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Navigating the Storm: Strategies for Independent Restaurants Amidst Inflation and Labor Challenges

Today’s Restaurant Industry Landscape After a difficult few years facing pandemic-related issues with restaurant labor costs, supply chains, inflation, and changing customer habits, many large restaurant chains, especially QSRs, have bounced back successfully. However, smaller independent restaurants in the full service sector are still facing a tough path forward.    While the National Restaurant Association…

Solving the Restaurant Delivery Dilemma: A Profitable Pivot to First-Party Delivery Integration

The Delivery Dilemma   The rise of on-demand delivery apps like DoorDash and UberEats has undeniably transformed the restaurant landscape. Convenience at our fingertips, a few taps on a smartphone, and a meal arrives at our doorstep—sounds like the perfect setup. Unfortunately this setup usually isn’t as convenient for restaurant operators as it is for…

Drive-Thru 2.0: Navigating the Tech Revolution in Drive-Thru Operations

The modern 2-way speaker drive-thru operation is said to have been invented by In-N-Out Burger in the late 1940s, later refined and spread across the country in the 60s and 70s by fast food giants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Jack In The Box.    Thanks to technology and changing customer demands, drive-thrus have steadily become…

Infographic: 2023 Year In Review Restaurant & Hospitality Industry Insights

2023 was another year of growth at CardFree thanks to our amazing restaurant, hospitality, and retail partners along with our awesome team for making everything happen.   As the world of restaurant tech continues to evolve, we’ve seen greater adoption of online ordering and payments from both operators and their customers, as you can see…

Introducing CardFree Loyalty 2.0

Introducing CardFree Loyalty 2.0 We built the initial CardFree Loyalty platform in 2013 with basic functionality, as our primary focus was creating the best Ordering and Payment platforms possible. A few years ago, we started hearing complaints from our restaurant partners about legacy loyalty platforms in regard to lack of support, high costs, poor UX, and…

Revolutionize Your Restaurant: Unlocking ROI with Online Ordering Systems and Payment Tech

At this point, if you run a multi-unit restaurant or hotel operation, providing your guests with an online ordering channel is table stakes. Your questions shouldn’t revolve around if your brand should implement omni-channel online ordering experience – instead, you should be asking which platform works best for your operation, how you can implement it…

Digital Marketing for Your Restaurant: Crafting Connections Through Email, SMS, and Push Notifications

In the saturated restaurant market, it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd, differentiate your brand, and generate meaningful engagement from your customers. At the same time, however, there are more marketing tools and resources available than ever before, and with a bit of research and experimentation, you can use the latest digital…

Native Restaurant Mobile Apps vs Web-Based Apps: Stop Requiring Downloads!

When our team built the original Starbucks, Dunkin’, Taco Bell, and Sonic apps 10+ years ago, native mobile apps offered many technical advantages over mobile web. Apps were also still relatively novel, and consumers’ appetite for downloading apps seemed insatiable. Neither of those things is true anymore, yet many vendors are still pushing apps as…

Great Wolf Lodge’s Pumpkin Spice Suites & a Look at Other Unique Hotels Around the World

It’s that time of year again – Summer is winding down and that autumn chill in the air is creeping in. Shorts and t-shirts are going back in the closet and out come the jeans and flannel. That’s right, we’re officially entering pumpkin spice szn.    While it might seem like the pumpkin spice aesthetic…

Boosting Your Hotel’s Reputation: The Key Role of Mobile Ordering

Although the world of hospitality is constantly evolving and adapting, the guest experience will always be the heartbeat of any hotel operation. As hoteliers continually seek innovative ways to improve their businesses, hotel mobile ordering systems have gained traction over the last several years, revolutionizing the way guests interact with hotel brands. While mobile ordering…