How one startup is reinventing the restaurant

Jul 31, 2024
The restaurant business has been struggling, but an innovative multicuisine operation called Wonder is capitalizing on efficiencies.
At Wonder, customers can get food from multiple restaurants in one order.
Sabri Ben-Achour/Marketplace

For one Atlanta couple, running a restaurant also means fostering a sense of community

Jul 5, 2024
Opening a comfortable, multicuisine restaurant helped Emily and Jen Chan support their son and the LGBTQ+ community.
Emily Chan's family warned her not to get into the restaurant industry — so that's exactly what she did.
Courtesy JenChan's

Potential changes in restaurant pay stir mixed reactions

Apr 11, 2024
In a dozen states, restaurants and worker advocates are fighting over how — and how much — tipped workers should be paid.
In states where restaurants are required to pay the full minimum wage, people generally tip less, but not by much, according to payment service provider Toast.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Restaurant hiring affected by warmer weather, lingering pandemic habits

Mar 8, 2024
The number of people employed at restaurants and bars went up 0.3% in February from the month before.
A slowdown in construction work has meant an influx of job applicants for back-of-house positions, says restaurant owner Joshua Pollack.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The fees war between retailers and credit card companies is heating up

Feb 26, 2024
Merchants paid $126 billion in credit card fees in 2022, up 20% from the year before. The pushback is playing out in lobbying campaigns and Congress.
Merchants from gas stations to ice cream shops to Amazon have complained about credit card fees and contracts, and many are lobbying for credit card regulation.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

When — and how much — should I be tipping these days?

Expectations around tipping have changed in the last several years. Here's what to know.
Maybe the standard 15% or 20% tip on table service hasn't really changed, but what about takeout, delivery and the rest of it?
Alex Potemkin via Getty Images

Some restaurateurs are struggling despite food service sales growth

Aug 15, 2023
While takeout, delivery and drive-thru sales are above pre-pandemic levels, on-site dining remains down.
The pandemic has shifted where people eat as many moved away from urban areas and stopped going into the office, says Hudson Riehle of the National Restaurant Association.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Hotels and restaurants have had trouble hiring, so they innovated

Jul 17, 2023
That’s meant automating some tasks once done by humans and thinking carefully about the humans they do hire.
After two summers of worker shortages on Cape Cod, some restaurant and hotel owners have become more efficient, "enabling them to operate with a smaller staff,” the Beige Book says.
Tim Graham/Getty Images

Grocery inflation cools while restaurant prices continue to rise

Apr 12, 2023
Because a restaurant tab pays for more than just the food on the table.
Rising wages are the main reason restaurants are increasing prices. Many eateries have boosted pay, hoping to attract and retain staff.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Restaurant, retail recoveries diverge in downtown Boston

Apr 10, 2023
Downtown Boston has more restaurants and bars now than it did before the pandemic. Retail stores, meanwhile, are still struggling.
There are about twice as many retail vacancies in downtown Boston now as there were before the pandemic started, says Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District.
Samantha Fields/Marketplace