We go to restaurants for a change of pace. Whether it’s for a gourmet meal, great ambiance, or simply a night out of the house is up to each of us because there’s always a little something for everyone. The inner workings of restaurants (which the majority of people don’t see) are fascinating. Their function, pace, and the inspiration they need to be successful is so apparent in each and every passionate team member that it makes eating exciting.

Regardless of how anyone feels about having a website or being involved in social media; customers are becoming more and more accustomed to a good online presence. AIS recently released a study reporting that 89% of consumers research a website online prior to dining there. It's hard to let your customers learn more about you without a website.

Eating at a restaurant is very much a social occasion. Until now, restaurants haven't had the opportunity to connect to their customers on this social channel. With new technology you can market your brand to new and existing customers socially; the way they're used to. This started with social networks like Facebook and Twitter, but now all websites are getting the social treatment. Websites are much more capable than they were previously. They can better represent your brand, get customers in your door and keep them more engaged.

The restaurant industry's largest chains bounced back in 2010. Of the 500 top restaurant brands in the US, more than half saw an increase in revenue over the last year. The top 10 grew their revenue 18% and accounted for $7.8B in revenue. The market research firm Technomic Inc got some numbers on how well the industry did last year, and who was leading the charge.

Foursquare announced today that they will be releasing a new version of their iPhone and Android apps later tonight. Foursquare has stacked some impressive numbers over the past couple years. Growing from 500,000 users to 7.5 million in the last year alone, racking up a half a billion(!) check-ins in 2010. It appears the massive growth has slowed their product drive as can be seen by the lack of feature addition in the past year. That's all going to change with foursquare 3.0. They've got big plans.

Welcome to Culini! I'm Jen. Three things to know about me (not nearly the most important three things, but for the get-to-know-you stage, this will do)...I'm a marketing/media relations consultant, restaurant lover and fairly sarcastic. I am still working out how the last one can really come across in written blog form, maybe someone can invent a sarcastic font? Bill Gates, get back to me on that one.

OpenTable had a good year. In their earnings report, OpenTable announced better than expected profits while their stock price rose to an all-time high.

The day that OpenTable announced their earnings report, their stock price closed up $0.48 on the day. Their stock price now at $85.28 they've done very well for themselves considering their IPO price of $20. The earnings are driven by the company's monthly charge per restaurant subscriber, as well as a fee charged for each table reserved. The service is free for the customers; it is the restaurant that foots the bill.

Hello Internet,

Culini is very excited to become a part of the vibrant blogging community online. There are so many excellent sites out there providing great insight into the restaurant industry. Culini already provides an excellent service to restaurants, now we want to keep everyone informed on the latest restaurant news out there. To kick this party off, I figured I'd tell you a little about what this blog intends to be.