2023 Restaurant Show: 5 Trends We Think We’ll See

Every week we comb through the news to find employment trends affecting the hospitality industry so you don’t have to. This week’s Hospitality in the News topic: trends we’ll see this year at the 2023 Restaurant Show.

5 Trends We’ll See at the 2023 Restaurant Show

It’s May which means we can officially say that the National Restaurant Association Show is this month! In less than three weeks, industry professionals from all around the world will travel to Chicago to be a part of the largest gathering of foodservice professionals in the Western hemisphere.  

LGC has attended the past several shows and we’re thrilled to be there again in 2023. Last year we shared our post-show thoughts on what the key takeaways were. This year we wanted to make a few predictions on what the major trends will be. Here’s what we think we’ll see at the 2023 Restaurant Show: 

Conversations surrounding culture and how it impacts hiring and retention efforts.  

Your company’s culture impacts everything important; customer experience, worker satisfaction, and business growth – to name a few examples. We believe that building a culture strategy will be a main topic of conversation during the different discussions and panels held during the Show.  

An emphasis on take-out options. 

Though dine-in will continue to be popular (especially throughout the summer), restaurants will research and implement ways to improve the take-out process. The goal is not only efficiency, but quality.  

New technologies that encourage customers to make reservations.  

Walk-ins will always be an integral part of building a customer base and that won’t change. But encouraging customers to make reservations can allow for more effective scheduling and less surprises. We’ll likely be seeing new technologies and initiatives launched at the National Restaurant Association Show that motivates (and possibly incentivizes) diners to make reservations before a night out.  

Sustainability continues to be a priority.  

In our 2022 key takeaways, sustainability was a major theme – and that won’t change any time soon. As more people become invested in sustainable and environmentally friendly products, more restaurants will begin to establish a sustainability program.  

Advancements to (and discussions about) restaurant related AI.  

The topic of AI in the hospitality industry has been on the rise, especially over the past year. As it becomes more accessible, we’ll see various restaurant types (quick service, fast casual, fine dining, etc.) trying out what technology works for them.  

We can’t wait to see what’s in store at the 2023 Restaurant Show. Make sure you stop by to see the LGC team at booth 9624 while you’re there!