By Jessica Brill

With the challenges facing today’s foodservice professionals, operators need to use every tool at their disposal to compete and stay profitable. Modern technology has emerged on all fronts to help operators streamline operations, improve the customer experience, and continue to thrive, despite labour shortages, rising costs, trade difficulties, supply chain disruption, and more.

Tech adoption is certainly not new to restaurateurs, but in today’s marketplace, it’s a means to improved operations, increased customer loyalty, and in many cases, a way to save money in the long run.

Kitchen technology

Adopting automation and AI-driven solutions can give restaurants a competitive edge in the kitchen. According to Madan Kanala, founder and product architect at Stratosfy, operators can increase efficiency and profitability with kitchen tools like:

• AI-powered inventory management for optimizing purchasing and minimizing waste
• Temperature monitoring using IoT (Internet of Things) to help prevent spoilage, reduce energy costs, and ensure food safety compliance
• Kitchen Display Systems (KDS) to improve order accuracy and streamline workflows
• Smart cooking equipment with automation to enhance consistency and energy efficiency

Today’s kitchen technology delivers measurable value by helping operators minimize costs and maximize ROI with scalable, data-driven solutions, including predicting and preventing costly equipment failures, waste reduction, enhanced inventory management, and beyond.

As kitchen technology continues to evolve, Kanala asserts that it is headed further towards AI-driven automation and predictive intelligence. These tools will help prevent costly breakdowns, reduce labour reliance, improve efficiency, optimize inventory, lower operational costs, and include fully integrated digital ecosystems to unify refrigeration, ordering, staffing, and analytics.

While Kanala confirms that “Operators adopting AI and IoT now will lead the next wave of innovation,” he cautions eager operators from investing in tech without clear ROI goals, leading to wasted costs, undertrained staff, and underutilized systems. As well, a lack of integration between tools creates inefficiencies and data silos, ignoring cybersecurity risks can leave IoT systems vulnerable, and delaying software updates and maintenance can cause operational disruptions and overcomplicated workflows.

“Not leveraging data for decision-making overlooks opportunities for efficiency gains,” says Kanala. “Smart, well-planned adoption ensures technology enhances, rather than hinders, kitchen operations.”

Robotics

Robotics has been much-talked-about in recent years as a way to revolutionize restaurant operations both in the front and back-of-house. But despite the rapid rise of robotics in many aspects of foodservice, the technology has not yet followed through on the promise of real cost savings. According to Nipun Sharma, CEO of Appetronix Inc., digital engagement will offer more traction for front-of-house robotics, while back-of-house will be reimagined with new boundaries for robotics, automation, and AI, some without the constraints of a human-led kitchen. However, he believes that robotics will only affect the dine-in experience minimally, while “Take-out and delivery are all about value and speed, providing an opportunity for robotics to have a meaningful impact to deliver on that product promise.”

As robotic adoption continues to grow, Sharma cautions that operators need to be wary of trying to solve problems that don’t really exist, citing the investment of $100 million to create a burger-flipping robot as an example. “I believe it is futile for tech to emulate the movements of a human hand when it becomes confined to the limitations of a human kitchen,” he says. “We need to start using tech to go from raw materials to finished product by re-imagining the entire back-of-house, free from human constraints.”

Reservations

As diner behaviour continues to shift, restaurateurs need to adjust operations wherever possible to remain competitive and attractive to consumers. Research suggests that Canadians are dining out at dinnertime earlier, with 4 pm to 5:59 pm seeing a 25 per cent¹ rise in seated diners to date, year over year (YoY). Whether this is a result of today’s flexible working hours or perhaps Canadians making the most out of early bird discounts and happy hours, it’s a key factor for restaurateurs to consider when planning labour and operations.

Data also indicates that group dining is on the rise, with parties of six or more seeing an increase of 24 per cent to date, YoY.¹ Matt Davis, Senior Director at OpenTable, notes, “We see this trend as a representation of the changing dining habits of Gen Zs and Millennials, who primarily want to dine out in groups.” Consumer research also supports this, revealing that 60 per cent of Millennials are planning to dine out in groups more frequently in 2025 compared to 2024, which is higher than the national average of 45 per cent.²

Reservation technology has evolved to provide invaluable data, helping restaurants increase revenue. Davis gives an example of how this might work:

A restaurant may believe that a table of four requires a turn time of two hours, however, reservation technology captures turn times, eliminating assumptions and allowing restaurants to accurately determine these times. So, if the data shows that a four-top only requires a turn-time of one hour and forty-five minutes, on average, this can allow the restaurant to add another turn on that table and ultimately increase revenue. This type of insight is critical for operators to deliver on these diner experiences while maximizing their margins.

