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Restaurant Owners Are Optimistic About Growth Despite Industry Challenges

Our Most Compelling Data:

78%

of restaurant leaders said they’re more optimistic about the future of their business today compared to 12 months ago.

74%

of restaurant leaders said they plan to increase the number of retail items, menu items, or services in the next 12 months.

34%

of restaurant leaders said they plan to expand their number of locations in the next 12 months.

Leaders are confident and eyeing expansion in pivotal areas

We’ve talked a lot about how restaurant leaders can clear the many hurdles in front of them in 2025.

But despite the economic pressure everyone in the industry feels, there may be good news on the horizon. Seventy-eight percent of restaurant leaders told us they feel more optimistic about the future of their business today compared to 12 months ago. One could point to factors like slowing inflation, better foot traffic, and improving financing options as reasons for some cautious confidence. And those leaders aren’t just focused on keeping the lights on; they’re inspired to grow and expand in various ways.

Well over half of surveyed restaurant leaders told us they anticipate boosting their operations in different categories over the next 12 months. This includes the number of items and services they offer (74%), employee headcount (69%), and investment in an online store (68%).

For many restaurant leaders, the next year is all about growth. Forty-eight percent plan to grow their menus with new or seasonal items; 42% are adding new ordering options; and 36% are expanding to new brick-and-mortar food and beverage concepts.

In the most striking hint that restaurant leaders feel confident about the future, 34% said they plan to expand to new physical locations, continuing an ongoing trend and demonstrating the resilience of an industry that has endured a tough five years.

Key takeaway:

It’s heartening to see restaurant leaders considering big long-term investments, such as opening a new location or investing in an online store presence. If you haven’t yet, now is a good time to think about how to position your restaurant’s next big step so you’re set up for success when the economy swings back in consumers’ favor.

Pro tip:

To grow effectively this year and into the future, restaurants need the right resources. That starts with the capital needed to kick off new ideas and flexible, easy technology to keep things running smoothly. Square Banking¹tools, such as savings, checking, and loans, allow restaurant owners to manage their finances easily all in one place.

Co-Founders Noah Holton-Raphael, Max Bahramipour, and Jack Biebel launched the Los Angeles-based delicatessen Ggiata as an homage to their New Jersey roots. They say it’s a nostalgic representation of growing up with their favorite foods. Even the company name is a play on the Italian word passeggiata, which describes a leisurely evening stroll that families often take to catch up with neighbors.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles as new college graduates, the trio first opened the business as a cloud kitchen in June 2020. Since then they’ve scaled to five locations, opening up their most recent storefront in Studio City in November 2024.

We started using Square as soon as we opened our first brick-and-mortar restaurant. A customer comes in, takes their order at the Square POS terminal. It’ll shoot the order back to our Square Kitchen Display System when the order is ready, and it will text the customer using the Square Text Messaging feature. So really, Square is keeping the lights on.”

– Noah Holton-Raphael, co-founder of Ggiata, Los Angeles, California