Last week, we shared rising trends for the restaurant industry in 2026, with tips on flavors and new popular food categories. But when it comes to restaurant business, what is in store for the industry in the year ahead? Recently, Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) executive editor Alicia Kelso shared some insights to help owner-operators prepare.
First and foremost, fast-casual and QSR restaurants should continue shifting toward self-service. This is becoming not only a commonality for customers, but in some cases, an expectation. “Kiosk deployments continue to ramp up at limited-service concepts, including Shake Shack, El Pollo Loco, Portillo’s, Burger King, and KFC, while mobile ordering is becoming far more sophisticated than it was just two years ago,” Kelso writes, with a nod to Oracle Restaurants senior director of market strategy Amber Trendell who anticipates a “surge” in the self-service model.
Kelso also says: value is still cool. In 2025, we shared about an increase in nostalgic and value menus, like McDonald’s return to some vintage menu items, and that trend is expected to continue. This includes McDonald’s keeping their “Extra Value Meals in place at least through the early part of 2026.”
Along these lines, restaurants will ask customers for more two-way interactions: as such, loyalty programs continue to build. As we have previously shared, value programs are simplifying and integrating AI technologies so that both restaurants and consumers can get the most out of these offerings.
Richard Weil, owner and principal at National Restaurant Consultants notes, “Convenience and addressing service time are driving the continued quest for more and better technology, not just with QSR and fast casual, but also with full-service casual dining restaurants. Guests’ expectations are all about the ease of communication and completing their experience with smooth transactions. This includes, but is not limited to: taking the order to paying the check and multiple points in between. Operators will need to continue to stay at the forefront of these expanding technology demands to meet their guest needs and expectations.”
For Kelso’s complete list on what to expect in the restaurant industry in 2026, visit the NRN slideshow here.