Restaurant blogs might have some of the answers you need

Let’s face it: Running a restaurant is tough.

As an owner, you have to handle every aspect of your business, from cooking to managing, from accounting to marketing.

Chances are – you feel like you’re not equipped to deal with everything that’s coming your way.

Every problem seems important. Every problem seems urgent.

But you have no idea how to solve them.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Think about it:

Managing a restaurant is not new. Hordes of people before you have tried to set up their own restaurants (even multiple of them) and have either succeeded or failed. Many on the sidelines have also took up the task of analyzing what they did well, and what mistakes they made.

That means — most of the problems you face today have a solution. 

And these solutions have written about over and over again in different restaurant management blogs.

Today, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to some of the best restaurant blogs – with a few surprises from cafe owners, bartenders and chefs thrown in.

The Top 33 Restaurant Blogs A Restaurateur Should Read

1. Restaurant Business Online

best restaurant management blogs - restaurant business online

Restaurant Business is both an online blog and an offline magazine. They produce daily content that teaches restaurateurs how to grow their business and improve their profits. They also touch on the latest food and beverage (F&B) trends and concepts, changes in consumers’ tastes and what new strategies other restaurants are using.

Most Popular Articles:

Top 500 Chains

The Future 50

Top 100 Independents

2. Restaurant Engine

best restaurant management blogs - restaurant engine

Part of a restaurant web design company, Restaurant Engine’s blog offers tips on managing and marketing a restaurant, website design, social media and video.

Most Popular Articles:

5 Creative Ways Restaurants Earn Loyal Customers

5 Local SEO Tips For Restaurants

Little Known Ways to Attract More Customers To Your Restaurant

3. CandyBar

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The CandyBar blog is well, our very own blog! We post tips on restaurant marketing and management, hiring and retaining employees, customer service, loyalty programs and many more. We also interview successful restaurant owners to find out what made them successful – and share their tips with you.

Most Popular Articles:

19 Instagram Marketing Experts Share Their Insights On How To Grow Your Following From 0 – 10K In 30 Days

How Katto Grew Their Business By Listening To Their Customers

How Wicked Garlic Grew To 3 Stores in 4 Years By Focusing On Only One Thing

4. Toast

best restaurant management blogs - toast pos

Toast is an all-in-one restaurant management solution that helps restaurants streamline their processes and provide the best customer service. Their blog provides information about the latest foodservice trends as well as restaurant management resources.

Most Popular Articles:

The 50 Best Restaurant Experts and Chefs to Follow in 2018

7 Signs You’ve Spent Way Too Much Time Working in Restaurants

The 12 Worst Mistakes When Marketing for Restaurants

5. Foodable

best restaurant management blogs - foodable

Foodable is the brainchild of restaurant industry publisher Paul Barron. The blog covers restaurant management tips, best practices by other restaurants, as well as the latest news in the restaurant industry.

The best part?

The blog is separated by geography – allowing you to do a quick view on the latest news affecting your city.

Most Popular Articles:

10 Steps To a Total Menu Makeover

Want a Better Business? 5 Things Restaurants Need to Change

3 Reasons Why Your Independent Restaurant Needs a Marketing Plan – Right Now

6. Restaurant Den

best restaurant management blogs - restaurant den restaurant owner blog

Restaurant Den is an all-in-one website design and online ordering solution for restaurants and food trucks. As such, their blog covers tips like website design, social media and marketing.

Most Popular Articles: 

20 Free Stock Food Photography Websites For Restaurants

The 20 Best Point of Sale (POS) Systems For Restaurants

Why Restaurants Fail & How You Can Avoid Their Mistakes

7. Modern Restaurant Management

best restaurant management blogs - modern restaurant management

Modern Restaurant Management is a restaurant blog dedicated to covering every aspect of the restaurant business – from marketing to operations, and even till law and finance.

Most Popular Articles:

From Boston to LA: Labor Issues Top of Mind for Restaurant Operators

The Psychology Behind Great Restaurant Design (Infographic)

How Technology Helps Chef Alex Garcia Manage His Restaurants

8. Uncorkd

best restaurant management blogs - bar blog uncorkd bartender

Uncorkd is an on-premise beverage management software company, and as such, their blog is mostly dedicated to topics related to alcohol and bar management. If you run a bar, or have a restaurant with a bar, Uncorkd’s blog is worth a read.

