 2020: Focus on Convenience & Choice
With the increased popularity of fast casual dining, takeout, and delivery, it’s no secret that convenience is becoming one of the determining factors for young people making decisions about where to eat. The best mom and pop restaurants will take advantage of these restaurant trends however they can.
Convenience is Key
Have you considered growing your takeout business or offering food delivery for your clientele? Today’s diners often place a high value on convenience, and by offering takeout and food delivery options, you can grow your business and build loyalty with younger demographics.
Choices Abound
There are more dining options than ever before, and with so many options, it’s important to make your restaurant stand out. One way to do this is by responding to positive and negative online reviews of your restaurants. Many people don’t bother to write reviews for chain restaurants, but that isn’t the case for mom and pop restaurants. Take advantage of this free publicity and really take the time to engage with what people have to say about your restaurant. Who knows? It could spark ideas for fresh opportunities.
Offer Options
Menu development isn’t always easy, but there are things you can do to take advantage of current food trends, even if you don’t want to do a total menu overhaul. Try offering vegetarian and vegan options. This doesn’t just mean embracing impossible burgers or other vegan burger alternatives. If you’re a mom and pop pizza restaurant, for example, simply make sure that some of the specialty pizzas or pastas don’t include meat. Just by being open to substitutions and notating that fact on your menu can help signal to diners that you’re willing to make their food dreams come true.
If you’re looking for wholesale pricing on high-quality ingredients or need help with restaurant marketing or menu development, don’t hesitate to contact McDonald Wholesale, your local restaurant supplier in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California.