.svg)
.svg)
Restaurant sales are up 5.4% year over year, but the rising costs are shrinking real profits. Food, labor, rent, and delivery fees keep climbing, and small mistakes add up fast. A few missed calls, slow service, or the wrong menu mix can quietly drain revenue.
That’s why the gap between restaurants is growing. Some are seeing double-digit same-store sales growth, while others are cutting hours or shutting down. The difference comes down to how they’re operating day to day.
In 2026, the restaurant's growing sales are focused on a few practical moves that recover lost orders, increase average checks, and reduce friction for both staff and customers.
The strategies below reflect what’s working right now for operators who are staying profitable in a high-pressure market:
How to grow your restaurant: The best strategies
1. Turn every missed call into revenue with voice AI for restaurants
Your phone rings 150 times a week. You miss 50 of those calls during rushes. That's $70,000 in lost revenue annually.
AI voice assistants answer every call instantly, take orders accurately, and send them straight to your kitchen. No more choosing between answering phones and serving tables.
One pizza restaurant went from missing 60 calls daily to capturing every order. Result? $400,000 in additional annual revenue.
Understaffed kitchens benefit massively from AI voice assistants that handle front-of-house phone work while your team focuses on food and service.
The technology works. It's not expensive. And it pays for itself in weeks through recovered missed calls.
2. Add a "secret menu" item customers can't resist
Create one off-menu special that servers mention verbally. Not on the menu board. Not online. Just whispered to tables.
Why it works: exclusivity drives demand. People love feeling like insiders. A special pasta that's "only available if you ask" or a burger "the chef makes for regulars" creates buzz and increases average tickets by $8-12 per order.
Make it slightly premium priced. Limit it to 30 orders daily. Watch it become your most talked-about item on social media.
3. Capture catering orders without lifting a finger
Catering inquiries usually come during your busiest hours or after you're closed. Most get ignored or forgotten.
Voice AI assistant captures these high-value orders 24/7. A single $500 catering order pays for a month of automation.
Set up your system to ask qualifying questions: event date, headcount, and budget range. The AI collects details and sends them to you. You follow up when you have time, not when you're slammed.
Corporate catering alone can add $2,000-5,000 monthly if you just capture the inquiries.
4. Run "flash sales" during your slowest hours
Identify your deadest 3-hour window. Tuesday 2-5 PM? Wednesday lunch? That's your target.
Post a same-day flash deal on Instagram at 11 AM: "Today only: 25% off all orders placed between 2-4 PM."
This fills empty seats during hours you're already open and paying staff. Even discounted sales at 60% margin beat zero sales at 0% margin.
Track results weekly. Double down on what works. Kill what doesn't.
5. Upsell with bundles, not individual items
Stop training servers to ask, "Would you like fries with that?" It sounds pushy and gets rejected.
Instead, create bundles that feel like deals. "The combo with fries and a drink is only $3 more than the sandwich alone."
When customers see math that works in their favor, acceptance rates jump from 20% to 65%. That's an extra $15,000-25,000 annually on a restaurant doing 400 orders weekly.
Pre-program these bundles in your POS. Make it one button for servers. Easy for them, profitable for you.
6. How to Turn Instagram followers into actual customers
You have 2,000 Instagram followers. Great. How many came in last week because of Instagram? Probably 5.
Make your social media actionable. Post a photo of your special with "Show this post for $5 off tonight only." Track redemptions. Now you know Instagram drove 47 customers this week.
Or run a "tag us in your story, show our staff, get a free appetizer" campaign. User-generated content is free marketing and drives actual traffic.
Social media only matters if it puts people in seats.
7. Build loyalty without expensive programs
Loyalty programs still play a major role in where people order. 65% of drive-thru customers and over 60% of takeout and delivery customers say membership influences their choice. That matters even more as off-premise orders continue to grow.
You don’t need a custom app or a complicated points system to benefit from this. Loyalty works best when it feels personal and easy.
Simple ways to build it:
- Remember regulars by name and their usual order
- Send a quick text when you’re running a special they’d enjoy
- Offer a small birthday or anniversary perk
- Use a punch card for high-frequency items
What keeps people coming back is recognition. When customers feel remembered and appreciated, they return more often and are more likely to recommend you to others.
8. Measure what drives profit, not just sales
Revenue is up 10%, but profit is down 5%. You're celebrating the wrong number.
Track these voice AI ROI indicators to know what's actually making you money:
Food cost percentage by menu item. That "popular" burger might be killing your margins. Labor cost per order during different shifts. You might be overstaffed on Tuesdays.
Average order value by channel. Phone orders might be 40% higher than walk-ins. Run these reports monthly. Cut what's bleeding money. Double down on what's profitable.
9. Capture email addresses and use them
You might serve 500 customers in a week, but only hear from a small fraction of them again. Email helps you stay in touch without relying on third-party platforms.
Add a simple sign-up at checkout, like “Join our list for specials and early access.” A small incentive, such as a free appetizer on a future visit, can increase sign-ups without cutting into margins.
Send one short email each week with a special, a limited-time offer, or a catering reminder. Even modest engagement can turn into a steady stream of repeat orders over the year.
Tools like Mailchimp make it easy to get started, even with a small list, and require very little setup. Once it’s running, email becomes a low-effort way to drive repeat visits.
10. Create a "regular VIP" program that costs nothing
Identify your 20 best customers. The ones who come in weekly and spend well.
Give them a special card (literally print 20 cards). Tell them, "You're now a VIP. Show this for priority seating and occasional surprise perks."
Comp an appetizer once a month. Text them when you're slow. Give them first crack at new menu items.
These 20 people will become unpaid marketers who bring friends and post constantly on social media. Their lifetime value jumps 3x with minimal cost.
Start with what costs you the most
The biggest revenue leak in most restaurants? Missed calls.
You're already paying rent, staff, and food costs whether your phone gets answered or not. When calls go to voicemail during rushes, that's pure lost profit.
AI voice assistant for restaurants, Certus AI handles this completely. The system answers every call instantly, takes orders with 97% accuracy, processes payments, and sends tickets straight to your kitchen. Your team never touches the phone unless they want to.
Restaurants using Certus report recovering $70,000-$400,000 annually just from capturing calls they used to miss. That's not revenue you have to work harder for. It's revenue you were already earning but losing.
The phone problem is fixable. The solution exists. The ROI is immediate.
Book a demo with Certus AI and see exactly how much revenue you're leaving on the table right now
.svg)