Today, Americans crave culinary experiences. According to estimates by the American restaurant industry, in 2024 sales will reach $1 trillion for the first time in history. National Association of Restaurateursand the average household spends $2,375 a yr for meals and takeaway purchases.
Technology makes ordering delivery or reserving a table at the touch of a button more convenient than ever before. And although high prices of groceries may contribute to an increased preference for dining out, gathering for a meal in a restaurant is also one of the hottest ways of maintaining social contacts: even recreational activity #1 for much of the pandemic.
“The dining room will always be a focal point… how can we connect guests with the restaurants?”
Pablo Rivero, CEO Lost and vice chairman at American Express Diningsays Entrepreneur that the reservation platform, which was acquired by Amex in 2019 and just celebrated its tenth anniversary, has remained steadfast in its mission of connecting guests and restaurants over the years.
Photo source: courtesy of Resa. Pablo Rivero.
“People are finding different ways to connect, and food will always be central to that,” Rivero says. “So how can we connect guests with restaurants? How can we help them discover a hidden gem in the neighborhood they haven’t been to before, so they can share around the table with friends, family or colleagues?”
Resy helps you achieve this with a suite of tools. Guests should use the platform’s discovery tab to search out lesser-known spots in their area, use the chart feature to trace a recent favorite restaurant and share it with friends, and consider advance reservations to search out tables at some of the hottest establishments, Rivero says .
“Every night in our restaurants, people make another reservation before they go out.”
Resy is also committed to supporting restaurants. Sean Feeney, co-owner Lily, Mission AND Misipasta with chef Missy Robbins says great restaurant technology makes businesses healthier, operations more efficient and guests happier. He notes that with Resy, restaurants have access to useful data that helps them learn more about their customers.
Photo credit: courtesy of Misipasta. Missy Robbins, left; Sean Feeney, right.
In this manner, Feeney and Robbins made an essential discovery about their guests. “Every night, people in our restaurants make another reservation before they leave,” Feeney says. “It’s an amazing thing. We are grateful for that.”
The secret, in fact, is to create an experience that keeps people coming back for more. According to Feeney, customers today increasingly appreciate the input that goes into cultivating them. Guests want to listen to details about the dishes and atmosphere; sometimes they even ask about the music being played.
Some are asking because they want to recreate the experience at home – an activity that has also gained popularity during the pandemic.
“They documented the entire journey…they came home; “they were unpacking.”
The desire to recreate the restaurant experience at home helped convince Feeney and Robbins that their newest concept, Misipasta, an aperitivo bar and boutique, would be a success. “We did a lot of brainstorming [about] what it could look like, but also what we wanted it to look like and what the goal was,” Robbins says. “And the goal was to encourage as many people as possible to cook with our ingredients and have the tools to cook in a chef-like way.”
Moreover, similar to today’s restaurant guests take a picture of their plate so that they will be posted on social media, people eating at home also prefer to share their experiences with friends and followers. In early 2020, Misipasta’s “pasta drops” highlighted guests’ willingness to create and record their very own restaurant-level experiences.
On Fridays and Saturdays, Misipasta announced the pasta shape and sauce flavor available that week. Feeney says that during the first collection, 250 people showed up with 75 bags each, lining as much as receive them in 16-degree temperatures. People then showed exactly what they did with the products at home.
“They documented the entire journey,” Feeney explains. “They were excited when they secured the bag. They came home, unpacked, and Missy’s beautiful designs were shown on Instagram.” In the background, some customers even played the same Bob Marley album that was on when they picked up their bag.
Feeney and Robbins, who were raised with a deep respect for food, are still driven by the idea of getting people excited about their next meal, whether it’s prepared at a restaurant or at home.