The State of the Full Service Restaurant Industry [Infographic]

Your front of house is buzzing with activity, your servers are weaving through tables to bring guests their dishes, your bussers are cleaning surfaces with fervor, your cooks are speaking in their own language as they toil over the stove, and your bartenders are chatting and laughing with customers as they mix drinks. 

It’s a normal week at your full-service restaurant. 

… Or is it? 

Toast’s latest report, By the Numbers: A Week In the Life of a Full-Service Restaurant, studied over 700 bars, fine dining, and casual dining restaurants for one week to analyze what sells the most and why. Do full-service restaurants serve more appetizers, desserts, or drinks? Are some menu items more popular than others? What are guests ordering in-house the most? And what’s more important: focusing on table turn time, or letting guests lounge at their table in the hopes that they’ll order more food?

With full-service restaurant management as complicated as it is, restaurant managers can use this data to inform their restaurant business strategy. Want a snapshot of a week in the life of a full-service restaurant? Read on, and download the full report below. 

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Full-Service Restaurant Industry Data

Take a closer look at these statistics, and download the full report to see even more.

Restaurant Menu Items Sold

• 62% is food, 15% is non-alcoholic drinks, and 23% is alcohol

Extra $$$ With Menu Items on The Check 

• With appetizers, alcohol, and dessert on a single guest’s check, the guest will spend on average $2.34 extra dollars per minute. That’s the difference between a guest staying 30 minutes and spending $100 without appetizers, alcohol, and dessert, and a guest staying the same amount of time and spending $170 with those items! 

Check Size vs. Dining Duration 

• With alcohol, guests spend 101% more and stay 48% longer
• With dessert, guests spend 82% more and stay 19% longer
• With appetizers, guests spend 76% more and stay 20% longer