How Restaurant Menu Typography Affects Per-Head Revenue

Lucas and Luna dive into the surprising impact of font choice on restaurant revenue. They unpack a 2023 study from Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research showing that switching from a sans-serif to a serif font on menu descriptions increased average per-head spend by 2.7 percent at a 40-seat bistro in Portland, Oregon. The episode explores why script fonts can backfire on beverage lists, how font weight signals price points, and the specific case of a New York steakhouse that redesigned its menu around typography and saw a 4.1 percent lift in steak sales. Lucas explains the two-by-two matrix of legibility versus perceived elegance, and Luna pushes back on whether the effect holds for quick-service versus fine dining. Practical takeaways for operators considering a menu redesign without hiring a design agency. #MenuTypography #RestaurantRevenue #PerHeadRevenue #MenuDesign #FontPsychology #SerifVsSansSerif #CornellStudy #PortlandRestaurant #NYCSteakhouse #MenuEngineering #FoodService #HospitalityIndustry #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness #RestaurantBusiness #BehavioralEconomics #MenuRedesign #ConsumerPsychology Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo