Restaurant Operators Planning 20% More New Locations Despite Economic Headwinds, New Study Finds

Growth plans remain strong, even as 3 in 4 operators say expansion is increasingly difficult

BOSTON, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Crunchtime Information Systems, Inc., the leading provider of operations management solutions for the restaurant industry, today shared the results of a comprehensive research study conducted in partnership with Technomic, based on a nationwide survey of 300+ multi-unit restaurant operators.

The 2025 Restaurant Growth Insights Report finds that restaurant brands are not slowing growth amid economic headwinds, but are strategically thinking about how they scale more sustainably while also identifying critical areas for improvement. Key findings include:

• Growth plans amid economic concerns: Operators plan to open, on average, 20% more new locations in the next two years than the last two, despite 73% being concerned about economic uncertainty, and 75% saying that growth is now harder to achieve.
   
• Sales forecasting accuracy falls short: Despite being a top priority, operators say their sales forecasts are only 60% accurate, on average, even though 72% use tech-based forecasting tools. This signals that while tools exist, many solutions are not meeting their needs. Inaccurate forecasts (off by 40%) will negatively impact growth and profitability.
   
• Visibility gaps hurt the bottom line: While 80% of operators prioritize real-time visibility into data across key areas like labor, food costs, and compliance, fewer than half actually have it. Major blind spots exist in tracking food costs, waste, and ingredient usage—critical to profitability. Full visibility is essential for spotting issues, ensuring accountability, and making smart decisions that protect growth and guest experience.
   
• Growth depends on strong vendor support: Although 83% of operators strive to partner with vendors who can support their growth, 79% faced challenges during periods of expansion, ranging from rising costs to poor integration, which all become amplified as brands scale. These challenges highlight that the tools that are in place aren't always delivering the real-time guidance or accuracy needed.

"Restaurant operators are focused not only on opening new locations, but also on ensuring their systems, teams, and partners are built to scale. This research gives them the benchmarks they need to make those calls," said John Raguin, CEO of Crunchtime. "At the same time, there's significant opportunity to improve forecasting accuracy and real-time visibility into operational data—capabilities that are critical to getting growth right," Raguin added.

For greater detail into this research, download the 2025 Restaurant Growth Insights Report here. A deeper dive into the findings will also be shared in a live webinar on October 15th—register here.

About Crunchtime: With Crunchtime, the world's top restaurant brands achieve ops excellence in every location. Crunchtime software is used in over 150,000 locations in 100+ countries to manage inventory, staff scheduling, learning and development, food safety, operational tasks, and audits. Through the recent merger with QSR Automations, Crunchtime has expanded its offerings to include kitchen automation and guest management solutions. Crunchtime enables customers, including Chipotle, Culver's, Domino's, Dunkin', Five Guys, and P.F. Chang's, to control food and labor costs, and deliver great guest experiences by providing the real-time data and tools essential for profitable, scalable growth. Learn more at www.crunchtime.com.

About Technomic: Technomic Inc., an Informa Connect company, was founded as a management consulting firm in 1966. Since then, Technomic's services have grown to encompass cloud-based B2B research tools, consumer and menu trend tracking and other leading strategic research and analytic capabilities, to prioritize and size business opportunities. Our clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants, retailers and multiple other business verticals aligned with the food industry that are looking to make informed decisions to support their business growth. Visit Technomic at www.technomic.com.

SOURCE QSR Automations