Hoping for a successful and productive year, restaurants are looking to those brands who have managed to crawl out of the post-pandemic slump and battle the uncertain economy for an early bounce-back. In the casual dining space, writes Joseph Szala for Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN), 2025’s clear winners didn’t just stumble into good luck; they made strategic implementations to fast-track to the quick and obvious growth decision making.
“In one reality, brands are struggling against attrition, relying on aggressive LTOs and deep discounting to scrape together flat traffic. In the other reality, brands are posting double-digit same-store sales growth and record traffic numbers. The difference between the two isn’t just the food. It’s the philosophy.” Szala compares two brands—Brinker International’s Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse—and finds patterns that made the difference for these businesses in 2025. “The winners aren’t just selling cheap food. They are selling a seamless, digitally enabled price-to-experience ratio that the rest of the market is struggling to match.”
What is emerging from customers around the nation is that “low prices” aren’t the only important thing. Even in a time with inflation still at the tops of minds for consumers and affordability concerns, guests are savvy enough to be concerned with value over price. Szala’s thoughts are broken down into three categories:
Simplify the message. “For years, casual dining marketing was cluttered with a rotating door of limited-time offers. Brinker flipped the script by simplifying the menu and focusing their marketing firepower on a single, permanent value tier. They marketed consistency over novelty,” he writes.
In truth, reaching guests with the right message not only requires simplification, but customization. It does no good to bombard guests with the same discount offers or branded messages if it isn’t what they want in the first place. A simplified message is clear and to-the-point—and it also speaking to the customer need or desire.
Treat labor as a marketing expense. When you really break it down, it makes sense. Your teams are your on-the-ground marketers. They face the customers. They answer questions. They are your best grassroots advertising. But so rarely are labor staff treated this way.
Not only should your business reflect the quality leadership that creates good company culture for the sake of the business, you must also consider how this benefits your reputation and brand. Treat your staff well—they are your best marketing voice.
Leave the human touch. Szala’s advice echoes that of other industry leadership: technology should be a convenient integration, not a replacement for human touch. If the tech, specifically AI, can benefit the customer experience or your staff’s efficiency and work experience, then it is worth considering. But if it means cutting out a human interaction, it might not be an improvement at all.
Richard Weil, principal and owner of National Restaurant Consultant, reinforces this human touch component. “Understanding that we are not just feeding and providing guests with food and beverages, we are feeding their senses. This includes not just satisfying meals, but the ultimate of creating moments that results in positive experiences with human interaction.”