7 restaurant operations trends to improve sales in 2025

Think of when you started working at a restaurant before becoming an owner. Things looked a lot different. And they changed fast.

Your point-of-sale (POS) register looks slimmer—maybe it’s even a tablet. 

Customers now order delivery from apps on their phones. 

To add more pressure, customers want more ways to get their food without contact, such as through online payments and easy pickups.

These changes remind you why keeping up with trends is so important. It doesn’t mean chasing short-lived popular ideas—we’re talking about preparing your restaurant for the future by taking small but strategic steps.

Here you’ll learn the top trends for 2025. But more importantly, we’ll show you how to increase sales, eliminate most management stress, and save time as an owner through one of the biggest long-term trends for restaurateurs. It’s pretty easy to get started, too, which goes a long way when you’re juggling restaurant operations.

So buckle up for the ride because we’ll discuss the most exciting, cost-saving, and promising trends you’ll want to plan for to improve operations for less stress and more cash. 

Why restaurant operations are evolving

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If restaurants didn’t evolve over time, cooks would still be starting fires in clay ovens with flint and steel. Imagine what operations would look like in that environment—people would be waiting for hours for their food.

Thankfully, restaurant owners have continuously evolved with technology and restaurant operations software to provide high-quality food and service to make their customers happy and keep their teams content.

The issue is that you’re facing some of the biggest restaurant challenges in history. Inflation has made it hard to sell food at the price point you need to make a profit, not to mention tighter customer budgets. Also, labor shortages have made it nearly impossible to find staffing to produce higher food quality, with great service, at fast speeds. 

Yet food sales continue to increase. If you can solve these obstacles, you can grow your restaurant by making more sales, keeping your employees, and relying on a smaller team.

Automation has helped battle these challenges, like outsourcing takeout orders to a partner using the latest AI. That’s why Square reported an outstanding 100% agreement in restaurant owner surveys that automation technologies have improved their operations. It’s also why 54% of owners plan to invest in more automation tools.

Key operation trends shaping restaurants in 2025

If you can take orders and produce food faster, you save costs and increase customer satisfaction.

According to Deloitte, 40% of takeout callers want to order less-expensive food, whereas 15% of customers want higher quality too. In the real world, that’s impossible—restaurant owners aren’t magicians, and they’re working with thin margins already. But there’s a way to overcome those customer expectations.

If your team can produce food and take orders faster, they can meet customer demands. Hello, automation! For example, tech can minimize your dependence on a large front-of-house desk staff to take orders. Partners like Tarro use AI-powered human representatives to answer calls in real time: three seconds or less, around the clock, every day.

That’s why, in the same Deloitte study, researchers found that customers between the ages of 18 and 38 are likely to become repeat customers if the restaurant uses automation tech. This is a big sign that, over time, automation will become a top customer expectation.

Thanks to the post-pandemic era of contactless interactions, more trends are bubbling up. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that if owners want their restaurants to succeed, they must adapt. The best practices in restaurant operations always include evaluating trends and adopting the ones that can improve your restaurant. Below are a few trends for 2025:

1. Robotic automation in kitchens

While many robotic systems are currently used in large restaurant chains, this trend continues to grow and will one day become part of the regular small-business restaurant. Automation can serve dishes, do food preparation, and cook food—all to save on labor and lower costs.

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Sweetgreen, a salad restaurant, was one of the early businesses to use machines to serve food. Using a “robotic makeline,” the restaurant can serve 500 bowls an hour.

While the demand hasn’t been that high yet, the owner plans to test it in more dense neighborhoods, stating, “We do expect a sales lift in restaurants.” The restaurant reported 10% higher tickets during its testing, signaling that customers enjoy the automation.

As robotic automation gets cheaper, watch out for opportunities to incorporate new tech for automated prepping, packaging, and other smaller back-of-house tasks.

2. Contactless payments and self-ordering

After the pandemic, as worries about getting sick diminished, customers increasingly favored mobile ordering and contactless payment. It was convenient, and the habit stuck, much like when kids taste sugar for the first time.

In the U.S., for example, more than half of customers want a contactless payment experience. If a restaurant can’t meet that demand, it discourages over half its customers. That can’t happen.

That’s why restaurant owners are finding ways to offer contactless experiences. Some provide mobile apps, online ordering, and other self-ordering solutions.

One great way to start immediately is by tapping into current customer habits.

For instance, you can outsource the takeout ordering experience so that when a customer calls, a dedicated representative answers the phone, walks through the menu with the customer, and takes their order.

With a partner like Tarro, customers can place phone orders for pickup and even delivery. Tarro chooses a driver and handles the delivery so customers get a fully contactless experience. Your kitchen operations become easier and more streamlined when takeout orders are all taken care of for you—and all this while improving your bottom line.

3. Data-driven personalization

People are getting more used to personalization thanks to new habits formed by social media algorithms or customizations on streaming services like Netflix. And it’s overflowing into all areas of life—even in the food customers order.

In a 2024 customer service study, researchers found that 81% of customers preferred businesses offering personalized experiences. Shep Hyken, a customer service and experience expert, told Forbes, “Customers want convenience, and part of that is being able to connect with a brand the way they want to connect.”

