MRM EXCLUSIVE: Five Types of Data Needed to Run Your Restaurant to Its Maximum Potential

Competition in the restaurant industry is stiff, and it takes data to keep a lid on costs while getting more out of every hour, meal, and cover. There are 60,000 restaurants opening every year while 50,000 are closing, and it all comes down to a mix of staff performance and guest tastes.

To survive in this climate, you’ll need to gather data about what drives repeat purchases, faster turn times and high tickets. This data needs to be made easily available, understandable, and actionable for managers to get the most out of every shift.

In terms of operations, there are five key data sets every restaurant should understand:

Historical sales trends: You should report trends compared to previous time periods — day, week, month, quarter, etc. — to track realistic growth. New vs. repeat guest breakdowns: It’s important to know whether you can drive in customers and raise their lifetime value as high as possible. Server performance metrics: Rating servers relative to one…