What should the restaurant of the future focus on? 

What will development look like in 2025? 

Will business be better in 2025 than it was in 2024?

According to a pulse survey fielded in October 2024, 52% of restaurant development + design readers handle their own procurement.

In a pulse survey fielded in October, restaurant development + design magazine readers were split on what they think will be the top restaurant design trend of 2025.

A few trends continue to remain popular, but flexibility and community are driving a lot of design decisions.

The biggest challenge facing rd+d readers and their teams right now is the rising cost of labor and materials, according to 54% of survey respondents, per a pulse survey

As they head into the final quarter of 2024, readers of restaurant development + design were mostly split on how business in 2024 has been compared to their projections

The overall news about inflation seems positive but how that’s impacting the market remains mixed. 

Nearly half (47%) of rd+d readers said their business was exactly as projected it would be so far in 2024.

Inflation is the biggest challenge facing 48% of restaurant development + design readers and their teams.

Survey after survey shows that keeping costs contained is a top priority for restaurant development + design readers.

In a pulse survey fielded in June, just 24% of restaurant development + design readers said 2024 being a presidential election year impacts their business plans.

Adding grab-and-go retail sales areas to restaurants has become increasingly popular but it’s not a must-have — at least not yet.

Drive-thrus have been trending since the pandemic broke out in spring 2020.

One key theme emerged when readers were asked which restaurant design trend they’d like to see go away.

New growth does not have a one-size-fits-all answer.

A whopping 56% of restaurant development + design readers surveyed in April say that labor and staffing represent the biggest challenge they face right now.

Readers say interior renovations and additions were where they’d seen the greatest operator investment in existing units so far in 2024.

35% of readers of restaurant development + design magazine said “poor acoustics” was their number one restaurant design pet peeve.

Open/visible kitchens topped the list of overdone restaurant design trends for 30% of survey respondents.

Readers report the overwhelming majority of their new projects include an outdoor dining component.

With the world in the midst of an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, rd+d asked readers to

While no one aesthetic dominates restaurant spaces, several design concepts continue to move the needle on the projects.

An overwhelming percentage of readers believe that sustainability is important in their new builds and renovation projects.

When asked which technology solution they would like to understand better, 44% of restaurant development + design readers had one solution at the top of their lists.

30% of restaurant development + design readers surveyed noted that their bar projects are getting bigger.

In the wake of the pandemic, the consensus was that economic development was shifting to suburban areas, but that doesn’t seem to hold true for restaurant development +

The majority of rd+d readers said their bottom lines were the same or better than projected so far in 2023, as of an August pulse survey.

Operators are remodeling, according to the latest pulse survey from rd+d. And it’s a split!