Trend Watch: flavoured foam, white soy sauce, aromatic spirits

By Elizabeth Wessel For this month’s edition of Trend Watch, we’ve teamed up with Technomic to highlight some of the top trends gaining popularity on restaurant menus across Canada: flavoured foam, white soy sauce, aromatic spirits. We also take a look at how some Canadian restaurants are successfully adding them to their menus for an […]

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Customer comfort and staff wellness start with smart policies and greener design

By Evelyn Long Hotter seasonal temperatures can pose great environmental and business challenges for restaurant operators – from a hotter-than-average dining room to humidity on the patio and heat stress for your kitchen team. But green design combined with proactive wellness policies can keep your restaurant cool, your team healthy, and your reputation strong from […]

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Fall flavours see summer launches on coffee chain menus

While we celebrate the second half of summer, fall flavours are hitting menus long before the first leaf falls. Even though it’s still hot outside, some QSRs are launching warm, cozy fall menu items early. Here is a rundown on the some of the early fall menu adopters: Starbucks’ ever-popular PSL makes its debut on […]

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Coffee programs can increase restaurant revenues

By Jose Chavez For many restaurants, coffee is treated as a simple add-on; it’s poured at breakfast, served after dinner, or offered as a standard beverage alongside the menu. But a well-planned coffee program can do much more than complete a meal – it can increase average order value, encourage repeat visits, create new revenue […]

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Survey aims to shine a light on the physical health crisis facing kitchen professionals

The hospitality industry has made significant strides in acknowledging the importance of mental health. Organizations, operators, and industry advocates are increasingly investing in initiatives that support psychological well-being and create healthier workplace cultures. But while the conversation around mental health has gained momentum, the physical toll of working in professional kitchens remains largely overlooked. Long […]

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Today’s technology is driving restaurant resilience

By Samir Zabeneh Canadian foodservice operators are navigating a landscape defined by rising costs and changing consumer habits, and they are using technology to bridge the gap. Research shows that technology adoption in the restaurant industry is more than just a modernization effort; it has become a mandatory strategy for protecting profit margins and empowering […]

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Convenience is king for drive-thru diners

Foodservice continues to evolve, and the definition of value for many diners has shifted. While the benefit of drive-thrus was originally a speedier experience, these days, convenience is even more important to consumers. Today’s diners value food quality most (45 per cent), followed very closely by convenience (44 per cent), and speed (34 per cent) […]

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Canadians are still dining out; they’re just spending differently

By Julien Brault Whether it was grabbing a coffee, catching up with friends, celebrating a birthday, or ordering takeout after a long workday, restaurant meals were simply part of the everyday routine. In today’s economy, that decision often comes with a quick mental calculation. Is dining out worth it? Would that money be better put […]

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Managing today’s concept of foodservice value

By Emma Balment Today’s restaurant operators and suppliers are operating in what is being described as ‘The Endurance Economy.’ Cost of living is the top issue facing Canadians today. Price has become the determining factor for purchase, and consumers are predominantly pessimistic about both short and long-term financial wellbeing. There is hope on the horizon […]

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Rising costs outpace restaurant profitability

Canada’s restaurant industry is seeing stronger-than-expected sales growth in 2026, but rising operating costs continue to outpace revenue growth and erode profitability, leaving many operators at risk of closure and with less capacity to invest, according to Restaurants Canada’s recently released Q2 Quarterly Report. The findings highlight the growing disconnect between sales and profitability, underscoring […]

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Treat Time: How Branded Desserts Sweeten Sales for Sandwich Operators

For sandwich operators today, the best thing since sliced bread is dessert. No longer an afterthought to the sandwich occasion, dessert has become one of the easiest ways for sandwich operators to drive traffic and elevate everyday visits. In fact, consumers are so sweet on dessert, over a quarter say they’re consuming more desserts overall — a stat that rises to 34% among Gen Z and 35% among millennials.¹

The Whole Pie: Top Dessert Brands Turn Pizza Night Into a Higher-Check, Repeat Occasion

For pizza operators looking to increase check averages, dessert concepts featuring recognizable branded ingredients can help drive incremental sales and add variety to the menu.

Because they tap into the social and experiential side of dining, desserts can drive both repeat visits and higher check averages, especially among families and groups. Leaning into communal and experience-driven occasions with incremental items like desserts, especially as limited-time offers to jumpstart sales, is a low-risk way to build customer loyalty and frequency.

Sweet Additions: Expert Tips for Building a Dessert Program That Works for Your Pizza Menu

Pizza restaurants have long built their identity around the pie — but smart operators know the meal doesn’t have to end there. We spoke with two Mondelēz Away From Home culinary experts, Chef Carmisha Ramsey and Joel Minkoff, to get their best strategies for integrating desserts into pizza menus in ways that drive revenue, spark customer excitement and help keep guests coming back. From OREO-branded LTOs to dessert pizzas built with your own signature dough, here’s their practical roadmap for operators who want to finish strong.

