Restaurant operators should be directly in contact with consumers media to inform them about what the business is doing for sustainability programs. Most of the worlds consumers have this program at the top of their minds, when it comes to restaurants. One thing that many businesses are doing now is purchasing locally, such as buying from local farmers or fisherman. A large amount of consumers want to know that companies are doing their part in making sure that the world is a cleaner place. Informing the community that you remodeled with reclaimed wood is a small price to pay for positive feedback. In all the company needs to provide a positive impact with the community to be successful.

Key Takeaways:

• National Restaurant Association officials outlined steps operators can take and how to communicate what they’re doing to customers.
• “Knowing and stating where your food is coming from … is going to be a larger and larger factor for your bottom line,” he said.
• Although such fish are harder to sell, Clark said it provided operators with the opportunity to engage with their customers and tell their restaurant’s story better.

“Abshire said the NRA’s annual What’s Hot survey found that chefs ranked hyper-local sourcing, environmental sustainability and locally sourced produce and seafood among the top 10 food trends in the industry.”

Read more: http://www.nrn.com/seafood-trends/how-restaurant-operators-can-implement-sustainability-programs

Recent reports show declines in revenues for fast-casual dining restaurants. Examples of fast-casual dining include Panera Bread, Co., Chipotle, and Habit. Fast-casual dining has been popular in recent years as alternatives to traditional fast food restaurants. However, recent improvements to traditional fast food menus have siphoned off customers from fast-casual dining. The recent tug of war for revenues demonstrates that while demographic trends change, restaurant chains must continue to adapt to ever changing trends and changes.

Key Takeaways:

• The fast-casual segment is supposedly a disruptive force in the restaurant industry, pulling consumers away from traditional chains while promising higher quality food and a faster service model.
• But that disruption doesn’t mean fast-casual chains are immune from all the other issues afflicting the restaurant industry at the moment.
• In a notably weak period for restaurants, the fast-casual segment was the weakest.

“In the first three months of the year, publicly traded fast-casual chains averaged a same-store sales decline of 1.6 percent.”

Read more: http://www.nrn.com/fast-casual/fast-casual-chains-are-getting-squeezed