As one year ends and another begins, it’s time to look toward trends reshaping the restaurant industry. Keeping up with this changing landscape is, after all, essential to survival. You may not know that oysters have gone viral on social media, but your competitor down the street does. It’s the reason they’re promoting oysters Rockefeller one day and baked oysters with Andouille cream the next.
It may also be the reason their parking lot is full most nights.
So, let’s dive into the trending food and operational forecasts for 2025 as we set our sights on a new and lucrative year.
The Smaller Footprint
As restaurants look to expand in the coming year, many are searching for a smaller footprint than previous incarnations. Portillo’s, known for their famous Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and shakes, steered clear of the value wars that impacted 2024.
Instead, they’re leaning toward a smaller footprint. QSR reported on Portillo’s Restaurant of the Future, a design incorporating the brand’s usual elements into a 6,250-square-foot restaurant. These spaces are over 1,000 square feet smaller than their current units.
CEO Michael Osanloo said, “This more efficient prototype, which will be the model for all our 2025 builds, enables us to optimize our investment while delivering the same great Portillo’s experience.”
The Extremely Small Footprint
There’s a new kid in town, and it’s called the micro restaurant. It’s actually not even a restaurant as it pertains to four walls and a commercial kitchen. This trend is possible due to new laws allowing people to operate mini restaurants out of their homes.
An example is Los Angeles County, where the Department of Public Health deemed aspiring home cooks could sell their meals to the public. Called the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation, it’s a program that focuses on helping home cooks build a business and pursue their culinary passions.
Those interested can attend a free 8-week COOK Academy online program, which includes menu pricing, brand promotion, business finances, and more. Following graduation, participants receive a $3,000 grant to help them start or scale their home culinary enterprise.
Once they pass a health and safety inspection, they can sell a maximum of 30 meals a day and earn, at the most, $100,000.
Artificial Intelligence
AI continues to make ground in the restaurant industry. CaliExpress opened in 2024, laying claim to the world’s first fully AI-powered, autonomous restaurant. Wearing the chef’s hat is Flippy, the robotic hamburger cook.
However, in 2025, the trend is leaning away from robots and toward impactful, practical adoption of AI. Technologies that support and streamline operations while enhancing the customer experience are expected to accelerate rapidly across the industry.
Unique Foods and Flavor Combinations
Menus have adapted as diners seek more unique experiences. Somewhere between the nostalgia of the past and the drive to experience the unusual lies the current consumer. Some food trends reshaping the year to come include global influences and bold innovation on once-standard fare, such as eggs and organ meats.
The elevated egg may take on new flavors and appearances, from unusual takes on ajitama or ramen eggs soaked in various soy marinades to renditions of the Onsen tamago egg, originally slowly cooked in Onsen’s hot spring waters in Japan. Keep in mind that the price of eggs rose 8.2% in November and may continue to climb if the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, continues.
Organ meat, or offal, is a staple in many cultures, which see it as a delicacy. Others believe it is a more sustainable practice and, by eating every part of an animal, you honor its existence, making the most of the life it gave for your sustenance. The liver, intestines, brain, and heart are common organ meats used in dishes worldwide.
According to TasteAtlas, some of the top offal dishes around the world include Peru’s anticuchos de corazon, or beef heart skewers. The Turkish and Greek versions of kokorec or kokoretsi include lamb offal like kidneys, hearts, and lungs.
When redefining your menu, it’s important to stay conscious of the customer’s desire for authenticity. It’s about elevating the experience while remaining true to your brand’s identity and voice.
The Promise of a Modest Recovery
The end of 2024 shows some promising trends. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, restaurant spending overcame grocery shopping, with the market share reaching 56.4% in October.
Lower inflation and interest rates are expected to counter consumers’ reconsideration of how they use their disposable income. Fortunately, going out to eat is expected to continue to be a priority. R.J. Hottovy, Placer.ai’s head of analytical research, suggested cautious optimism was the key for 2025.
At Emerging Concepts, we’re excited to continue to be a part of this amazing industry that sustains, delights, and captures the hearts of our guests. We wish you all an incredible end to 2024 and a bright beginning to what we hope will be one of your best years yet.