Flipping for Desserts: Burger Operators Lean Into Low-Risk Menu Innovation

A Big Deal: How “Little Treats” Are Redefining Dessert Innovation and Efficiency

“Little treat” culture is having a sizable impact on consumers’ eating habits and opening up sweet opportunities for dessert and snack operators.

Born on social media and embraced by young, digital-native consumers, “little treats” have grown from viral memes into mainstream must-haves.

Nearly 40% of consumers say they’re familiar with the term “little treat,” with awareness highest among Gen Z and Millennials, highlighting how quickly the idea has traveled from social media into everyday food and beverage habits.¹

Healthcare Cafeterias Reimagined: Your Prescription for Driving Profit, Value and Satisfaction

Healthcare dining is evolving fast as operators find inventive ways to deliver more with less.

Fifty-three percent of hospital locations are implementing cost-cutting strategies like maximizing ingredient utilization and buying in bulk to manage expenses and hold prices steady.¹ Maintaining affordability is a must, given that the average cafeteria check at healthcare cafeterias ranges from just $4 to $10.¹

A Slice Above: How Branded Desserts Help Drive Sales at Pizza Operations

Pizza operators looking for the secret sauce to gaining a higher check average should turn their attention to branded desserts.

A powerful, low-risk growth opportunity for pizza operators, branded desserts can deliver incremental sales without slowing down operations, complicating kitchen execution or compromising your core pizza-focused menu. In fact, among operators across categories, adding a new dessert is the top reason for increased dessert sales, with 44% citing it as the ultimate business booster.¹

On Course for Success: Pleasing Gen Z Palates at Colleges and Universities

Gen Z is giving college and university away-from-home operators a lot to think about. In fact, they’re reshaping campus dining expectations in a complex and increasingly competitive landscape.

While operator spend in the C&U segment is expected to reach $10.3 billion in 2026, real growth is forecasted to drop by 5% in both 2026 and 2027 under the impact of demographic shifts, evolving learning formats and changing consumption behaviors.¹

As a result, understanding what today’s students want to eat and how they want to eat it is critical to feeding the bottom line.

Pour On the Profits: 4 Dessert Beverage Trends to Watch

Dessert beverages serve double duty as a perfect treat any time of the day. Today’s consumers are thirsty for beverages that feel unique and fun. That’s why sweet beverages are becoming one of foodservice’s strongest growth drivers.¹ The payoff for operators? High margins, easy execution and guests willing to splurge on something memorable.

From creative dirty sodas to candy-laden milkshakes, playful spins on cold foam and frozen drinks inspired by classic desserts, operators are stirring up new ways to turn everyday occasions into celebratory moments and extra revenue.¹

Embracing the Sweet Spot: How Nostalgia Is Reshaping Food & Beverage Trends

Nostalgia is more than a feeling. It’s fast becoming one of the most powerful forces shaping food and beverage innovation. From reimagined desserts to candy-flavored beverages, U.S. consumers are gravitating toward flavors and formats that transport them back in time, with just enough modern flair to keep things exciting.

Today’s culinary nostalgia goes well beyond throwback aesthetics. It taps into emotion, comfort, and memory, while offering restaurants and foodservice operators ample room to innovate.

New Beverage Station Solutions for Caterers

Event design prioritizes movement, texture, and visual harmony above all else, with beverage stations now acting as focal points within event layouts rather than an afterthought. This guide walks you through what to look for as you outfit your next beverage station, featuring value-minded products, all new from TableCraft. Let’s get into it. Elevate the […]

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Tip Pooling: What Servers Really Think

Ask 10 servers what they think about tip pooling and you’ll get 11 opinions, a couple of them shouted. Few topics get the front of house as fired up. In this article, we look at the pros and cons of tip pooling to get to the bottom of this polarizing topic and help you decide […]

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Wasserstrom Expands Equipment Shipping Capabilities

Exciting news! The Wasserstrom Company is expanding its operations in Arizona at the Wasserstrom Phoenix Distribution Center. Our Arizona campus has been serving our West Coast clients since 1993 with our sister company, N. Wasserstrom, manufacturing and distributing equipment, and The Wasserstrom Company distributing smallwares. The facility is undergoing a 77,730 square foot expansion, transforming […]

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Adaptive Reuse: Gas Station Edition

If you’re scouting locations for your next restaurant, are vacant gas stations on your shortlist? These sites come with built-in advantages that would cost a fortune to replicate from scratch. We cover what gas station adaptive reuse offers and where the real costs are hiding. The Built-In Benefits of Converting Old Gas Stations Adaptive reuse […]

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Quiz: Can You Read a Menu?