Most Popular Articles:

Do You Ask These Critical Interview Questions For Restaurant Managers?

State of the Bar: 2018 Cocktail Trends

State of the Bar: 2018 Wine Trends

9. Oddle

best restaurant management blogs - oddle blog oddle kitchen southeast asia

Oddle is an online ordering system for restaurants, mostly targeted at countries located in Southeast Asia. Their blog is a smorgasbord of tips ranging from restaurant marketing to how F&B technology can benefit your business.

Most Popular Articles:

[Free Infographic] The Ultimate Guide To Restaurant Marketing

8 Reasons Why Your Restaurant Online Ordering Platform Matters To Your Customers

Online Marketing Tips For Restaurants

10. GrubHub

best restaurant management blogs - grubhub for restaurants blog

A food delivery service like UberEats, the GrubHub blog focuses on delivering restaurant management tips to restaurants, with the aim of helping them run their restaurants better.

Most Popular Articles:

3 Ways Giving to Your Community Can Impact Your Bottom Line

4 Tips to Reach PCI Compliance

The Tech Revolution – Is Your Restaurant Ready?

11. OpenTable

best restaurant management blogs - opentable blog

OpenTable is the popular restaurant reservation app, and it runs a blog aimed at providing tips, resources and fresh ideas for running a successful restaurant. Every week, they round up their favourite articles in a blog post. If you’re struggling for time to read, then the OpenTable blog is a one-stop shop for all the latest news.

Most Popular Articles:

One Year In: Inside a Restaurant with No Service Staff

How I Got Promoted: General Manager Pierre Siue of Restaurant Daniel

Going Greek: How Nicholas and George Pagonis of Kapnos Are Building a Dining Empire

12. ChowNow

best restaurant management blogs - chownow blog behind the counter

Similar to Oddle, ChowNow is an online ordering system for restaurants. Its blog has one sole aim – to be the #1 source for the latest in restaurant marketing, tech and takeout.

Most Popular Articles:

Behind the Counter with Anya Michelson and Family of Paper or Plastik Cafe

4 Reasons Not to Use Your Restaurant POS for Online Ordering

Easing the Burden of Labor Costs at Your Restaurant

13. The Restaurateur

best restaurant management blogs - the restauranteur

This is a unique blog, in the sense that it is not written by any restaurateur or restaurant-related services, but by tax accountants. Instead of focusing on restaurant marketing and management (like all the other blogs do), the Restaurateur focuses on a largely ignored but hugely important issue – taxes and financial management.

Most Popular Articles:

Top 10 Challenges Facing Restaurants

Top 10 Challenges Facing Restaurants Cont. 

Tip vs Wage Changes

14. Marketing4Restaurants

best restaurant management blogs - marketing4restaurants marketing for restaurants blog

Marketing4Restaurants helps Restaurants find new customers and return them into repeat customers. This blog differentiates itself by offering a podcast – where the owner of the blog interviews successful restaurant owners every week.

Most Popular Articles:

Restaurant Rescue – How To Turn Around A Failing Restaurant

Lessons From Restaurant Lume, The Best Restaurant in Australia You’ve Never Heard Of

The Best Restaurant Chalkboard Ads

15. FastCasual

best restaurant management blogs - fastcasual management blog

Focusing specifically on fast casual restaurants (the name says it all), FastCasual has been around since 1997, reporting on the latest news, trends and people that affect this particular industry.

If your restaurant belongs to the fast casual segment, be sure to keep up with this blog!

Most Popular Articles:

Study: Americans still love In-n-Out, Chik-fil-A , Chipotle, Firehouse, Marco’s Pizza

EXCLUSIVE: Boloco CEO shares brutally honest tale about making it in the restaurant biz

2017 Fast Casual Top 100

16. Restaurant Insider

best restaurant management blogs - restaurant insider blog F&B industry

Success stories, opinions, and the latest news, the Restaurant Insider blog, well, promises to be the “insider” and supply you with tools, information, news and conversation that you won’t get anywhere else.

