Restaurant Profitability Secrets: How Leaders Are Managing Costs in 2025

With tariffs hitting many aspects of the U.S. supply chain, managing costs remains a top priority. What strategies and technologies are you using to boost profitability in 2025?

Comeaux: One of the most effective strategies is menu simplification. By narrowing our menu to focus on our top-performing items, we’ve reduced food waste, streamlined kitchen operations, and improved efficiency—all while keeping our guests happy with the dishes they love most.

On the technology side, inventory management tools are a game changer. These systems help us track ingredient usage in real-time, optimize ordering, and minimize overstocking, which directly impacts our bottom line.

Labor management software is another area where operators can see real savings. Advanced tools help us schedule smarter, reduce overtime, and improve productivity. It’s all about getting the right people in the right roles at the right time.

Automation is also a key focus. Technologies like automated prep systems and digital kitchen boards not only save time but also improve consistency, which reduces costly errors and speeds up service.

Finally, operators shouldn’t overlook the value of data-driven decision-making. From analyzing sales trends to identifying the most profitable menu items, data can help us make better decisions and focus resources where they’ll have the greatest impact.

Connolly: To better manage costs to improve profitability, restaurant operators need to focus on creating efficiencies to reduce labor costs, reducing waste and theft, simplifying menus, and leveraging purchasing power.

Kauffmann: Leveraging AI technology to manage inventory and pricing will be key to cost management moving forward.

Mashin: Our focus in 2025 is on integrating AI wherever possible to enhance operational efficiency and customer experience. We’re prioritizing tools that automate routine tasks, like order-taking and customer service, to free up staff so they can concentrate on in-store hospitality. 

Petrovic:  Restaurants should focus on automation, integration and intelligence. A unified commerce platform helps streamline operations across channels, ensuring a consistent and seamless guest experience. With an all-in-one system, operators no longer have to manage disconnected platforms, inconsistent promotions or fragmented data. A unified approach delivers real-time visibility, a single source of truth and the agility to quickly meet evolving guest expectations.

A platform strategy is the best enabler of easier and simpler integrations, unified data across all touchpoints and faster adoption of innovation. The POS, traditionally the central source for all restaurant management, is fast becoming just one of many endpoints in the greater restaurant technology ecosystem—on equal footing with kiosks or online ordering applications. The transaction engine that fuels all endpoints is moving outside of the POS to reside in the cloud, driving singular views of the guest and the check no matter where the guest interaction takes place.

With the rise of data collection and the push for personalization, which technologies should restaurants be focusing on to meet guest expectations?

Comeaux: First and foremost, a robust CRM system is essential. It allows us to track guest preferences, order history, and even feedback, so we can engage with them on a more personal level—whether that’s through targeted offers, birthday rewards, or reminders about their favorite menu items. Second, AI-powered marketing tools are a game changer. They help us analyze data in real-time and deliver personalized promotions to the right people at the right time. For example, we can send a deal on their go-to pizza right when we know they’re most likely to order. Third, restaurants should invest in loyalty programs that go beyond just earning points. Guests want to feel valued, so programs that offer unique rewards, insider perks, or even unexpected surprises can build lasting loyalty and keep them coming back. Finally, social listening and engagement tools are key for understanding what guests are saying about your brand and responding in real-time. Whether it’s engaging with a happy customer who shared their experience or quickly addressing a concern, these tools help strengthen the relationship with our audience.At the end of the day, it’s not just about collecting data—it’s about using it to make your guests feel seen and appreciated. For Crust Pizza, that means combining the power of technology with the personal touch that defines our brand.

Connolly: Mobile technologies. Mobile devices are typically the first or go-to resource people turn to because they always have their smart phones with them or within arm's reach.

Holman: Anything having to do with employee training.

Petrovic:  Restaurants benefit most from a single platform that integrates loyalty, POS-connected tools and digital ordering—all linked to a centralized guest profile. The goal is to create a unified view of the guest across dine-in, takeout, delivery and kiosk experiences. When transactional behavior and preferences are tied to customer data, personalization becomes far more than using a name—it becomes meaningful, consistent and loyalty-driving.

Many brands will need to rethink their underlying tech stack to evaluate if they are set up for future success in driving a truly personalized, differentiated experience. Recent years have revealed that many restaurants' technical underpinnings weren't well-suited for fast adoption of needed capabilities (e.g., mobile ordering, curbside pickup), leading to disjointed guest experiences. Going forward, the brands that will thrive will be those that digitally transform their restaurants to better own a differentiated and meaningful guest experience.

Which technology trend or solution is overhyped and why?

Comeaux: Fully autonomous operations. There’s a lot of buzz around robots and AI taking over every aspect of a restaurant, but the truth is, dining is as much about human connection as it is about the food. Sure, automation has its place in handling repetitive tasks or improving efficiency, but the heart of a great restaurant experience is still personal interaction. Guests want to feel welcomed, noticed, and cared for—that’s something a machine just can’t replicate.

Another area I think gets overblown is when restaurants chase flashy tech—like virtual reality or blockchain—without a clear purpose. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to look innovative, but if the technology doesn’t solve a real problem or add value for guests, it ends up being more of a gimmick than a game-changer.

At Crust Pizza, we’re careful to prioritize tech that actually makes a difference, whether it’s streamlining operations, improving the guest experience, or helping our team work more effectively. At the end of the day, technology should support what makes your brand special—not distract from it.

Connolly: Artificial intelligence and robotics are overhyped right now because of their limited, present-day capabilities and early-stage adoptions within the restaurant industry. This will undoubtedly change in the not-too-distant future. As they become more sophisticated and capable, they will be viewed as disruptors, but at the present moment, people are overhyping their capabilities and the benefits one can anticipate achieving from them.

Holman:  AI, because most restaurant companies don't yet have their data in the condition necessary to make AI a worthwhile investment.

Kauffman:The most overrated are robot servers or any robotics that attempt to replace human activities instead of supporting human activities.

Which aspects of restaurant operations remain underserved by current technology solutions?

Connolly: Data security continues to be a weakness for the restaurant industry.  Technology solutions are available, but they are not always adopted or implemented effectively.  Regrettably, the restaurant industry continues to be one of the most vulnerable for data breaches.

Holman: Network infrastructure and data analytics.

Hurr:  AI has long way to grow to support the restaurant industry- from leveraging it to assist with order taking, to ensuring order accuracy, to managing menus by promoting LTO's or specials based on inventory, to updating 3PD and online menus based on availability.

Petrovic:  There are many exciting innovations in the restaurant space, including leveraging AI in new ways at the drive-thru, counter or kitchen (e.g., advanced predictive analytics for prep and cooking) and greater recognition and personalization at the individual guest level (e.g., digital menu boards serving preferred orders automatically). Brands will also look to incorporate automation into their operations to achieve greater efficiencies and cost savings (e.g., robotics). However, a core component to ensuring all of this works smoothly is having a foundational tech strategy that enables these capabilities.

Technology that simplifies operations—such as unified commerce platforms—is often underrated. These solutions form the backbone for automation, real-time visibility and personalization at scale. At NCR Voyix, we see tremendous value in helping restaurants unify their front-of-house, back-of-house and digital systems to reduce complexity, improve efficiency and build a foundation for scalable growth. While Aloha Cloud is a key component, it serves as an ordering endpoint within the broader commerce platform offered by NCR Voyix.