Popmenu Integrates With SpotOn to Streamline Restaurant Operations and Drive Revenue Growth
Popmenu and SpotOn announced a direct integration that links Popmenu’s digital marketing suite with SpotOn’s point‑of‑sale platform. The native connection synchronizes online orders, payments and guest data, giving restaurants a single view of marketing performance and in‑store sales. By eliminating manual data transfers, the partnership promises smoother operations and higher order capture. The integration positions both firms as leaders in unified restaurant commerce solutions.
Spotlight Interview: Stephen Klein, CEO and Co-Founder of Saivory
Saivory, founded by former Bain consultant Stephen Klein, offers AI‑powered tools that help restaurant chains reclaim first‑party digital sales. Its platform combines dynamic local landing pages with AI‑guided ordering flows to improve search visibility, reduce cart abandonment, and increase average...
Google Introduces AI-Powered Restaurant Booking as Search Evolves Into Action
Google has launched an AI‑driven restaurant reservation feature in the UK, embedding end‑to‑end booking capabilities into its AI Mode search interface. Users can ask the AI to locate suitable venues, check availability and confirm a table without leaving the search...
Shake Shack Unveils Restaurant Technology Initiative Focused on AI, Loyalty and Unified Commerce
Shake Shack announced Project Catalyst, a comprehensive technology initiative aimed at modernizing its digital, data and operational infrastructure as it pursues growth to 1,500 company‑owned restaurants. The program partners with cloud‑native platform Qu to upgrade POS and kitchen display systems,...
DoorDash Shuts Down Zesty and Brings Restaurant AI Discovery Into Core App
DoorDash is retiring its AI‑driven restaurant discovery app Zesty, moving its personalized recommendation and conversational search tools into the main DoorDash app. Launched in December 2025 in New York and the Bay Area, Zesty will go offline on April 17...
Why Some Bar Operators Are Voicing Concerns About QR Code Ordering
Wetherspoons founder Sir Tim Martin warned that QR code ordering is "robbing punters of banter at the bar," a critique amplified by the chain’s size—about 815 pubs and 42,000 employees across the UK. While QR‑based menus speed service, improve order...
Burger King’s 60,000-Worker Hiring Push Reflects the Reality of Running a Tech-Enabled Restaurant at Scale
Burger King announced a hiring drive for up to 60,000 employees across its roughly 6,500 U.S. restaurants. The push follows a multi‑year modernization effort that introduced redesigned layouts, a unified technology stack, and AI‑enabled headsets for staff. Digital ordering channels...
Deliverect Launches AI Agents and Smart Assistants to Boost Restaurant Sales and Protect Digital Revenue
Deliverect has introduced Deliverect AI, a suite of autonomous agents and smart assistants that continuously rewrite digital menus, resolve technical issues, and launch themed promotions in minutes. The technology is live for UK clients and will roll out to Australia,...
The Race for Restaurant Industry Leads Is Shifting Earlier in the Buying Cycle
Restaurant technology vendors are finding that most purchasing decisions are locked in before a new location opens, shifting the valuable lead window months earlier in the build‑out phase. Traditional inbound tactics targeting newly opened sites no longer capture the most...
Quail Digital and Audivi Join Forces to Bring Cost-Free Voice AI to Drive-Thru Restaurant Ordering
Quail Digital and Audivi have announced a global partnership delivering a free Voice AI hardware box for quick‑service restaurants. The solution merges Quail’s high‑clarity audio equipment with Audivi’s real‑time AI ordering software, aiming to cut drive‑thru errors and speed service....
AtomBite.AI Unveils Flexible Manipulation Robotics Designed to Solve the “Grasping Problem” In Commercial Kitchens
AtomBite.AI launched its first commercial robot, the M1 Takeout Packing Robot, to automate the chaotic "last meter" of food‑delivery fulfillment in restaurants. The system runs on a proprietary dual‑model AI brain that lets existing hardware manipulate unpredictable items like crushed...
Bilt Doubles Down on Dining With New Orchestration Platform Aimed at Unifying the Guest Experience
Bilt is expanding from its housing‑focused rewards program into restaurant technology with the launch of Bilt Hospitality for Restaurants. The new orchestration platform sits atop existing POS, reservation, CRM and communication systems, unifying guest data from reservation through payment. By...
