There’s little room for profit, everything costs more (thanks, tariffs), and people are staying home a lot. For many in the food/drink industry, AI couldn’t have come along at a better time.
“AI is a powerful tool that can help restaurants operate more efficiently while keeping the focus on what really matters: the guest experience,” said the Texas Restaurant Association in a statement to us. “The best AI products free up restaurant team members to spend more time providing the hospitality and personal connection that technology can’t replace. Restaurants are putting AI to work in a growing number of ways — from accepting reservations to managing inventory, menus, and other administrative tasks.”
The TRA goes on to say they are connecting owners and operators with “practical tools, training, and information” to put AI to work at their businesses, including member benefits like Owner.com, “which uses AI to significantly improve restaurants’ online presence and sales,” and Maitly.ai, “a 24/7 AI voice receptionist that helps a busy restaurant never miss a reservation, order, or question from a caller.”
As restaurants face rising costs and continued pressure to do more with less, the TRA says, “AI has tremendous potential to help our industry work smarter while keeping people and hospitality at the heart of the restaurant experience.”
Two local restaurateurs also have some thoughts. Alex Lines is a chef of over 20 years, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the founder of Inline Hospitality. “With a passion for challenging traditional practices, he focuses on finding smarter, more efficient ways to build businesses, develop teams, and create memorable hospitality experiences.”
Lines is also a dedicated husband and father of two, who believes “true success comes from building something meaningful while creating more time for the people who matter most.”
Weekly food writer Cody Neathery is a partner in several hospitality concepts, from a Hill Country wine and sprits brand to a boutique hotel in Nashville, plus bars and restaurants across North Texas. Since high school, he dreamed of owning a bar. He started writing about food on a freelance basis for numerous publications while learning the business and networking with other industry pros. After five years of writing, he was able to buy his first restaurant, this one in Deep Ellum, in 2017. “The one piece of advice I’ve been given and have since passed along to others who have similar dreams is, ‘If you have $50,000 that you can flush down the toilet and never see again, then you’re ready to open a restaurant.’ ”
Is AI an added benefit, or would you have to have paid a consultant or entreat a mentor to answer any questions in the past? How does that make you feel and why?
Lines: I actually love this question and have been asked this multiple times, spending much of that reshaping my thoughts toward it because I was using these tools as they were coming out, when things were so generic and you could barley get a straight answer. But the answer has changed at light speed. We have advanced so quickly in capability that we have to be careful what we trade off in the process.
As a consultant, entrepreneur, and restaurateur, I could easily look at AI as a threat to what I do. After all, people now have access to information and guidance they might have previously paid someone like me to provide, but I’ve always believed in adapting rather than resisting change. I see AI as an opportunity to become better at what I do, not a reason to fear becoming obsolete.
What excites me most isn’t simply getting answers faster. It’s being able to accomplish things I previously didn’t have the time, resources, or technical knowledge to execute. AI has allowed me to expand my capabilities beyond my own expertise while making me a stronger, more efficient consultant/operator. I still believe experience, judgment, and execution are what separate information from real results, but being able to compete with companies that used to have teams accomplishing these tasks has provided me with new direction in helping people succeed.
Neathery: The benefit solely depends on the needs of an owner and context that it is used. Recently, I was weighing differences between three point of sales (POS) systems for a low-volume bar, mainly which would best fit the business based on the sales numbers produced. I asked Gemini to give me the lowdown regarding Toast, Union, and Spot On POS since each serves different business models and operational priorities. Gemini broke down the benefits and disadvantages with a final summary comparison of each, even further going into the various costs and fees involved. The cool thing is that Gemini prompts relevant follow-up questions relating to your research that you might not have thought about prior. This saved me from reaching out to meet three different reps to cover their products or digging through each company’s website for information. Now, I don’t think AI is the be all, end all and that human consultation with reps is important, but Gemini narrowed it down to two of three best products to fit my needs, which saved time and allowed me to form my own decision.
If AI is an added benefit, how has it helped or is helping? You can be as generic or detailed as you wish, just curious.
Neathery: For me personally, AI is a time saver as far as research goes from an operational standpoint with food and beverage research or interior design. It is heavily relied upon for marketing as we have seen the uptick with the generic AI slop that many businesses use as a crutch. However, let’s put ourselves in the restaurant owner’s shoes as it’s so easy to judge behind a keyboard. We shouldn’t knock a mom-and-pop restaurant who turns to AI for marketing flyers. Many people stoically proclaim their boycott of restaurants that use AI material and go on to point out how that takes business away from graphic designers. Let’s be pragmatic with this approach. In an industry that is still battered from COVID, margins are increasingly slim, and I empathize with an owner who doesn’t have the budget to pay a PR firm to run social media, a graphic-design wizard to create flyers, or have time as they’re working 50-plus hours per week and in their downtime. That is the last thing they’re thinking of. Calling for a boycott is childish and only hurts them even more. If you believe that Mr. and Mrs. Restaurant Owner should hire a social media manager for their marketing collateral, perhaps put your money where your mouth is and support their business first.
Lines: I use AI almost daily across several businesses, from menu development and financial analysis to marketing, operational systems, training, and business strategy. It’s become an extension of how I think and problem-solve.
One of the biggest advantages is being able to take an idea and develop it into something actionable without needing an entire team of specialists or weeks of preparation. I use it to challenge my thinking, explore different perspectives, and work through problems that might otherwise sit on the back burner.
For me, the real value isn’t just saving time. It’s increasing what I’m capable of accomplishing with the time I have.
Where do you see AI going in the service industry, and why is this good/bad/neither?
Lines: I think AI will fundamentally reshape the service industry, particularly in forecasting, inventory management, labor, training, marketing, and the personalization of guest experiences. It has the potential to make businesses more profitable while freeing up employees and leaders to focus on what actually matters: the guest experience, people, relationships.
My concern is that we become so focused on efficiency that we lose the human element that makes hospitality special: the seeing when people are in need of something, the casual conversations between regulars, the relationships that form and build through the passion we give off when talking about our foods and cocktails. There’s also a risk of becoming dependent on technology rather than developing our own creativity and critical thinking.
I don’t believe AI is inherently good or bad. That comes down to how we choose to use it. The goal shouldn’t be to replace people but to give them the tools to accomplish more while preserving the relationships, experiences, and genuine hospitality that define our industry. AI doesn’t have to replace what makes us valuable but challenge us to grow and become more valuable.
Neathery: Sure, boycott McDonald’s for [using AI], but let’s not vilify our local businesses for doing what they can to keep their doors open. That’s pretty black-and-white and where we should offer a little grace. Human interactions are a basic need, and the tides are turning to where customers want to speak to a real human instead of AI. While there are tangible net benefits to AI, which can be used for the betterment of business, it’s important the industry doesn’t rely 100% on it. AI doesn’t pay our bills. Your staff’s well-being and guests’ satisfaction do.
