2026 Independent Restaurant Profit Outlook
Costs are high, traffic is unpredictable, and price increases are hitting a wall. Here’s how operators will protect profit in 2026—and what writers and analysts should watch.
Heart & Hustle
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Your Restaurant Holiday Checklist
Grow profits and happiness this holiday season with six simple tips. Create a warm, efficient space for guests and staff, and keep customers coming back.
How to Make a Menu for Your Restaurant (and make it profitable)
Learn the art and science of restaurant menu creation, from concept to setting profitable prices and expert design tips.
How to Schedule Restaurant Staff: 8 Tips for Restaurant Managers
Creating and communicating a restaurant schedule can take hours out of your day. But with the right strategies, it doesn't have to.
How Restaurant Loans Work—And How to Find the Right One for Your Business
Learn how restaurant loans work and discover easier funding options to grow your business.
SpotOn Ranked #1 Restaurant POS by G2 for Fall 2025, Outperforming Toast Where It Matters Most
Restaurants rated SpotOn higher than Toast in major categories, cementing SpotOn as the go-to tech partner for independent operators
How to Create Online Ordering for Your Restaurant
Make money on online orders. Learn how to keep your profits, increase online orders, control order flow, and capture guest data—without per-order commissions.
How to Build a Restaurant Tech Stack Every Operator Needs to Thrive
Learn how to build a restaurant tech stack that works together to streamline operations and grow your business.
Restaurant SEO: A Beginner-Friendly Guide To Getting Found Online and Growing Your Customer Base
Learn how to use restaurant SEO to attract more local customers, boost online visibility, and grow your business—without paying for ads.
How to Read a Restaurant P&L (Profit and Loss) Statement + Free Template
Assess the financial health of your restaurant. Our P&L template brings together your sales and costs to calculate your profit.
Menu Engineering: Free Worksheet + Tips for a More Profitable Menu
Find out how popular and profitable your menu items are with our menu engineering matrix. Then learn how to modify your menu for more sales.
Restaurant Profit Margin: 7 Ways To Actually Make Your Operation More Profitable
Running a more efficient restaurant is the key to higher margins. Learn how to lower costs and increase revenue with solutions for your hospitality business.
5 Ways Your Restaurant Branding Can Stand Out in a Saturated Market
A lot goes into a great first impression. Here’s how you can create a restaurant brand that new and loyal guests identify with.
6 Ways to Increase Restaurant Revenue
Making money in restaurants is hard. Here are some ways to reach profitability.
Turning the Corner: How to Manage a Restaurant (As a Restaurant Owner)
Former Restaurant Owner and Chef Scott Youkilis shares his secrets on how to successfully manage a restaurant.
#TiptheRealMVPs Winner Serves up Pit Beef and Full Bellies
How are Cruiser's Pit Beef owners Darrell and Jen planning to use the $5,600 they won? By doing what they do best and keeping it simple: charcoal, water, and beef.
Christian Suarez: Providing Technical—and Human—Support
People only call Christian Suarez when they’re frustrated and she’s perfectly fine with that. In fact, she welcomes it. As a SpotOn Customer Support Specialist [https://www.spoton.com/careers/], Christian’s job is to solve issues. All tech has issues. Whether someone is having a difficult time...
SpotOn Named a Preferred Technology Partner of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association
MRLA recognizes SpotOn as a leading technology provider to offer insights and solutions to Michigan entrepreneurs looking to take their hospitality businesses to the next level.
How to Leverage Dentist Reviews to Grow Your Practice
While patient referrals were once the tried-and-true method to grow your dental practice, people today are increasingly looking at online reviews to guide them in finding a new practitioner. Tech-savvy patients are sharing their experiences on sites such as Google, Facebook, and Yelp, and their words can have a major...
SpotOn Sponsors Multiple-Time Champion Driver Derek Griffith for a Second Season
Partnership emphasizes the heart and hustle needed to succeed in racing and business.
The Real MVPs of “The Big Game”
Every year during “The Big Game,” companies spend billions of dollars on advertising. And if this year’s ad lineup is anything like the last, we will probably hear a lot about the value of small businesses—especially restaurants. I think it’s great that these ads might provide viewers...
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