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9 Restaurant Industry Blogs to Follow in 2020

woman reading restaurant industry blog

No matter your industry or profession, continuous learning is a key driver of success.

Whether it’s keeping up with news and trends, seeking out expert insights, or learning from others’ experiences, making a point to stay informed will keep you and your business ahead of the curve.

This is particularly true in hospitality, where it can be far too easy to do things the way they’ve always been done. As a result, restaurateurs risk being late to the table (so to speak) when it comes to innovative solutions or competitive advantages that can directly impact your bottom line.

In an ever-changing market (and especially now, during a pandemic), it’s never a bad idea to reevaluate the status quo. One way restaurateurs can keep an eye on where the industry is heading — and how the “other guys” are doing things — is by following restaurant industry blogs. 

Not only do restaurant industry blogs provide valuable tips of the trade, but they offer insights, news, advice, and stories from experts in the field. Bonus: it’s usually in a digestible, easy-to-follow format. 

Whether you’re new to the world of restaurant blogging, or you just need to freshen up your daily reads, here are a few of the best restaurant blogs and publications to follow in 2020. 

1. Foodable 

Foodable is really more than a restaurant industry blog: it’s an on-demand network specifically for foodservice professionals. Foodable boasts the largest collection of videos, coaching courses, and insights to help you improve your business. Its content also includes podcasts, virtual events, and articles, plus a huge index of industry professionals offering tips and advice for those who seek it. 

2. Modern Restaurant Management

This online magazine is the go-to source for restaurateurs. Modern Restaurant Management focuses on all aspects of restaurant management news. You’ll find daily news articles, expert advice, industry trends, profiles of experts in the field, and more, all geared around the restaurant management niche.

3. Open for Business by OpenTable

OpenTable’s restaurant blog offers tons of valuable info devoted to a variety of topics for newcomers and industry veterans alike. There’s great Q&A and video content, with categories like: 

  • Behind the Scenes
  • Day in the Life
  • Get Your Restaurant in Shape
  • How to Open a Restaurant 

4. The Restaurateur by KLR

If you need help with the business side of your restaurant business, KLR has got you covered. The accounting and business firm’s restaurant industry blog, The Restaurateur, specializes in the financial side of the restaurant industry. In other words, the fun stuff — like taxes, insurance, tipping policies, and more.

5. BevSpot Blog

This blog is devoted to the drink-making aspect of restaurants. Topics include culture, management, industry insights and tips, news, and more. Need to design the perfect drink menu? Want to know how to calculate exactly how many drinks are left in those near-empty bottles behind your bar? If you’ve got a drink-related query, BevSpot probably has a post on that.

6. The Restaurant Manifesto

The Restaurant Manifesto is different because it’s a restaurant industry blog devoted to diners rather than industry professionals. It’s all about helping customers improve their dining experience by offering tools to engage with waitstaff in a productive way, which then results in a better overall restaurant experience. Featuring all original content by a variety of industry professionals, content categories include Restaurant Life, Table Talk (server-specific), Dining Tips (geared toward customer etiquette when it comes to building relationships with servers), and The Service Bar.

7. Fast Casual

FastCasual.com has been reporting on the important news, events, and trends in the fast-casual industry since 1997. This restaurant blog is chock-full of resources, including a directory of service providers, slideshow presentations, video content, and industry research. Check out the resources section for great pieces like “Retailers Focus on Curb Appeal: Innovative Window Displays” and “Rebuild. Rebound. Reimagine: Restaurant Industry Steps to Recovery.”

8. Food & Beverage Magazine

Food & Beverage Magazine is a “digizine” offering news and trends covering all aspects of the restaurant and hospitality industry. If you’re more of a listener than a reader, Food & Beverage is right up your alley: they produce five (yes, five) podcasts: “Rogues on the Road,” “The Art Mann Podcast,” “A Fork in the Road,” and “The Hangover,” and “Savage Turner Rock Express,” and a YouTube channel. Subscribe to the newsletter and get the latest updates so you won’t miss the interviews, profiles, and news you need to stay on top of what’s going on in the industry. 

9. FSR Magazine

This print and digital magazine covers just about everything you can think when it comes to full-service restaurants. Its three primary content categories — Food, Operations and Growth — regularly include topics like menu innovation, food safety, marketing, employee management, finance, and much more. FSR also offers free, downloadable reports where you can keep up with changing trends and market conditions that could have a direct impact on your business.

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