CTRL-ALT-DEL: A system reset for restaurants
This year’s Foodservice Facts is all about how to future-proof your restaurant. Over the next five to ten years, powerful shifts in technology, demographics, economics, labour, and consumer expectations will reshape the restaurant industry. The question is: how do we prepare for what’s next?
A while ago, I came across a clever reinterpretation of Ctrl + Alt + Del, which offers a guide forward. Once a lifeline for rebooting frozen computers, it’s now a metaphor for resetting your mindset:
Ctrl: Control Your Vision
Alt: Alter Your Approach
Del: Delete What’s Not Working
Much like those old systems, many restaurants today feel frozen by rising costs, unresponsive strategies, and outdated practices. What’s needed is not a shutdown, but a soft reboot—a smart reset to realign for the future.
Control Your Vision by defining and sticking to a clear identity. Whether your goal is to be the neighbourhood brunch spot or a high-end foodie destination, your vision should guide everything—from the menu to the ambiance to how your team engages with guests. Operators who chase every short-term trend risk diluting their concept, while those who stay consistent create stronger, more memorable guest experiences.
Alter Your Approach by staying flexible in execution, and Delete What’s Not Working by letting go of dishes, systems, or practices that drain your business. Adaptation may mean adding technology, adjusting hours, or rethinking training, but always in service of your core vision. Just as important, know when to cut what holds you back. In the end, pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del isn’t about starting over—it’s about pausing, refocusing, and resetting for the journey ahead. Foodservice Facts can be your guide in making that smart reset.
Click here to download the Foodservice Facts.
As the Chief Economist and Vice President of Research for Restaurants Canada, Chris Elliott manages and produces a comprehensive research program that has made Restaurants Canada a leading source of information for and about Canada’s $124-billion foodservice industry. Chris tracks and analyzes key industry and economic indicators and translates them into member reports and publications. He also provides research to support Restaurants Canada’s lobbying efforts on issues that affect foodservice operators – from payroll taxes to food costs.
Chris has worked with Restaurants Canada for over 20 years, has a Bachelor of Arts and Master’s Degree in Economics and specializes in economic modelling and forecasting.
