Looking forward
They're opportunities, not predictions.
Dear Expedite subscriber,
This is the 90th edition of Expedite I’ve sent in 2024. I’ve been at this for over a decade, but I’ve never actually counted. Ninety seems… significant.
Almost all of these editions contained original reporting or analysis of news, trends, ideas, and announcements. I love this work and am proud of Expedite’s success.
The end of the calendar year is a time for reflection. Over the month of December, I’ve highlighted four concepts that I think will continue to change restaurants in 2025 and beyond. I don’t like making predictions, so we’ll call these opportunities. They’re listed below.
Thanks, as always, for reading Expedite and supporting my independent work. Here’s to a successful new year!
-Kristen
Party in the drive-thru!
The days of a simple, transactional drive-thru are over. Welcome to the experience era.
Delivering directly
Last week, restaurant technology company Toast added an Uber Direct integration to its ordering platform. Restaurants using Toast Delivery Services through its point of sale system can tap Uber’s drivers to deliver orders placed directly.
AI for all
Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman seems happy. This year, his longtime nemesis, Google, was declared an illegal monopoly by a federal judge. About a month later, Yelp sued Google claiming the search giant limits consumer choice and prioritizes its own local search products. This makes it increasingly hard for companies like Yelp to compete, the company said.
It’s the algorithms
Earlier this year, I read and was subsequently deeply affected by Filterworld, a book by New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka, about how — in his worlds — algorithms flattened our culture. The book is a critical look at how the internet shapes everything we consume, including a question we’ve asked for years: In an era of near limitless opportunity for expression and connection, why does everything look the same?
