What Resources Does the National Restaurant Association Offer to Restaurant Operators?

Updated

The National Restaurant Association (restaurant.org) offers restaurant operators a mix of research reports, operational guides, a free marketing program, and ongoing news and events. Most resources are organized around four practical needs: understanding industry trends, preparing for disruptions, improving workforce performance, and reaching specific customer groups. Some reports are free to download, while others are reserved for association members — the site notes, for example, that members can download the full 2026 Beverage Trends Report for free.

Research and Industry Reports

The association publishes reports that translate industry data into decisions operators can act on.

Report What it covers Access note
Made in Restaurants: Industry Careers in America How restaurant experience creates pathways to advancement, entrepreneurship, and long-term career success Downloadable report
2026 Beverage Trends Report How beverage preferences are reshaping traffic, loyalty, menu opportunity, and sales Full report free for association members
Hiring & Staffing: How Onboarding, Managers, & Technology Drive Restaurant ROI Research framing workforce decisions as strategic investments that shape business performance Downloadable report

These are most useful when you are planning menu changes, building a hiring or onboarding case, or benchmarking your staffing approach against broader industry findings.

Operational and Safety Guides

Two guide series focus on being ready before something goes wrong:

  • Always Ready: Public Safety — helps restaurant teams reduce risk, prepare for public safety incidents, and respond with confidence. The guide is offered as a free download.
  • Always Ready: Utility Disruptions — covers what to do during a power, gas, or water outage, including preparations before an outage, actions during one, and recovery afterward.

These are practical for writing or updating your own emergency procedures, since they outline both preparation and response steps in one place.

Marketing Programs

Kids LiveWell is a free marketing program that makes it easier to offer better-for-you meal options to parents dining with children. Operators can explore menu items that meet the program's nutrition criteria and use the program to signal those options to families. It suits restaurants that want a recognizable way to highlight kids' menu choices without building a campaign from scratch.

Advocacy, News, and Events

The association supports restaurants of every size at every level of government, and notes that the industry is the nation's second-largest private-sector employer — which is why policy issues affect it directly. Beyond advocacy, the site maintains a News and Resources section covering issues impacting businesses, plus webinars, podcasts, industry events, and conferences aimed at different segments of the industry.

How to Choose What to Use First

  • Facing a specific operational risk (outage, safety incident): start with the matching Always Ready guide.
  • Planning menus or beverage sales: check the Beverage Trends Report, noting the member access condition.
  • Working on retention or hiring ROI: use the Hiring & Staffing report.
  • Wanting to attract families: look at Kids LiveWell.
  • Tracking policy or industry changes: follow the News and Resources and events sections.

Access conditions vary by item — some downloads are free, and at least one full report is limited to association members — so confirm availability on each resource page before planning around it.