As Technology Expands, So Does the Definition of ‘Restaurant’
Photo Credit: Off-premise dining, including drive-thru, makes up 63 percent of restaurant traffic. Unsplash / Benjamin Parker
Skift Take
Digital technology has caused such an evolution in the restaurant industry that even official channels like the National Restaurant Association are modifying how they look at the industry.
Digital technology is changing what makes a restaurant a restaurant, according to Hudson Riehle, senior vice president, research and knowledge group at the National Restaurant Association (NRA).
Delivery, drive-thru, and takeout make up 63 percent of all restaurant traffic in 2019, according to Riehle. Thanks to the mass adoption of conveniences like these, the NRA now thinks about the industry in terms of "points of access," not restaurant locations.
"The basic paradigm of what constitutes a restaurant in America is changing, and will continue to evolve in the years ahead," said Riehle, citing delivery-only operations, which feature a storefront but no dining room, as an example.
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