That’s a lot in America’s nearly $700 billion restaurant industry. They are getting rid of items that cost a lot to make and create service issues.Īccording to the Washington Post, the country’s 500 largest restaurant chains have cut more than seven percent of food items offered this year. The larger the menu, the more people will wonder if all the food is just mediocre.Īfter the success of Chipotle and Five Guys, giant chains such as McDonald’s and Red Lobster are putting their menus on the chopping block. Where before diners judged a restaurant on its broad offerings, today they are judging a restaurant on its specific offerings.ĭiners want focused menus. There is a growing trend towards exotic or locally-sourced foods, and Americans are willing to seek out specialized cuisines. They increasingly demand quality over quantity. These days Americans are more refined in their tastes. Today’s generation wants great tasting, customizable menu items. Nevertheless, diners can choose from 15 toppings for their custom meal. They only have five core items: burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, BLT and a veggie sandwich. Their success shows the value of a short menu. They are the burger specialists and believe less is more. Again, they are appealing to Millennials. They have a short menu, but they offer plenty of customizable options. However, customers can choose from nearly 20 optional ingredients. Alongside shorter menu come more options for the customer. This may seem counterintuitive, but as restaurants are shrinking their menus, there is a trend toward customization as well. Consider the success of limited-menu, fast-casual chains that focus on a particular cuisine, such as Chipotle and Five Guys. They are culling their menus and getting rid of costly dishes. Small local restaurants and casual dining chains alike are doing an about-face. Schedule a consultation with us so we can share with you the profitable results of a shorter menu, less food waste, and streamlined kitchen operations. Restaurants are now looking to distinguish themselves based on quality, not the breadth of their menus.Īt Restaurant Engine, we have been helping restaurants set up and optimize their menu for online ordering since 2015. (tweet this) Diners will remember a restaurant’s specialized cuisine, whereas the five-page menu is easily forgotten. With a shorter menu, it is easier for customers to remember why they visit a particular restaurant. It also increases table turnover time as diners spend extra time looking through large menus. Now, restaurants recognize that offering too many choices makes it hard for diners to make a choice. In the past, restaurants tried to differentiate themselves with the breadth of their menus. Millennials are demanding quality, and when menus are longer, quality can suffer. Restaurants are learning they can no longer be everything to everyone. They want to customize their meals they don’t want large confusing offerings. This large group of people values local, flavorful food that is high quality and low cost. The menu pruning is also a direct nod to a nation full of Millennials. Today’s diner is busy and doesn’t want to be met with hundreds of options when opting to eat out. So, what’s caused the shrinking, shorter menu? There are many reasons.ĭiners are now looking for easier-to-read formats. The result is fewer ingredients, less food waste, and streamlined kitchen operations. Ramsay often reduces the number of dishes by over two thirds! Then he trains their cooks on a few chef techniques to maximize the quality of their newly constrained menu. Without fail, every episode involves simplifying the menu. According to Harvard Business School, smaller menus are better.įor example, one of the motifs of Gordon Ramsay’s popular television show on Fox TV, 24 Hours to Hell and Back, is an overhaul of a struggling restaurant’s menu. Shorter restaurant menus are gaining in popularity. Long-winded menus are no longer in vogue. They hoped to attract and keep diners with longer menus.īut now, the opposite is the case. Why did menus grow so long and intricate? These in-depth menus were trendy for a while as many restaurants responded to intense competition and consumer demand for more choices. Yet, restaurants thought by offering more options, diners would stay loyal. Restaurant-goers were often met with bulky, confusing lists of choices. Diners demanded a plethora of choices with menus that spanned continents and cuisines. Shorter menu address the demands of today’s Millennials.įor many years the size of the restaurant menu grew.
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