14 Must-Read Restaurant Trade Magazines

A lot can be learned by staying on top of what’s happening in the restaurant industry at large and in your particular segment of it. 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

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.

While this restaurant trade magazine is geared more for larger restaurants and chains, it is a good resource for staying up to date on trends and new technology. Restaurant Business says its focus is “on entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth” and they frequently write about new concepts, consumer tastes and industry best practices.

Modern Restaurant Management’s mission, as stated on their Twitter, is “to be the go-to resource for on-the-go restaurant-industry professionals.” 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.

A biannual 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.

This may not seem like an industry magazine, but it is helpful in staying up to date on what your guests are seeing in their homes each night on TV. People who watch food shows are eager to try something similar to the creations being made by their favorite on-air personalities. 

Similar to Food Network 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, 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.   

A subscription to RestaurantOwner.com comes with a complimentary subscription to Restaurant Startup and Growth magazine, the self-proclaimed “leading print resource for restaurant operators who want practical insights and real-world ‘how-to’ practices on opening, operating and building a profitable, successful restaurant business.” This monthly restaurant publication has a lengthy database of past issues that subscribers can enjoy as well—a great way for new restaurateurs to get a sense of the restaurant landscape.

This B2B restaurant trade magazine focuses on quick service restaurants, fast-casual dining and snack shops. Bonus: it’s free to subscribe! They only ship to US addresses, but restaurateurs across the world can access their four-times-per-week email newsletter that contains a lot of the content published in the magazine. They consider themselves to be “the leading source of information for the quick-service and casual restaurant industries.”

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.

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.

For pizzeria owners, this trade magazine is a must-read. Launched in 1984 by a pizzeria owner who was looking for more help growing his business and couldn’t find it, Pizza Today has gone through several incarnations and is now headquartered in Louisville. Flip through their digital pages to find stories like “Tony’s Trending Recipe: White Pie Broccolini,” in addition to an “On the Road” series that features pizzerias across the country.

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.

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, especially if you plan to own your own place someday. 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.

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.

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, these restaurant magazines are here to provide the information you’ll need to stay on top of your game.

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