BentoBox Releases 2022 Restaurant Trend Report With Insights From Over 14,000 Restaurants

Amid a year of hospitality industry challenges, BentoBox found that restaurants leaned on technology to drive discovery, enable direct consumer relationships, and save $33 million on third-party fees.

NEW YORK, dec. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — BentoBox, the restaurant technology company that partners with over 14,000 restaurants worldwide, today announced its 2022 Restaurant Trend Reporta data-forward look at the trends defining the industry this year.

Amid ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and continued staffing shortages, the Restaurant Trend Report breaks down how the industry has evolved over the past year and what’s coming in 2023. Here are this year’s leading trends:

  1. Cost pressures escalated across the board. While consumers returned to in-house dining, restaurants struggled to meet demand amid rising costs in both food and labor.

  • To combat labor shortages, 2022 saw a 9% increase in job postings and recruitment efforts on BentoBox websites from 2021.

  • While 91% of restaurants increased prices this year, 85% still report being less profitable than pre-pandemic.

Restaurant technology helped restaurants drive high-margin revenue. In search of clever solutions, restaurants leveraged technology such as email marketing and direct e-commerce to tap into repeat business with low acquisition costs.

  • Revenue from loyalty program promotions increased by 74% year-over-year. In total, repeat customers account for 35% of online orders, up from 29% in 2021.

  • BentoBox also found that revenue from digital gift cards increased by 9% in 2022. The average online gift card sold for $120but diners redeemed just 73% of that amount, with restaurants keeping the difference.

Diners used search engines and websites more than third-party apps. When a diner viewed a new restaurant this past year, there was a 75% chance their journey passed through the restaurant’s website.

  • Search Engines and Websites were the top two channels for finding new restaurants, outpacing Social Media and Third-Party Apps.

  • 68% of diners age 40 and under were more likely to find new restaurants using the search engines they use daily than diners 41 and over.

  • Nearly half of adult diners did not use third-party reservation platforms to discover new restaurants.

Online ordering became part of the new normal. Once a lifeline amid COVID-19, online ordering sustained its momentum in 2022.

  • BentoBox saw an 18% increase in restaurants offering direct online ordering.

  • Restaurants that offered direct-to-consumer delivery through BentoBox saved $33 million on third-party fees.

  • As for tipping habits, only 88% of diners tipped on delivery, while 63% opted to leave a tip on pickup orders.

  • BentoBox found the three states with the best tippers to be Maine, Kentuckyand Delawarewith the three worst states for tipping being Oklahoma, Georgianand Texas.

In-person dining returned. Heading into the second full year of the recovery, reservations are in demand again and operators are leveraging in-person events as a valuable revenue channel.

  • The data showed an 84% increase in online ticketed event sales, pointing to a strong return to in-person experiences.

  • Customers are comfortable dining indoors again, with reported comfort levels higher and Google searches for “restaurant COVID” terms lower than any other time since the pandemic.

visit 2022restaurants.com to access the full report and read about emerging trends to watch for in 2023 surrounding labor costs, consumer interest, social media usage, and more. For additional information on BentoBox’s 2022 Restaurant Trend Report, please contact [email protected].

About BentoBox

The BentoBox Marketing and Commerce Platform delivers a seamless guest experience dedicated to accelerating growth and helping restaurants thrive. BentoBox empowers modern restaurants to build their online presence, engage with diners, diversify revenue streams and increase operational efficiency. To do so, the platform includes products such as websites, ordering (online ordering, pre-order & catering, gift cards, merchandise, tickets), events management, and marketing tools.

Over 14,000 restaurants worldwide rely on BentoBox as their digital front door. BentoBox is trusted and loved by hospitality groups such as José Andrés’s ThinkFoodGroup and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group and independent restaurants including Emmy Squared, Suerte, and The Meatball Shop.