Modern menus evolve fast with terms like “regenerative” or “functional” reflecting real shifts toward sustainability, transparency, and healthier food. But new terminology doesn’t replace old terminology. Rather, it stacks on top of it. Add in centuries-old French vocabulary, and menus can be a lot to take in. Think you can tell your confit from your […]

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Everyone Wants a Gatsby Moment

There’s a reason people still reference F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel when seeking inspiration for their next great event: 101 years later, Gatsby remains a cultural shorthand for buzzworthy gatherings. In this article, we look at how the Gatsby Collection by FOH brings the essence of Jazz Age elegance, Art Deco design sensibilities, and upscale […]

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Dubai Chocolate: Foods Demystified

What happens when you combine excellent flavors, satisfying textures, stunning visuals, social media influencers, and a luxury brand name? You get a perfect viral food storm, like the one that catapulted Dubai chocolate into our collective must-try list. In this article, we share how a chocolate bar shook up the luxury dessert space while altering […]

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Filter Maintenance & the Real Cost of Neglect

In some restaurants, filters are forgotten until the ice machine stops making ice or the combi oven displays a “Scale Build-Up” error. Read on to learn what really happens when you treat your filters as an afterthought — between the explosive belly aches and financial loss, we’re betting you will never forgo proper filter maintenance […]

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This 3-Well Rethermalizer Helps Kitchens Do More With Less

The labor shortage problem never fully resolved itself after the pandemic. Operators are expected to do more with fewer crew members and tighter margins. These pressures even change how equipment is evaluated. For instance, can the equipment help with a staff shortage, reduce mistakes, or keep service moving Equipment has to pull its weight in […]

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Black-Owned Restaurants to Know and Support

Happy Juneteenth! This holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, the day news of emancipation finally reached the last enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, Texas. Currently in the US, there are efforts to dismantle civil rights protections, suppress Black history, erase Black military contributions, suppress Black voters, and sanitize public records across national institutions. While individual actions […]

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Are Your Knives Ready for the Next Shift?

Knife maintenance impacts speed, consistency, and safety in the kitchen. A steady maintenance routine helps keep knives performing the way they should. Some kitchens outsource this task, but for many, basic sharpening and in-house sanitation is preferred. In this article, we detail how you can make your own commercial kitchen fully independent while keeping knives […]

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6 LGBTQ-Owned Restaurants Anchoring Their Community

Legal protections for LGBTQ+ rights have been marked by deeper polarization, with civil rights groups like the ACLU and the Movement Advancement Project currently tracking hundreds of bills across the country. Alongside these policy challenges, advocacy groups reported more than 1,040 incidents of violence and vandalism nationwide in 2025, which spiked noticeably during Pride month. […]

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New York’s Food Additive Ban Affects Commercial Baking

In early 2026, New York became the latest battleground over food additives, passing legislative measures that point toward a significant shift in state-level food policy. New York Redefines Acceptable Risk in Food Production Potassium bromate is an oxidizing agent that was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1941. When added […]

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Wasserstrom Named The United Group’s 2025 Member of the Year

It’s award season! We are happy to announce that Wasserstrom has been recognized with The United Group’s 2025 Member of the Year Award. Presented annually to a member company across the foodservice industry, the award recognizes outstanding partnership, engagement, and leadership within the organization. Chris Littlefield, EVP of Operations at Wasserstrom, reflected, “It’s an honor […]

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Wasserstrom Wins Eastern Tabletop’s Dealer of the Year Award

Recently, a group of Wasserstrom associates from across the country gathered in New York City to accept Eastern Tabletop’s Dealer of the Year Award. This recognition follows a year of incredible momentum for us, marked by a significant YOY growth rate. The trip was also an opportunity for our reps to receive hands-on training and […]

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Should You Ban Phones? A Guide for Restaurant Operators

A growing number of restaurants and bars are implementing phone-free policies or providing incentives for guests to unplug. Younger diners are the biggest enthusiasts of this shift as they seek a well-earned break for their digital fatigue. In this article, we look at how restaurants are implementing their no-phone policies and explore the pros and […]

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Your Menu Is Only as Ambitious as Your Tools

We’ve all seen chefs on TV turn out great flavors using unusual ingredients and limited tools. (Truly, who could forget Carrie Baird’s snow-baked cake on Season 15 of Top Chef?) In professional kitchens, however, consistency, and speed matter. Prep work that lags can create a situation wherein a chef’s ambition is routinely outpaced by practical […]

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Pass a Health Inspection With These 5 Tips

There are five fundamental factors that health inspectors like to see during an inspection because they are indicative of functionality, safety, and thoughtfulness. For health inspectors, these focus areas reveal what’s happening when no one is watching. 1. Transparency Inspectors have a sixth sense for artifice, so for them, transparency is everything to the point […]

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Turn Business Catering Into a Reliable Revenue Source for Your Restaurant

Business catering is a tried-and-true way for restaurant operators to improve their profit margins. If you can get your food onto a corporate credit card once, you have a clear path to regularly booking $400 lunch orders that really make a difference to your bottom line. But first, you must get your foot in the […]

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What Makes Texas the Nation’s Most Resilient Restaurant Market?