For restaurateurs looking to improve guest experiences before, during, and after a restaurant visit, today’s reservation technology offers 24/7 service, so diners don’t need to wait for the restaurant to open to be engaged. Ahead of their visit (and afterwards), diners can reach out to restaurants with direct messaging, offering a faster, easier, and more convenient way for guests and restaurants to communicate, which helps ensure a seamless visit before guests even step into the restaurant.

AI can also play an important role in improving the guest experience, impacting visitors before and during the visit. With features allowing restaurants to answer every single call for 24/7 support, the team frees up valuable time to focus on face-to-face, in-person engagement. “Technology is not replacing human interaction in restaurants but enhancing it, alleviating some of that pressure, which gives restaurateurs more time to focus on doing what they do best – delivering incredible dining experiences,” says Davis.

Following a diner visit, this technology creates guest profiles so restaurateurs can keep track of useful information such as dietary restrictions, preferences, and special occasions to enhance their next experience. Small, simple personalized touches like greeting diners by name upon arrival can leave a lasting impression and help operators stand out.

How can restaurants lean into reservation technology for the best results? Davis suggests that reducing walk-ins and expanding online and phone bookings to secure reservations and capture data may offer a stronger strategy for success.

Davis also stresses the importance of minimizing cancellations and no-shows as a priority for restaurants to secure revenues, allocate staff, and optimize operations. Mitigating this using technology like credit card holds to book reservations and deposits, alongside policies that deactivate reservation privileges for repeat offenders, can help hold diners accountable and follow through on expected restaurant revenues.

While balance is important, restaurants need to be adaptable in a place like Canada, where traffic can be impacted by factors like rapid weather changes or unexpected gridlock on the roads. Leveraging reservation technology can help operators be better prepared for what’s to come in the foodservice future.

Customer experience

Today’s customer experience is heavily influenced by technology, from beginning to end, starting before the visit even occurs. Research shows that 28 per cent of Canadians rely on some type of technology or digital media to influence what they eat and where they buy it. “Restaurants need to place themselves on the digital path-to-purchase as consumers either actively search or passively encounter your brand and menu online,” confirms Emma Balment, director, food and beverage group, Ipsos.

Similarly, digital ordering has become a table-stakes option, and even though only 11 per cent of orders may be placed through digital means right now, it has come to be expected and is still a driver of growth going into the remainder of the year. Optimizing this technology will help operators stay ahead of the curve as savvy early adopters.

57 per cent of restaurants have rewards and loyalty apps, and 81 per cent of consumers would join a restaurant loyalty app if it were offered. Loyalty programs have become the most popular way to take a restaurant up on a deal, now accounting for a quarter of all redeemed deals and driving growth well into 2025. This technology benefits the user by offering exclusivity and ease of access, and provides restaurateurs with valuable data on guest preferences, order history, visit stats, and more.

Balment also addresses managing customer fragmentation, as food and beverage trends over the past couple of decades have been characterized by broader themes of diversification, exploration, and personalization. She advises that there is no “one-size-fits-all” offer, and constant menu variety can be dizzying for leading global chains and smaller operations alike, so thoughtful consideration needs to be taken to adopt technology that will enhance the customer experience. Tools like digital menus, signs, and table talkers can more easily display and promote the variety these trends require and ease the burden on servers’ knowledge and upselling.

“The restaurant industry is primarily a very personal one,” Balment cautions. “As with any trend, operators must first ask themselves the degree of participation that is the best fit for their brand and customers.” While over a quarter of restaurant guests are eager to be the first to try out new technology, and with the correct adoption it can enhance operations and guest experiences, research suggests that 58 per cent of Canadian adults feel that technology is hurting their lives and trust for companies using AI is only at 35 per cent.

Before investing in any new technological advancement, restaurant operators need to consider how it adds to the human experience as opposed to replacing it. As challenges abound and competition builds, rushing to adoption may hinder, rather than help, the success of your restaurant.

Sources

1. OpenTable looked at seated diners from online reservations from all active restaurants on the OpenTable platform in Canada, per time slot and party size, from January 1 – April 9, 2025, and compared it to the corresponding period in 2024.
2. An online survey was conducted by PureSpectrum among 1002 Canadian consumers. Within this sample, major cities were weighed for direct comparison. The research fieldwork took place between October 25 and November 4, 2024.