Most Popular Articles:

We Are At the Beginning of a Mead Maker Renaissance

I Turned One Food Truck into a Culinary Empire That’s Still Growing

I Lost My Restaurant in Hurricane Katrina. More Than a Decade Later, I’m Finally Reopening.

17. Kounta

A cloud-based POS software company, Kounta features interesting success stories of different restaurants, punnily named “Behind the Kounta”.

Most Popular Articles:

Behind the Kounta: How Cousin Jacks Went From Being a Local Market Stall to Award-Winning High Street Food Retailers

Behind the Kounta: How Mother Vine Became the Best Wine Bar in South Australia

Behind the Kounta: How Digitally-Driven P&R Coffee Roasters Became Trailblazers in Hospitality Technology and Sustainable Sourcing

18. Restaurant Manifesto

The Restaurant Manifestor is on among top restaurant blogs that creates detailed, actionable content for customer service. They curate some of the best restaurant articles on managing customers and preempting their needs.

Their motto is to make you a more conscientious diner, and all their articles are geared towards that goal.

Most Popular Articles:
Don’t Sabotage Your Restaurant Experience

Reconsidering Unconditional Hospitality: The Myth of Salvation Through Service

If Your Waiter Could Yelp About You

19. The Restaurant Expert: The Best Blog for Restaurant Owners

The Restaurant Expert is that restaurant industry blog that helps you fill that gap of balancing your financial records.

Their blogs focus on teaching restaurateurs business management, financial responsibility, and fundamental accounting. This way, you don’t have to worry about your business while on your next vacation.

Most Popular Articles:
Ultimate Restaurant Prosperity

Why Restaurant Systems Are Important

Why Restaurant Budgeting Is So Important

20. Eater

The Eater blog is one of the most popular restaurant blogs the world over. They have content tailored to different cities and geographies and cover the most famous restaurants.

Their articles provide news and information on all topics in the restaurant niche. Their widespread coverage also ensures that they are on the front row to pick and broadcast new restaurant industry news. They are also one of the best restaurant review sites.

If you want to stay updated with the latest news and trends in the industry, this is the blog for you.
Most Interesting Articles:
Let’s Meat in Manhattan Opens With $40 All-You-Can-Eat Korean Barbecue

Why Does Texas Love the Grocery Store H-E-B So Much?

LA’s first ax-throwing bar just opened in a North Hollywood warehouse

21. Chip’s Restaurant

If you ever wondered what it was like to see the day to day activities of a restaurant, this is the blog for you.

Chip’s Restaurant is a family business that stretches back to 1966. This restaurant industry blog focuses on the day to day activities of the restaurant as well as sharing delicious recipes for you to try. And everything has a homey, family-made feel to it (yes, even the website and the font choices)

They also talk about important food issues, such as the healthiness of certain foods and alternative recipes. And of course, they do provide lighthearted humor to go with it.

Most Popular Articles:
Everything You Need to Know About Lil Chip’s Pancake Truck

Healthy Menu Options At Chip’s

Is Breakfast The Most Important Meal of the Day?

22. Next’s Restaurant

Restaurant owners are always looking for more ways to enthrall new clients. Possible choices are either expansion or offering new services. The sad part is finding relevant information on these can be daunting.

The Next’s Restaurant is an archive of engaging and actionable content to solve this problem. Thier articles range from topics on starting a new outlet to improving your existing business.

So whether you’re a newbie restaurant owner, a seasoned restaurateur, or just curious, there’s something for you on their blog.

Most Popular Articles:
How Restaurants Can Use Local SEO to Grow Business

Restaurant Branding Guide: Why You Need One & How to Create One

5 Restaurant Marketing Mistakes Operators Make Far Too Often

23. Grub Street

If you’re in search for a single website that fills in the shoes of a popular food news site and a resource then take a look at Grub Street.

The site features articles that cover a wide range of topics from healthy foods to restaurant management. You are also sure to get the latest restaurant industry news as they happen. This is possible as the site shares a lot of news and interviews on all forms and levels in the food business.

It’s one among the great restaurant review sites for food businesses and restaurant owners.

