MRM Research Roundup: AI Investment Heating Up and Summer Dining Dos and Don’ts

This edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features the present and future of AI use in F&B, The Splintered Path to Purchase, the Datassential 500 Awards, and where chefs are earning six figures. A Dilemma of “Super Size” ProportionsAmid rising food prices and shifting consumer preferences, the restaurant industry is facing a dilemma of “super size” proportions.

Quick-service restaurants maintain a steady customer satisfaction score of 79 (on a 100 point scale), while full-service restaurants — despite slipping 2 percent to 82 — remain one of the highest-rated industries in the Index, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025. At the same time, U.S. chain sales grew just 3.1 percent in 2024 — falling short of the 4.1 percent menu-price inflation rate.

Restaurants must now navigate a razor-thin margin between maintaining customer loyalty and managing escalating costs…