TECHNOLOGY
6 tech observations from the 2025 National Restaurant Show
“ The trusty data dashboard, a common selling point of many a tech vendor, may end up being one of the first casualties of the AI incursion. AI has the ability to put data into words and reveal, as one operator put it, “the narrative behind the data.”
than looking at a computer. “It’s the biggest thing that’s ever happened,” Feeney said. And that may be just the tip of the iceberg of what AI can do, one tech executive told us. He envisioned a world in which AI manages virtually the entire restaurant, telling staff what needs to be done and when. And that scenario may not be as far off as we think. Tech to make everyone a regular There was also excitement about what AI can do for customers. Multiple people we spoke to mentioned how much customers value being treated like regulars when they go out to eat, but how hard it is for restaurants to actually deliver that experience. Employees come and go, and customers have a lot of dining options, so it can take a long time to really get to know them. “That’s very difficult to do out of the box with - out having hours and hours and many, many vis- its,” said Ming-Tai Huh, head of food and bever- age at Square. Data and AI can allow restaurants to shrink that time down. “Let’s say I want to go to a very nice restaurant, but they don’t know me,” Huh said. “I can provide them with information about me to make sure that I really get that five-star experience.” Plus, knowing the “regulars” can help restau- rants operate more efficiently, too. With the help of AI, for instance, after a cus- tomer makes an online reservation, the restau- rant could pull up their ordering history and send a message asking whether they’d like the same wine in the same price range as they had last time. “And we could decant that for you 30 minutes before you walk in,” said Feeney of Grovehouse. “And so now we’re saving time in our experience as operators, and they feel even more special coming in as guests.”
Here lies the dashboard? The trusty data dashboard, a common selling point of many a tech vendor, may end up being one of the first casualties of the AI incursion. Dashboards are certainly a step up from spreadsheets in terms of presenting information. But what restaurants really want to know is what that information means and what they should do about it. AI has the ability to put it into words and prompt operators to take action. “Dashboards are dead,” said Kelly Macpherson, chief tech- nology and supply chain officer at Union Square Hospitality Group. “You have to go beyond the dashboard to the narra- tive behind the data.” A recipe for success: Listen to restaurants Some of the most (seemingly) thriving tech companies we spoke to at the Show have taken a decidedly restaurant-first approach to developing their products. Many of them were founded or staffed by people who work or have worked in restaurants. So they believe they have a keen understanding of the complexities of the business and what operators actu- ally need. One founder of a fast-growing tech vendor told us his company does not even have a product team. It just talks to restaurants and builds tools they ask for.
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National Restaurant Association Show 2025
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