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50 Great Ideas

The top industry ideas we've spotted in the last year

50 Great Ideas

50. Compliance at your fingertips

 Aug. 08, 2018

Matt Kritzer, a Jimmy John’s franchisee in Huntsville, Ala., has gone high-tech when it comes to safety compliance. His go-to tool: a wireless thermometer that reports every minute, allowing managers ...

50 Great Ideas

27. Charge it up

 Aug. 08, 2018

Chicago’s Parlor Pizza wants to find ways to encourage its guests to stick around and order more food and drinks. One way it accomplishes that is by offering to charge guests’ phones. Specifically, th...

50 Great Ideas

30. Iconic expectations

Aug. 08, 2018

Today’s cocktail culture has ushered in a range of funky, nontraditional drinks on menus; imbibers don’t even always know what they are ordering. To set expectations and offer a point of reference, Wa...

50 Great Ideas

33. Watching the weather

Aug. 08, 2018

Denver-based Mad Greens has a weather prediction service programmed into its ordering system to help forecast sales. The chain has found that when it’s too warm or rainy, sales go down. It’s helped th...

50 Great Ideas

36. Yappy hour

Aug. 08, 2018

On Thursdays from 3-8 p.m., Cafe Adelaide & the Swizzle Stick Bar in New Orleans welcomes dogs with a full menu of their own, while their owners can opt for a $5 cocktail called Dog Day Afternoon....

50 Great Ideas

40. DIY desserts

Aug. 08, 2018

Supermarket chain Giant Eagle created an eye-catching and interactive DIY bakery experience in select locations. The display features colored sprinkles, piping bags and icings, which are kept chilled....

50 Great Ideas

42. Which water?

Aug. 08, 2018

To make it easier for servers to refill water glasses at Union Square Cafe in New York City, guests get a glass with a red stripe if they order sparkling water and a plain glass if they request still ...

50 Great Ideas

45. Mentorship meetings

Aug. 08, 2018

Dunkin’ Donuts holds weekly mentor meetings for its staff members. Younger employees can ask questions, bring up problems and get advice from more seasoned colleagues, providing a direct source for ca...

50 Great Ideas

48. Sticking with the theme

Aug. 08, 2018

Operators want to build a database of customers as well as know who is in their restaurants, and the bowl for business cards has long been a low-tech way to do that. To draw attention to its take on t...

50 Great Ideas

28. Straw education

Aug. 08, 2018

More and more restaurants are eliminating plastic straws. To educate its customers about sustainability, Mountain Brauhaus in Gardiner, N.Y., puts a flyer on every table saying “Skip the straw and sav...

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