The US restaurant industry is seeing an all-time high in the number of active restaurant locations. Experts at Datassential report that over 860,000 active units are now operating, compared to 842,000 in 2019. But some metropolitan areas are thriving more than others. We look at two of the top performing metro areas — Dallas and […]

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Built for the Next Big Sip

A few years ago, “dirty soda” was largely a phenomenon only found in Utah. Today, it’s one of the fastest growing beverage trends in foodservice. Google searches for dirty soda increased 50 percent in 2025, showing a sharp growth in consumer interest for soft drinks enhanced with cream, flavored syrups, fruit purees and other mix-ins. […]

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75 Years of Cambro: A Look Back at the Moments That Built What’s Next

A chef once got a CamSquare tattooed on his body. When someone asked why, he said it was because his kitchen was always running out of them, so that way he’d always have one.  That kind of loyalty isn’t accidental. It’s been earned over 75 years of solving real problems for real operators, one kitchen […]

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The Cambro System Helping Illegal Pete’s Keep Service Moving

In a fast-moving kitchen, success often comes down to what you don’t see. Smooth service doesn’t happen by chance; it’s a direct result of keeping ingredients accessible, teams aligned and mistakes to a minimum. For Colorado-based fast casual restaurant, Illegal Pete’s, that system starts with something deceptively simple: how they store their food. “I think […]

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Cambro Expands East Coast Operations with New 380,000 Sq. Ft. Distribution Center in North Carolina

Cambro has officially opened Holt Distribution Center, a new 380,000-square-foot facility in Mebane, North Carolina, marking a significant milestone in the company’s continued investment in its East Coast operations. Located next door to Cambro’s nearly 500,000 sq.ft. manufacturing facility, the new building allows for a seamless connection between production and distribution. Together, the two facilities […]

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How Tender Greens Took Root

Standing in a buzzing taqueria line in San Francisco, Erik Oberholtzer had a revelation: could chef-driven cuisine be served as quickly and affordably as street food? The idea became Tender Greens, a concept built to deliver “good food, really healthy fresh food, to a lot of people at a price point they could all absorb.” […]

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From Surplus to Solution: How La Soupe Is Revolutionizing Hunger Relief in Cincinnati

A Culinary Mission Born from Compassion In the heart of Cincinnati, La Soupe is tackling food waste and hunger with a bold, chef-driven approach. Founded by Chef Suzy DeYoung, the nonprofit began when Susie learned that many students in local schools had nothing to eat on weekends. Armed with culinary know-how and a passion for […]

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Rogue Island’s Game-Changing Makeover: How a $50K Shelving and Storage Upgrade Transformed One Rhode Island Restaurant

Running a successful two-tier restaurant in a historic downtown building is no small feat—just ask Chef-Owner Ryan Bassett of Rogue Island. Opened in 2013, Rogue Island pays homage to Rhode Island’s storied culinary influences, from French Canadian to Italian and Irish. Yet despite the restaurant’s vibrant menu and loyal following, the space itself posed unique […]

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The Authenticity ‘The Bear’ Captures About the Restaurant Industry

While movies like Chef, Burnt and Waiting… have spotlighted the fast-paced, high-pressure world of the foodservice industry, only one television show stands out in its realistic depiction of this environment: The Bear. This series has captured the hearts and minds of both food enthusiasts and industry professionals alike, thanks to its authentic portrayal of kitchen […]

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Cambro Manufacturing Breaks Ground on New 380,000 Sq. Ft. Facility in North Carolina

Cambro Manufacturing held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, June 12, for their new 380,000 sq. ft. distribution facility in Mebane, North Carolina. The new building will be across from their current 500,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility that opened less than 10 years ago. Cambro is thrilled to expand its operations to better serve its customers […]

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How Wolf Connection Provides Soul Food for Visitors

In the shadowy wilderness, wolves emerge as enigmatic and often misunderstood creatures, captivating the human imagination with their mysterious presence. Far removed from the sinister portrayals that have permeated folklore and popular culture, these majestic beings embody a complex tapestry of intelligence, family bonds and ecological significance. When it comes to wolves and humans, a […]

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