Restaurant owners can use data by creating user profiles or using their POS system to keep track of their customers.

It’s easy to get started, even with limited resources. When you use Tarro, for instance, a dedicated representative can help customize menu items at a customer’s request. If there’s an ingredient the customer wants to add or remove, the rep can communicate that change to your restaurant with a 99.5% order accuracy.  

4. Ghost kitchens and virtual brands

Before the pandemic, few had ever heard of a ghost kitchen, which is a restaurant that prepares food for deliveries instead of being a physical place people can walk into. Now, it’s become a popular and even trendy concept for restaurants and customers.

This concept has opened the door for traditional restaurants to lean more on delivery and create virtual brands.

For example, if you have a Chinese takeout restaurant but want to add a pizza oven to the kitchen and start serving pizza, you could create a virtual brand. Your “pizza restaurant” would exist online through a website, social media platforms, and ads, and when someone orders from the pizza restaurant, the same kitchen staff cooks the food.

A dedicated phone ordering food service can manage those takeout orders so customers get their orders taken and delivered with a personal, professional restaurant experience.

Restaurants don’t have to depend on third-party delivery apps like Uber Eats that eat into margins. Instead, owners can choose a dedicated partner like Tarro to handle all their deliveries. This gives them better margins and more control over the experience.

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5. Employee well-being and retention

Let’s count how many headaches you’ve gotten from your team:

1. Staff members burning out 
2. Team members not showing up for the shift
3. New employees leaving after a few weeks

Maybe we should stop counting...or you’ll get another headache. 

Case in point: restaurants *cough* people *cough* aren’t easy to manage. Toast reports an average annual turnover of 79.6% in the restaurant industry—that’s painful for staff management.

But part of that challenge is we don’t set restaurant workers up for success. Restaurants have to relieve the strain in the workplace.

The staff in the kitchen hears the phone ringing constantly as they knock out order after order. The restaurant employees up front juggle phone calls while serving the customer line in front of them and handling order pickups. It’s chaotic, and it’s no wonder the pressure leads to burnout.

Restaurant technology removes those strains in the work environment, which helps improve restaurant operations, food safety, and sales.

Employees who don’t need to worry about answering the phone can focus on the tasks and people in front of them. There’s less pressure, and they’re much happier, which leads to higher employee retention and improved customer service.

6. Sustainability and green operations

How restaurants treat the environment has become a top concern for customers. Restaurant Business reports that 83% of customers believe sustainability is part of a business’s responsibility.

Throughout 2025 and beyond, this trend continues to become an essential factor for customer loyalty.

Today, restaurants adopt environmentally friendly practices, such as finding more ways to reduce food waste through energy-efficient equipment, like-minded suppliers, sourcing locally, and reducing operational costs.

One key area is increasing order accuracy. 

The more accurate an order, the less likely you’ll have to throw away food because of an error. You can even get rid of garnishes that customers would throw away themselves.

Since an outsourcing partner can focus entirely on takeout orders, you receive more personalized orders. This prevents errors, and since there’s less waste, overall food costs are lowered.

7. AI-powered phone ordering and delivery

One of the most popular and effective trends is restaurants choosing partners with AI technologies to process phone orders and deliveries.

For example, a partner like Tarro uses AI tech to answer multiple calls simultaneously, 24/7, 365 days a year. You don’t miss phone calls, which means you automatically begin capturing sales you would’ve missed before.

Plus, Tarro’s professionals speak both English and Spanish. They can walk customers through orders, offer personalizations, and create a positive customer experience. If the customer wants delivery, that’s taken care of, too.

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Outsourcing phone orders and deliveries with technology partners means:

• Saved labor costs: You don’t need as many workers or as many with high English proficiency at the front desk.
• More sales: The partner picks up more calls, which means more sales. As customers get used to seamless experiences, they’ll order more, too.
• Fewer headaches: Thanks to outsourcing, you don’t have to rely as much on as many restaurant staff, and your team works better with fewer responsibilities.
• Higher margins: With saved labor costs and your delivery service operated by the outsourcing partner, you can keep more revenue for yourself.
• More time for you: You can finally take that vacation or day off. Outsourcing alleviates your day-to-day tasks, and with a better retention rate, you can rely on employees you already have.

Restaurants can outsource phone orders and delivery, no matter their budget. Find out how you can start improving restaurant management operations below.

Preparing for the future of restaurant operations with Tarro

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These restaurant operations trends are all helpful for the future of your restaurant. Some are still developing, and others you can access today.

Your restaurant can choose an outsourcing partner that can handle takeout orders and delivery so you can increase sales, margins, and customer satisfaction and keep your employees happy.

Tarro is the all-in-one solution for your takeout orders. When customers call, they speak to a customer service representative immediately. Customers can place an order and ask detailed questions about the dishes.

The best part is that you only pay when Tarro processes an order. It’s an affordable way to increase sales, relieve stress, and streamline restaurant operations. When you choose Tarro, you can:

• Pay as you go for flexibility
• Pay zero setup fees
• Increase revenue by 5% to 20%

Book a call today to learn how to improve restaurant operations and adapt your restaurant for the future. With automation and professional outsourcing services, you can increase sales, profit margins, and new customers without headaches.

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