Contact:
[email protected]

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SOURCE BentoBox

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Disgraceful Fine Dining Restaurant Willows Inn Permanently Closes

More than a year after allegations of a toxic workplace culture surfaced, one of America’s (seemingly) most idyllic restaurants has closed. The Willows Inn property, one inspiration for the recent chef-y horror film The Menus, has been donated to a non-profit, The Seattle Times reported on Monday.

Since the restaurant opened on Lummi Island in 2010, a flood of diners from around the world made the two-hour drive and ferry ride from Seattle, Washington, for a taste of its rustic-chic menu and lush surroundings. But over the past five years, the Willows Inn has faced a series of lawsuits, plus an April 2021 New York Times investigation outlining accusations of wage theft, sexual harassment, and racist bullying. Despite the allegations, droves of employee resignations, and various protests by locals, the restaurant managed to stay open until November of this year, finally serving its last meal the week before Thanksgiving.

The new owner of the property, which is valued at an estimated $2 million, is the Christian nonprofit Lighthouse Mission Ministries, located in the nearby city of Bellingham. Previous owners Tim and Marcia McEvoy donated the sprawling hotel, farm, and dining room to the social services organization, which primarily seeks to end homelessness, according to The Seattle Times. It’s still unclear if and when the Mission will seek a new owner for the property, but the sale could theoretically raise a lot of money for its work. “It’s too early to know if a potential new owner would want to operate the restaurant and hotel rooms in a similar manner,” the organization said in a statement.

The restaurant gained esteem in its early years, mostly for its hyperlocal menu from former Noma chef Blaine Wetzel, which earned rave reviews on virtually every national best-of restaurant list (including a 2013 mention by Bon Apétit). Yet the Willows Inn has been clouded in controversy for the past half-decade. Here are some of the reasons why:

  • In 2017, the restaurant was ordered to pay $149,000 in damages and unpaid wages to kitchen employees. According to a 2017 Eater report, the Inn required its entry-level employees to work a one-month long unpaid trial. Once hired, they were allegedly paid daily rates as low as $50 with no overtime and 14-hour shifts.
  • In early 2021, the restaurant paid $600,000 to settle a class action lawsuit riddled with similar accusations. At the time, Wetzel denied any wrongdoing.
  • Later that same year, a New York Times investigation uncovered allegations from 35 employees of verbal and sexual harassment, brutal 16- to 18-hour days, and sexist and racist bullying by Wetzel and manager Reid Johnson. According to the Times, workers accused Wetzel of pressuring young female employees “to drink alcohol, use illegal drugs and have sex with male kitchen staff members and visiting chefs.” The piece also alleged that the restaurant was passing off store-bought ingredients as being island-harvested. The owners denied the accusations then; the resulting class-action lawsuit, featuring 137 former employees, was settled this year for $1.37 million.
  • According to The Seattle Times, the Willows Inn also faced three other individual civil cases of over wage theft and wrongful termination this year. the New York Times reports that those have since been resolved.
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Non-alcoholic cocktails to give you holiday cheer without the buzz

The holiday season comes with plenty of festivities every year — many of which involve alcohol.

“I think during the holidays, there are so many parties and dinners and gatherings for friends and family so obviously alcohol is everywhere,” says Hilary Sheinbaum, author of “The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month.”

For whatever reason you or your friends choose not to consume alcohol (and, really, whose business is it anyway?), it’s nice to have drink options other than soda at holiday get togethers.

So, if you’re not drinking, looking to cut back or just don’t feel like having alcohol there are plenty of cocktails that can satisfy the festive-cup-quota without the buzz.

USA TODAY has gathered a few fun, holiday-themed NA cocktails that you can add to your holiday spread.

How sober are these ‘sober’ drinks? And why are they so popular?

Forget ‘Dry January’:Alcohol-free beer, wine, cocktails are available year round and are gaining popularity

Holiday gone sour

Holiday gone sour

Sheinbaum has a few cocktails of her own up her sleeve this holiday season. One includes sparkling water sweetened with simple syrup, lime juice and rosemary that sounds oh-so-refreshing for holiday functions.

