By nature, foodservice operators tend to be a pretty optimistic bunch. That must come with the territory when one builds their career on serving others. This year, however, when trying to describe the operator outlook, the word that comes to mind is cautious. It’s a term that keeps coming up in surveys from various sources.
Joe CarbonaraTake, for example, FE&S’ sister publication restaurant development + design. In a March survey, 43% of rd+d subscribers described their performance thus far as “stable with selective growth.” Another 22% said they are simply holding steady, bringing the share of respondents displaying a cautious mindset to nearly two-thirds.
Other industry studies tell a similar story. In a study discussed in its March webcast “Inside the Operator Mindset,” Datassential asked operators if they agreed with the statement “our restaurant is just getting by.” In response, 40% of operators agreed with that statement, 32% disagreed and 28% were neutral.
With their outlook varying so much it should come as no surprise that only 30% of the operators surveyed by Datassential plan to make capital investments this year and another 43% said they have no plans to do so. Just 27% said “maybe” when asked if they plan to make a capital investment. This wait-and-see approach is linked to operators’ most pressing concerns for this year, which, in order, per Datassential, consist of increasing traffic, managing food costs, managing labor, managing waste, and improving employee training.
The operator community is not alone in riding the waves of uncertainty, as data released by the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers illustrates. As part of a recent study, 91% of participating NAFEM member companies report tariffs having a negative impact on their businesses and 78% said they are passing the increased costs from tariffs and other trade practices on to their customers.
Some rays of sunshine continue to pierce these clouds, though. For starters, the foodservice industry continues to grow its share of consumers’ wallets. In 2025, foodservice spending accounted for 13.6% of all retail and foodservice sales, per a Technomic analysis. This represents a 3.1% increase from 2020 and 2% from 2015. In contrast, grocery stores have seen their share of consumers’ wallets fall to 10.5% in 2025 from 12.4% in 2000.
It’s easy for one to get lost in these clouds of caution and uncertainty. One way to keep your compass calibrated, though, is by staying close to your customers and listening to what they have to say. That was the case with Dining and Community Commons at Swarthmore College, the winner of FE&S 2026 Facility Design Project of the Year (page 42). In researching and developing this facility, the project team interviewed more than 500 students, held 55 meetings with campus leadership and hosted three campus town hall meetings. This led to a clear vision for a mission-driven foodservice operation that continues to meet its lofty objectives.
At some point this volatility will level off and foodservice will return to the consistent rhythm to which the industry is accustomed. Until then, continue to proceed with caution.
