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In this edition, we’re talking New Year’s restaurant resolutions.
Fun fact: only 9% of people stick with their resolutions, while 23% call it quits within the first week, and 43% don’t even make it to February.
The good news? It’s not too late to beat those odds. One week into 2025, now’s the perfect time to set clear goals for your restaurant—and make this year your most successful yet.
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Centering yourself from last year |
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New Year’s (restaurant) resolutions |
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Get resourced up! |
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New year, new opportunities. Calling all ya filthy animals, let’s get jazzed for 2025!
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IN THE NEWS
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Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary to save American TikTok?
Don’t put all your marketing plans in one basket. The viral social media platform many restaurants rely on to connect with customers is set to be banned from the U.S. on January 19––unless it can find a buyer for its American business. “Mr. Wonderful” has joined forces with Frank McCourt of Project Liberty to propose a record-breaking multi-billion dollar deal. Stay tuned!
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BY THE NUMBERS
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Let’s set the table, so to speak. Understanding where the industry has been can provide valuable insights into where you should aim next. TouchBistro’s 2025 State of Restaurants Report surveyed over 600 FSR owners and operators, uncovering some interesting trends. Here’s a quick peek at the highlights—be sure to dive into the full report for the complete picture.
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9.8%
That’s the average restaurant profit margin in 2024, slightly higher than 2023’s margin of 9.3%. |
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34%
That’s how much more operators spent on food costs in 2024 compared to the previous year. |
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32%
That’s the average amount takeout and delivery sales increased for restaurants in 2024. |
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47%
That’s the percentage of restaurant operators who raised prices in the last six months. |
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48%
That’s the percentage of restaurants that now use TikTok to promote their business, way up from 26% in 2023. |
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THE MORE YOU KNOW
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Here’s an idea… maybe your goal should be to actually keep your goals this year (easier said than done, we know).
Mindset coach Elyssa Desai shares, “Losing drive towards your career resolution is easy when you aren’t seeing results quickly enough or when you’re faced with an obstacle you didn’t expect.”
Overextending yourself doesn’t help. This is a marathon, not a sprint. “Although the excitement for change in the new year is understandable, doing too much can often result in overwhelm and missing one thing can trigger an all-or-nothing mindset, making you feel like you’ve failed and leading you to give up entirely,” says Elyssa.
She recommends six actionable ways to set a career resolution you’ll actually achieve.
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RESOLUTION CONSIDERATION
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It’s tough to dream big when your team is running on fumes. Last year, the average operator was 3.8 members short, and 65% described their current labor market as ‘Tight’ or ‘Very Tight’.
If this sounds like you, building your A-team could be a place to start. We know what employees want, but how can you close the gap on actually offering it to them? Think: flexible scheduling, good culture, well-trained management, growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits.
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If you’ve already got the right people in place, oftentimes the fear is losing them to a different restaurant. And that means keeping them happy, which we found to mean getting along with their team, flexible scheduling, competitive wages, and work-life balance.
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RESOLUTION CONSIDERATION
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If you’re in the “barely getting by” camp, you’re not alone. But even if you’re not, it may be prudent to set goals around optimization rather than reinventing the wheel.
The five major areas of costs for restaurants are food, labor, utilities, equipment and supplies, and POS systems. So why not take each one and dive right in.
What’s working? What’s not? Get super friendly with your metrics, examine your tech ecosystem, leverage technology to automate time-consuming processes, and start ideating on how your restaurant could run more efficiently.
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RESOLUTION CONSIDERATION
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Another common restaurant goal? Getting feet through the door (and butts in seats). Great food and service are just the start to getting people talking. Marketing is about more than just ads; it’s telling your story, connecting with your community, and giving patrons a reason to keep coming back. And that starts with a strategy tailored to your business.
👤 Identify your target audience – What types of guests are you looking to attract? Teens? Families? Or perhaps both?
🔎 Assess your business needs – Conduct a SWOT analysis (looking at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) to determine the state of your business and where it could go.
🗒 Set clear objectives – Are you trying to boost sales? Or is increasing your social media following more important at the moment?
📱 Choose the right channels – Whether you’re looking to build a presence on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook (or maybe all of the above), make sure it aligns with where your audience spends time.
📈 Track your progress – You won’t be able to evaluate and refine your strategy unless you take a look at metrics throughout the process.
Then it’s time for ideating. Luckily there’s plenty of resources that can help you with that endeavour.
👉 Read: 34 Restaurant Marketing Ideas
👉 Read: How To Do Restaurant Marketing
👉 Read: 20 Effective Strategies To Boost Your Social Presence Online
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HEARD
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Something many restaurants struggle with year over year is proactivity vs reactivity. It makes sense when you’re contending with 7528 curveballs every day. That’s why resolutions help you stay ahead, encouraging a plan.
Enter: Pike Howard, Co-owner and Finance & Development Director of Felipe’s Taqueria. “You want to put a longer lead time on problems and solutions… and have a plan to do that over a period of time, so it’s not like a pressure cooker.”
Listen to this Pre-Shift episode where we talk about the importance of balancing business and restaurant operations, the significance of having a strong foundational playbook for growth, the importance of transparency and profit-sharing with leadership teams, and the role of consistent execution.
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SPOTLIGHT
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Level up your knowledge with free restaurant management courses
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7shifts Academy offers guided video lessons for restaurant workers, owners, and operators to get the information they need to grow their businesses and succeed in their careers. You and your team can take free courses in scheduling, daily management, hiring and training, marketing, and mental health. Plus you’ll get a certificate upon completion to add to your resume.
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À LA CARTE
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You don’t have time for pointless articles. These aren’t those.
✅ If your resolution is to revamp the menu…
Menu engineering is all about improvements. Graduate with your degree this year by analyzing your current menu’s pricing, profitability, and design.
✅ If your resolution is to go green…
We mean more than paper straws. Learn about reducing plastic use, energy consumption, and food waste in our restaurant guide to going green.
✅ If your resolution is to elevate your customer experience…
Give them your best from the moment they step inside. Here are some examples you can test out before, during, and after their meal.
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