While You Wait

When it comes to marketing, relevance is everything. Everyone talks about targeted, contextual advertising, but very few channels actually deliver it. The restaurant industry, currently navigating one of its most competitive periods in recent memory, is a prime example of a space where the gap between marketing intention and execution remains wide open. After expanding […]

The restaurant industry is one of the most competitive businesses there is. That means that whatever initiatives you launch, consistency is everything. One of the most common mistakes restaurants make isn’t starting the wrong programs. It’s starting too many and sustaining none of them long enough to see results. The better approach: pick one or

Running a restaurant and getting customers in the door is not easy. Even popular restaurants are seeing prospects flee towards the exit due to long wait times for a table. NextMe’s digital waitlist for restaurant employees is significantly improving the customer’s experience at the front-of-house (FOH) and has helped restaurants increase customer retention during wait

Over the past year, restaurant marketing has evolved quickly. Most of the conversation has centered on visibility – making sure people know you exist and that the food you’re serving is worth their time. That’s the foundation. But executing it well requires an honest look at where you are before chasing the latest trend. Start

The pen-and-paper waitlist has had a long run. So have those clunky, germ-covered pagers. It’s time to move on from both. NextMe is a digital waitlist platform built for restaurants that makes the waiting experience better for everyone involved. Hosts get a clean, efficient system for managing walk-ins. Diners get a real-time view of their

Most restaurant tech these days follows a familiar playbook. Review platforms, reservation systems, food delivery integrations… NextMe takes a completely different approach, and it’s one worth paying attention to. NextMe is a digital waitlist app built around a simple idea: your phone number is all you need. Here’s how it works. You walk into a

You know the restaurant your mom has been talking about forever? The one she always says she wants to try but never gets around to. Mother’s Day is the perfect excuse to finally make it happen. Once you’ve picked the spot, the next step is securing a table. Mother’s Day is one of the busiest

We’ve all been there. You walk into your favorite restaurant on a busy night, and the host gives you the news: it’s going to be a while. In a city like Chicago, that’s pretty much a given at the best spots. Everyone knows which restaurants are worth the wait. If you want deep dish, you’re

If you’ve ever stood outside a packed brunch spot on a Sunday morning, watching the line snake around the corner while your stomach growls, you’ve probably wondered if there’s a smarter way to do this. It turns out there is. Anyone who has spent time researching Chicago brunch spots on Yelp knows the frustration of