You can learn a lot by staying on top of what’s happening in the restaurant industry at large and in your particular segment. Restaurant magazines are one of the best ways to stay informed. The internet is full of resources for restaurateurs, but they can be overwhelming to sift through.
To help, we’ve compiled some of the top restaurant trade magazines, with options for both digital and print so you can keep up with the industry in a way that works best for you.
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The 14 best restaurant industry magazines and blogs to add to your reading list
- Nation’s Restaurant News
- Restaurant Business
- Modern Restaurant Management
- Cherry Bombe
- Food and Wine Magazine
- QSR Magazine
- Entrepreneur Magazine
- Fast Casual
- BlueCart Blog
- FSR Magazine
- Total Food Service
- Grub Street
- Eater
- Restaurant Development + Design
1. Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN)
NRN has one the largest editorial staffs among top restaurant magazines and creates exclusive content for the hospitality industry. Their articles focus on the business of running a successful restaurant and include valuable information about new technology trends.
Source: Nation’s Restaurant News
2. Restaurant Business
This restaurant trade magazine is geared toward larger restaurants and chains. It’s a great resource for staying up to date on trends and new technology. Restaurant Business says its focus is on “growth-minded entrepreneurs” and they frequently write about new concepts, consumer tastes and industry best practices.
Source: Restaurant Business Magazine
3. Modern Restaurant Management
Modern Restaurant Management, as stated on their website, is the “go-to resource for on-the-go restaurant-industry professionals”. Their goal is to equip restaurants with the information they need to operate more efficiently. This restaurant magazine covers everything from operations and finance to design and restaurant marketing. Plus, they mix their own editorial with a wide array of guest features from the industry, so you can stay well-informed.
Source: Modern Restaurant Magazine
4. Cherry Bombe
An independent magazine, Cherry Bombe celebrates all things women and food. Each issue features women making an impact in the food industry through profiles and interviews with chefs, food stylists and photographers. This well-designed restaurant magazine is a feast for the eyes and delivers a healthy dose of inspiration. They even host an annual conference, Jubilee, which is now a major networking event for women in the food and beverage industry.
Source: Cherry Bombe
5. Food and Wine Magazine
This magazine gives you insight into the type of content your guests are being exposed to and goes beyond just food. This magazine writes about food and related trends, but also wine and restaurants that are making the news. The more you know about what content your guests are consuming, the more you can exceed their expectations.
Source: Pocketmags
6. QSR Magazine
This B2B restaurant trade magazine focuses on quick service restaurants, fast-casual dining and snack shops. They write about consumer trends, marketing strategies, business growth and more. Bonus: it’s free to subscribe! They only ship to US addresses, but restaurateurs across the world can access their five-times-per-week email newsletter that contains a lot of the content published in the magazine.
Source: QSR
7. Entrepreneur Magazine
Entrepreneurs are what all restaurateurs are when you boil it down, right? While it’s not a restaurant magazine per se, independent owners will gain a lot of broader business knowledge by subscribing to Entrepreneur. The publication’s focus is on profiling established entrepreneurs so that aspiring ones can learn from them, and restaurateurs are often included in the mix.
8. Fast Casual
Fast Casual has been around since 1997, focusing on the news, events, trends and people that influence the fast-casual restaurant industry. They’ve shifted heavily to an online presence, but the magazine is still available for digital download as well which makes for some pretty easy tablet reading.
Source: Fast Casual Magazine
9. BlueCart Blog
Bluecart allows you to manage your kitchen on-the-go and their blog has a ton of great resources. Whether you’re a front of house manager or chef, there’s something to learn here. With guides on topics such as waste reduction and restaurant expenses, they cater to a wide variety of industry professionals.
Source: BlueCart Blog
10. FSR Magazine
Short for Full-Service Restaurant, FSR Magazine covers—you guessed it—news related to full services restaurants, which is quite a lot. It’s designed to be read by the leaders of the restaurant industry, everyone from chefs to owners and operators, but that doesn’t mean that other industry workers wouldn’t benefit from reading it. The print magazine can only be delivered to US addresses, but they offer an email newsletter to those outside of the States who still want to stay in the FSR loop.
Source: FSR Magazine
11. Total Food Service
Since 1990, Total Food Service has served the Metro New York hospitality industry, including restaurant operators, chefs, dealers, consultants and suppliers. From exclusive interviews to the latest news on products, trends, associations and events–Total Food Service covers all aspects of the Metro New York hospitality industry, along with related news and information on a national level. The monthly print and digital issues are free of cost to subscribe, along with a daily website offering additional news and resources. Total Food Service offers a total package of must-read news for any industry hospitality professional all in one place.
Source: Total Food Service
12. Grub Street
New York Magazine‘s digital offshoot Grub Street has been a staple since 2006. It brings a mix of dining news, industry insights and reviews, catered to both restaurant professionals and diners. With three different subscription levels, there’s something for everyone here. You can also just sign up for the Grub Street newsletter, which is lower commitment but still packs all the information you’re looking for.
Source: Grub Street
13. Eater
Eater is an entire “digital media brand” encompassing all things food and dining, as their website says. They’re versatile, covering local dining scenes, industry inner workings, detailed investigations and food trends. Signing up for Eater (which is free) gives you access to three of their newsletters: Eater Today, Eater Travel and The Move, all with a different industry focus. They’ve received many awards for their accomplishments in media and food journalism.
Source: Eater Magazine
14. Restaurant Development + Design
This one is a little different from the rest–Restaurant Development + Design will appeal to you if you’re looking at opening a new restaurant location, updating your existing space or starting a new venture altogether. It provides resources for restaurant professionals in the development and design space. Industry experts write about best practices, their experiences and ideas. Plus, you can subscribe to the magazine for free.
Get the restaurant insights you need
There you have it! If you need help with any aspect of managing your restaurant, from calculating your ideal food cost to figuring out restaurant KPIs to measuring success to staying ahead of trends, these restaurant magazines and blogs are here to provide the information you’ll need to stay on top of your game.
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