Most Popular Articles:
New York City Bans Plastic Foam Containers

12 Excellent Things to Eat, Drink, and Do in New York City This June

The Absolute Best Thai Restaurant in NewYork

24. BevSpot: The Best Blog For Bar Owners

The BevSpot blog is keen on content tailored toward the beverage and bar business segments, mainly.

The bar blog curates excellent content the cover topics converting bar business management and growth. They also conduct and share insightful interviews with big names in the industry.

Perhaps one of their best content are the cocktail recipes. They try and share awesome cocktail recipes that you can try out in your bar.

Most Popular Articles:
5 Essential Leadership Skills for Bar Managers

Korgen Hospitality — Industry Company Profile (Hospitality)

Food Recipe Cost Calculator

25. The Perfect Daily Grind: The Best Blog for Cafe Owners

If you’re into the coffee side of the restaurant business, then you know how specialized this niche can be. Well, you are in luck – you have The Perfect Grind.

The Perfect Daily Grind understands the uniqueness of the coffee space and provides excellent content to help you get your business flourishing.

They provide content on all coffee growing, picking, processing, and even brewing. They also offer insightful articles on running a thriving cafe and retaining customers.

Most Popular Articles:
How to Ensure Consistency in Coffee Fermentation & Processing

What Happens During Coffee Roasting: The Physical Changes

How to Open a Coffee Shop with Limited Resources

26. The Restaurant Times By POSist

The Restaurant times is a resource archive of some of the best articles in the restaurant industry.

This top restaurant blog covers a wide array of topics ranging from how to manage and grow your restaurant business to expansion. Other topics include customer retainment and many robust strategies to keep your business above your competition.

They also discuss technology and how you can leverage it to improve your business’s fortunes.

Most Popular Articles:
Brand-building Is all About Filling The Gap Between What You Promise And What You Deliver

The Complete Guide To Social Media Marketing For Restaurants

How You Can Reduce Restaurant Labor Cost With The Help of Technology

27. National Coffee Association

The National Coffee Association blog hosts a treasure trove of information for both cafe owners and coffee growers alike.

The blog features a range of articles from news, to case studies and also helpful blogs. It provides excellent tips for coffee growers to maximize their output.

For cafe owners, you get valuable tips on cafe management and rich case studies on about the industry.

Most Popular Articles:
Climate for Action: New Uses for Used Coffee Grounds

Prop 65: Coffee gets the all clear in California

Infographic: The Growth of Gourmet Coffee Among Ethnic Consumers

28. Michael Hartzell

The Michael Hartzell restaurant blog is a thorough, in-depth, and practical blog about restaurant marketing, especially in this digital age.

The blog provides excellent resources and tips on how to optimize your restaurant for improved sales and even brand recognition. You can expect to find tested techniques on running your business while optimizing for online presence at the same time.

If you’re keen on doing your restaurant marketing right, read this blog.

Most Popular Articles:
Take “Panes” With Your Marketing

What Restaurant Rescue Shows Get Wrong About Marketing

How Restaurants Can Use Mobile Payment Technology to Increase Profits

29. Luxury Restaurant Guide

If you are in the luxury diners niche, then this is the best restaurant blog for you. The Luxury Restaurant Guide provides rich content on luxury dining and how to do it right.

They feature the latest news on this niche and provides a platform for diners to showcase their businesses. They are one of the best restaurant blogs in London.

You can expect to find top quality restaurant recipes and layout ideas for you to try in your restaurant.

Most Popular Articles:
Masterpiece Dishes – 20 Outstanding Dishes from 20 Great UK Chefs

Dining from a Small Island – 15 best restaurants on islands in the UK

Chic and Child-Friendly Dining

30. HawksWorth Restaurant

While many other restaurant blog focus on the business side of things, Hawksworth is sold to the culinary side.

This is one of the best food blogs. It focuses on creating and sharing recipes for businesses and restaurant alike for their use. They provide an exhausting content on different meals for different classes of eaters.

There’s a lot of content on healthy eating and vegan recipes too for vegans and vegetarians. They are also one of the best food critics blogs.

