Marketing is the last restaurant priority until it’s a crisis
In the restaurants industry, we’re all professional firemen. When the walk-in dies or a line cook no-shows, you’re on it in seconds. But while you’re busy playing hero in the kitchen, your brand is a slow-motion train wreck.
Marketing always falls to the bottom of the list because it doesn’t scream for attention—until the dining room is a ghost town on a Thursday and you’re wondering how you’re going to make payroll. By then, you’re not “marketing”; you’re panicking.
The Restaurant Menu Matrix
If you’ve ever looked at a spreadsheet of your sales and felt like you were staring at a foreign language, you aren’t alone. Most restaurant owners have the data, but very few know how to interpret it to drive actual bankable profit.
That is where the Menu Matrix comes in. But a matrix is just a map; you still need to know how to drive the car.
The High Cost of “Free”: Why Your DIY Menu is Costing You Thousands
If you’re running a restaurant, you’ve heard the pitch. Your distributor offers to “throw in” a menu for free. Or, you see a flashy online DIY tool that lets you drag-and-drop your way to a new layout for the price of a couple of pizzas.
Is Your Menu a Piece of Art or a Profit Engine?
At HotOperator, we believe your menu should do more than look pretty—it should be your hardest-working employee. That’s why we’ve launched our 2026 Menu Marketing Suites, designed to turn your food costs into high-margin victories.
Getting Your Restaurant Menu Ready for an Update: Start With the Data
A Menu Matrix gives you a clear, objective look at what’s working, what’s underperforming, and where your real profit opportunities live. To build one correctly, you’ll want a PMIX report covering the last six months—or at minimum, the entire lifespan of your current menu.
How to Prepare Your Restaurant for a Challenging 2026
As the industry heads into 2026, early economic indicators show that consumers are still cautious with their spending. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which tightened throughout 2025, suggests that diners will continue to search for value, comfort, and predictability—even as they still want to enjoy meals outside the home. Inflation feels “sticky,” grocery prices remain stubborn, and many households are planning fewer discretionary outings.
Selling Restaurant Food in a Down Economy
Selling Restaurant Food in a Down Economy The economic backdrop for U.S. restaurants in 2025 is proving increasingly challenging. On one hand, total eating-and-drinking-place sales have edged up modestly — but the gains are being driven largely by menu-price...
Behind the Scenes of the WRA Traveling Show: My Talk on Menu Engineering, Design, Social Media & Guerrilla Marketing
This past fall, I had the privilege of presenting at the Wisconsin Restaurant Association’s Traveling Show, with stops in Eau Claire, Green Bay, and Wausau. Here’s what I had to say.
What The WRA Shows Revealed About Restaurant Reality in 2025
I’ve been to my share of restaurant trade shows: Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, PA, Texas. Different badges, different booths — but lately, the same conversation is repeating itself.
“Sell” it – “Put it in the window” or “We only have two orders left, push it.”
HotOperator is a dynamic foodservice marketing company specializing in growing restaurants. This is our blog. The blog posts you read here will help you push your sales and customer service to new levels. When the little window pops up, sign up so you’re the first to know when new information is available.
“If you sell food to humans on planet earth, we can help you.” -Mark Laux, Managing Partner, HotOperator