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces of water or sparkling water
  • .5 ounces of simple syrup
  • 2 ounces of lime juice
  • Ice
  • Rosemary sprigs (for garnish)

Instructions:

  1. Pour simple syrup into water, stir.
  2. Pour lime juice into the simple syrup water mixture, stir.
  3. Pour contents into a rock glass over ice.
  4. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.
  5. Enjoy!

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Sangria sweaters

Sangria sweaters

This recipe is fruity and fun and makes a few drinks.

Ingredients:

  • 16 ounces of sparkling white grape juice
  • 16 ounces ginger beer
  • Ice
  • Choice of garnishes, including:
    • 1/4 pineapple, peeled, cut into wedges
    • 1/2 small orange, cut into wedges
    • 1 passionfruit, quartered
    • 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
    • Pomegranate seeds
    • Strawberries, sliced
    • Red and White grapes
    • Apple slices

Instructions:

  1. Pour equal amounts of juice and ginger beer in a pitcher.
  2. Stir.
  3. Serve over ice in festive glassware (or in a wine glass).
  4. Top with your choice of garnishes.
  5. Steer back and enjoy!

Makes: 4 NA cocktails.

Lyre’s Apertif

Lyre's Apertif

Mixer brand Fever Tree shared this NA cocktail recipe with USA TODAY from its Fever-Tree Easy Mixing Recipe Book.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces of Lyre’s Apéritif Dry
  • 6.8 ounces Fever-Tree Mediterranean Tonic Water​
  • 3 lemon wedges
  • Thyme sprigs, for garnish​

​Instructions:

  1. Pour the Lyre’s Apéritif Dry into a highball glass filled with ice cubes.
  2. Squeeze over and then drop in the lemon wedges.
  3. Top off with the tonic water.
  4. Garnish with a thyme sprig.

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Hot Non-Ginger Toddy

Hot Non-Ginger Toddy

Fever Tree shared a hot cocktail to warm party-attendees featuring hot apple cider, honey and ginger beer.

Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces of hot apple cider
  • .5 ounces of honey
  • 1 ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Top with Fever-Tree ginger beer (or ginger beer of your choice)
  • Garnish with dusted apple slices and cinnamon stick

Instructions:

  1. Combine Hot cider, lemon juice and honey syrup in the mug.
  2. Top with Fever-Tree Ginger Beer.
  3. Garnish with an apple fan & cinnamon stick.

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

The Lyre & The Blood Orange

The Lyre & The Blood Orange

Fever-Tree shared another recipe for “The Lyre & The Blood Orange” crafted by Rhett Hornberger of La Cuevita in Los Angeles.

Ingredients:

  • 1.5 ounces of Lyre’s AM Whiskey
  • .75 ounces of lemon juice
  • .75 ounces Liquid Alchemist Blood Orange Syrup
  • Fever-Tree’s Blood Orange Ginger Beer

Instructions:

  1. Shake ingredients in a shaker.
  2. Pour over ice in a Collins glass.
  3. Top with Fever-Tree’s Blood Orange Ginger Beer.
  4. Garnish with a blood orange half wheel.

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Mulled Jukes 6

Mulled Jukes 6

Jukes Cordialities, which sells apple cider-vinegar based non-alcoholic beverages that are meant to taste similar to wine, provided a cocktail made with Jukes 6, to USA TODAY.

Jukes 6 has a blackcurrant and blackberry base combined with layers of other red fruits including strawberries, plums and raspberries. When mixed with hot water and orange, the drink is meant to be sipped like a mulled wine.

Ingredients:

  • .5 ounces of Jukes 6, approximately half the bottle
  • 8 ounces of hot water
  • 1 slice of fresh or dried orange, for garnish

Instructions:

  1. Pour half a bottle of Jukes 6 – The Dark Red – into your favorite mug.
  2. Top with hot water.
  3. Garnish with a slice of fresh or dried orange and enjoy!

Makes: 1 NA cocktail.

Check out these recipes to up your kitchen game:

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