If you’re a restaurateur interested in trying out new foods, then take a peek into this blog about restaurant management from the culinary side.

Most Popular Articles:
Dinner Menu – Starters & Entrees

Nightingale’s Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Hawksworth Cocktail Bar

31. Restaurant Technology Guys

If you were wondering how much you can automate and scale your restaurant business with technology, then this blog is for you.

The Restaurant Technology guys create content for businesses to ship their tedious tasks to machines efficiently. This way, you have more time for other productive business activities.

These restaurant bloggers cover areas such as payment automation, ordering, customer retention, and many more. Their content is more podcast than written, which means you can listen to them anytime.

Most Popular Articles:
The Restaurant Technology Guys Podcast Ep. 061: Make more money with 3rd party delivery with Chowly

Why You Need Online Ordering

The Restaurant Technology Guys Podcast Ep. 063: Making your design sell for you! With Hadar Interiors

32. Gastro Gays

The Gastro Gays blog features tons of culinary and recipes that the founders have tried since inceptions.

They boast of one of the best food blogs content covering a variety of dishes and their appeal across different cultures. They are also one of the best food critic blogs.

If you are interested in trying out new dishes then, this is the foodie recipe blog for you.

Most Popular Articles:
Kanelbulle Klass: Making Cinnamon Buns in Vaxholm, Stockholm Archipelago

Win Weber Bbq Goodies & Recipe: Satay Beer Chicken With Thai Spices

The Crispy Queen – Bujo X Gastrogays Special

33. 2ndKitchen

best restaurant blogs 2ndkitchen software service candybar

2ndKitchen is an interesting foodtech company; they manage and arrange partnerships between businesses without kitchens like breweries, bars, hotels with nearby restaurants. 2ndKitchen handles the tech infrastructure from ordering, delivery and insights, and therefore their blog covers topics relevant to both restaurant owners and managers, as well as new brewery and bar owners, and the future of food service.

Most Popular Articles:
How to Get a Liquor License in All 50 States – and what it costs

How to Start a Pop-Up Restaurant

25 Impressive Bar and Night Club Industry Statistics in 2020


Bonus: Best Restaurant Blog Articles for Restaurant Owners

Now that we are done listing those awesome resource sites, it’s time to share some valuable content to help you get started already.

In this section, we’ll share five golden restaurant management articles for restaurant managers looking to up their game in the business

1. 8 Things Highly Effective Restaurant Managers Do

This article goes straight to the point and highlights eight solid ways to improve your overall performance as a manager. It details different practical ways to improve your relationship with your staff, the clients and even finance to grow the business.

2. 15 Restaurant Management Tips To Improve The Way You Work

This article builds upon the previous one. It takes a holistic view of work habits and overall lifestyle changes that a manager should tack on to improve their business’s fortune.

3. How to Calculate the Business Metrics that Matter for Your Restaurant

This article addresses the core of maintaining a profitable business. It teaches the basic of business finance computations and how to use them in your business.

If you have never done business computations before, this is an excellent place to start – otherwise you might like to read Roger Fields’ Restaurant Success By The Numbers.

4. Restaurant Expansion Strategy: Guide for How to Expand

For businesses looking to expand this article is a great place to start. It provides the requirements for the expansion and shows you how to gather them. The article shows powerful and tested strategies to help you pull it off with ease.

5. How to Create a Customer Loyalty Program That Will Boost Sales, Increase Retention and Run By Itself

This article addresses the most crucial aspect of the business – keeping your customers. Not only does it show you why it is essential, it goes further to show you practical ways to implement its tested strategies. You can be sure to see results using the tips recommended in the article.

Solve Your Restaurant Problems By Reading These 32 Restaurant Blogs

There you go.

The top 32 restaurant blogs covering all aspects of the restaurant business – marketing, management, news, trends – that will help you to grow your business and solve your problems. Plus, 5 of the best restaurant management articles to show you immediate results.

If you’re looking for further resources, you might want to check out also:

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Posted by Si Quan Ong

Si Quan is CandyBar's Content Marketing Manager. He is also the co-founder of BreakDance Decoded, an online breakdance training company. He loves standup comedy, and has a dream to visit at least 100 countries in his lifetime.