Shipping Containers Become Smart Infrastructure for Restaurant Design
PETTI Restaurant in Tuticorin repurposes twelve decommissioned shipping containers into a high‑performance dining space, wrapping them in poured‑earth insulation that acts as a natural thermal regulator. The passive envelope, combined with limited façade openings, cross‑ventilation and skylights, cuts air‑conditioning demand...
How Better Data Is Improving Restaurant Lead Conversion for Technology Solution Providers and Other Restaurant Vendors
Timing is the decisive factor in restaurant‑technology sales, with most vendor decisions made months before a restaurant opens. Preopening Restaurants Resource offers an intelligence platform that uncovers restaurants in development, under construction, or early planning stages, allowing vendors to engage...
Papa Johns Selects Deliverect to Modernize U.S. Delivery Operations with AI-Powered Unified Ordering Platform
Papa Johns announced a strategic partnership with Deliverect to roll out its Smart Dispatch & Delivery Management platform across all U.S. restaurants by the end of 2027. The AI‑driven system unifies first‑party and third‑party delivery channels into a single orchestration...
How the Pizza Industry Became the Epicenter of Restaurant Technology Innovation
The pizza sector has become the leading proving ground for restaurant technology, with AI, robotics, and predictive analytics reshaping ordering, kitchen, and delivery processes. Brands such as Jet’s Pizza, Donatos, Domino’s and Papa John’s have deployed AI‑driven SMS ordering, autonomous...
Chowbus Raises $81 Million to Expand Its AI-Powered Platform for Independent Restaurants
Chicago-based Chowbus raised $81 million to broaden its AI‑powered restaurant platform. The company now reports over $120 million in annual recurring revenue and processes roughly $4 billion in transactions across the U.S. and Canada. Moving beyond point‑of‑sale software, Chowbus will add...
Nory Expands Into U.S. as Restaurants Seek AI Tools to Manage Rising Costs
London‑based Nory, an AI‑native restaurant operating system, announced a $37 million Series B round led by Kinnevik, bringing total capital to $63 million, and opened a U.S. headquarters in New York. The platform consolidates workforce management, inventory, procurement, BI and financial reporting, promising...
Restaurant Engagement Startup Grub Lab Expands With Immersive Kids Menu Platform
Australian startup Grub Lab, backed by a $6 million round and a controlling stake acquired by Quantaco, is set to launch in the United States. The company turns traditional kids’ menus into QR‑code‑activated, augmented‑reality experiences featuring licensed brands from Universal, Netflix...
How Data-Led Diversification Helps Restaurants Better Meet Guest Needs
Restaurant operators are turning to AI‑enhanced guest engagement platforms to capture comprehensive data from reservations, payments, Wi‑Fi and loyalty interactions. By unifying this information, they can segment customers by actual behavior, refine menus, and personalize marketing rather than relying on...
Research: 69% of Restaurants Are Adopting AI While 81% Increase Digital Marketing Investment
Research by Popmenu of 328 restaurant leaders shows 44% already use AI and another 25% plan adoption, while 78% are optimizing sites for AI‑driven search. Consumer spending dropped to $90 weekly, a $25 decline, prompting operators to lean on digital...
White Castle Deploys AI-Powered Perimeter Security Technology to Reduce Crime and Improve Safety
White Castle piloted Interface Systems' AI‑powered Virtual Perimeter Guard at a high‑risk St. Louis restaurant, cutting loitering, late‑night incidents, and escalation calls. Within 30 days, 91% of perimeter events were resolved automatically through AI detection and live voice deterrence, eliminating...
bb.q Chicken Deploys Deliverect Platform Across All U.S. Restaurants to Streamline Digital Operations
bb.q Chicken, a fast‑growing Korean fried‑chicken franchise, has rolled out Deliverect’s digital ordering and menu‑management platform across more than 250 U.S. locations. The integration links its Toast POS with Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, and other marketplaces, consolidating menu updates, order...
Dubai’s Woohoo Puts AI at the Center of the Restaurant Dining Experience
Dubai’s new Woohoo restaurant places an AI persona, Chef Aiman, at the heart of its dining experience, orchestrating lighting, large‑scale LED visuals and spatial audio. The venue uses Vivid Studio’s SP Grid platform as a low‑code control brain that links...