Kristen Hawley

With local sourcing no longer serving as a trend, but increasingly as the status quo, restaurants are making their commitments to sustainability more visible to diners than ever before, with specific design elements at the forefront of their efforts.

In a race to personalize everything, from your news feed to the ads you see, companies are embracing artificial intelligence to get to the perfect answer. But it's going to take much more human curation before the robots take over.

Delivery companies have done well to incorporate as much efficiency-supporting technology as possible, but the real barrier to total optimization will continue to be the complicated logistics of real life. 

Over the past few years, established chains have turned to chefs to add a dose of authenticity to their menus and a refresh to their brands. A chef and chain partnership adds value but should be only one part of a brand's reinvigoration.

Was it a restaurant or a technology company? As Ando ceases its operations and its tech becomes part of Uber Eats, we have our answer.

Fine casual, yet another term coined to describe the new ways Americans dine, marries elements of fast casual and fine dining. No matter what you want to call these restaurants, expect many more.

Distinctive elements will dominate in restaurant design through 2018. Bold color choices, stand-out patterns, text-heavy neon signage, and witty branding will shape identities for new spaces, and the perceptions of those who experience them— virtually or otherwise.

The in-restaurant experience is changing, and it’s a direct result of new technologies aimed at making our lives simpler. Sometimes the tech creates a threat, as has happened with delivery. And sometimes it creates opportunity, as we see in the ways smart restaurants are addressing said threat.

The one-two punch of this initiative may be what makes it successful. All the recyclable packaging in the world won't help if no one actually, you know, recycles it.

This is timed well for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, but time will certainly tell if Pizza Hut's roving kitchens ever hit the road.