Is Brunch Dying in America? Why Restaurants Are Rethinking the Weekend Meal

Is Brunch Dying in America? A Chef’s Perspective on the Future of Weekend Dining.

Brunch has become an American staple in food culture over the past several years. It is a meal that many people look forward to on the weekends with friends, family, and most importantly, great coffee. For many restaurants, it can be a great opportunity to create a memorable experience for customers during the busiest time of the week.

There is a growing list of considerations for the way people choose restaurants today. Prices, portion size, convenience, and value for money are all on the list of factors that influence a consumer’s choice of restaurant.

So, is brunch dying in America?

In my opinion, brunch is still very familiar to Americans, but that does not mean that customers will settle for a large menu, over-the-top presentation, and long wait for a table to have a mediocre experience.

Rather than trying to find out if brunch is dying, a better question to ask is how can restaurants make brunch worth customers’ time and money while remaining profitable?

Why Brunch Is Booming in the US

Brunch is a unique dining occasion where breakfast favorites can be served later in the morning. Customers can enjoy a meal that is slightly different from their typical breakfast at home and can socialize with friends and family during this time.

Chefs have a lot of freedom to create with so many different elements to work with on a brunch menu. A simple egg dish can be turned into a signature dish for a restaurant by adding the right seasoning to the eggs, cooking the potatoes to the perfect crispness, and adding in fresh herbs and a delicious sauce.

The same simple egg dish can be elevated to a signature dish for a restaurant by the seasoning, cooking the eggs perfectly, the perfect crisp on the potatoes, the right fresh herbs, and the perfect sauce to pull it all together.

For customers, brunch offers an opportunity to meet up with friends and celebrate special occasions while enjoying something different from their usual breakfast at home.

The opportunity for restaurants to make the most of the occasion and deliver a consistent experience to customers who arrive in large numbers within a short space of time is a great one.

Menu design and kitchen organization are key to delivering consistency in experience.

The Traditional Brunch Model Has a Business Challenge

Brunch is often offered for only a few hours of the day but can require a large amount of ingredients, preparations, and methods of cooking.

For example, a typical brunch menu consists of several different egg dishes, pancakes, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, potatoes, salads, pastries, and a host of different sauces.

When orders come in together, they are competing for space in the kitchen and the attention of the staff.

An order for an egg dish can be ready before the corresponding toast, a pancake order can hold up a section of the griddle, and a sauce not prepped can hold up an otherwise simple dish.

These delays can quickly add up during a busy service.

The cost of a dish includes more than its main ingredients. Labor, waste, energy, packaging (where applicable), and other operating expenses all affect the restaurant’s results.

The National Restaurant Association State of the Restaurant Industry 2025 report identified food and labor costs as the top two challenges for restaurant operators today, with both of these costs increasing dramatically since 2019. This report also highlights the need for restaurants to focus on operating efficiency in addition to sales. Read the National Restaurant Association’s industry report.

This article does not claim that American brunch is declining but rather explains why a brunch concept needs to be viable commercially.

Are American Diners Becoming More Selective?

In terms of how diners choose to spend their money on breakfast and brunch, value and convenience are key factors.

Mintel’s US Restaurant Breakfast and Brunch Trends Report 2025 describes a market where value and convenience are highly valued by consumers who also seek experiences. It outlines how restaurants are responding with a variety of menu options and dining experiences to meet these varying needs.

The report also acknowledges that customers can be seeking different things on different occasions. They may want a quick and easy breakfast on a weekday but a leisurely, indulgent meal on the weekend with friends and family.

To read the report overview, click here: Mintel’s US Restaurant Breakfast and Brunch Trends Report 2025.

What restaurants can learn from this is that there are many different types of customers, and they are looking for different things on different occasions.

One customer is going to meet up with friends for 2 hours for brunch. They will be looking for atmosphere and variety on the menu. Another customer is going to get up early for breakfast before going off for the day. They will be looking for speed, portability, and value on the menu. Another customer is going to bring their family for brunch. They will be looking for some of the family’s favorites on the menu as well as some dishes that will make their visit special.

A single menu can fulfill many needs. All of the above scenarios can be fulfilled with one well-conceived menu.

Why a Smaller Brunch Menu Can Work Better

A large menu can give customers the impression of choice, but that choice is not necessarily going to translate into a better dining experience for them.

A smaller menu will enable you to prepare your ingredients more consistently, train your staff more efficiently, and stock fewer specialized items.

The key is not to have a small menu per se but to have dishes that serve a purpose.

A brunch restaurant might choose to focus on a few signature dishes for its core menu.

One or two signature egg dishes.

A well-developed breakfast sandwich.

A pancake or French toast specialty.

A satisfying vegetarian option.

A potato side that complements several dishes.

A small selection of drinks and optional extras.

These are just examples of what could be included on a menu for a brunch restaurant and should be considered on an individual basis for the customers, concept, equipment, and price point of the restaurant.

Each dish needs to be as unique as possible without over-complication.

Planning ingredients across several dishes

An example of this would be using roasted potatoes in an egg dish as a side for a breakfast sandwich and in a vegetarian brunch bowl.

By making one batch of well-controlled potatoes, the restaurant can simplify its purchasing and production for several different dishes on the menu.

The advantage of shared ingredients is, however, only present when there is sufficient demand, when holding quality can be maintained, and when food safety procedures are adhered to. Too much of a good thing can lead to waste. Too long of a holding time can also have a negative effect on the texture and quality of a product.

Therefore, when simplifying a menu, you should base your decision on actual sales, preparation, and waste data rather than the number of ingredients used in a dish.

Menu Engineering: Sales Are Not the Same as Profit

High sales do not necessarily mean high profit for a restaurant.

One popular dish can have high sales but contribute very little after its direct costs have been covered. Another dish may have lower sales but contribute more to cover labor, rent, and other operating expenses.

Chefs and restaurant owners need to understand customer demand and also the financial aspect of the business.

A good place to start with this would be to calculate the food cost of each dish.

Food cost percentage = Ingredient cost per portion ÷ Selling price × 100.

For example, imagine a brunch dish sells for $16, and its ingredients cost $4.80 per portion.

Food cost percentage = $4.80 ÷ $16 × 100 = 30%.

The food cost for this dish is $11.20 after the cost of the ingredients for the portion has been deducted from the price of the portion. This does not represent the net profit for the portion.

This is not an industry benchmark, nor is it a target for other restaurants. Food cost must be determined on a case-by-case basis for each restaurant and will vary based on the model of the business, the menu, and other expenses of the business.

We also track the number of portions sold, the time it takes to prepare each dish, the amount of waste, any feedback from customers, and any delivery or payment-related costs.

This will allow you to make better decisions on whether to keep, change, reprice, or even remove a dish from the menu.

Therefore, a successful brunch menu is not only one that sells well but also one that is beneficial for the restaurant.

How Kitchen Workflow Affects the Brunch Experience

Preparation for brunch starts before the first order is even taken.

All preparation lists should correspond to the expected volume of business for any given day. Ingredients should be portioned, sauces and garnishes organized, and the staff must be aware of what tasks can be completed in advance of service and what must be completed immediately prior to service.

The menu should also be suited to the kitchen’s equipment and staff.

For example, if several dishes are cooked on the griddle, in the oven, or on a certain cooking station, then it is important to know how to manage several orders coming in at the same time. Even seemingly simple dishes can be difficult to produce if there are many components that need to be made at the same time.

For example, a breakfast sandwich with cooked eggs, toasted bread, hot proteins, sauce, and fresh garnishes. Each of these components requires different timing. The bread must have the right texture. The hot ingredients must be brought to the pass at the right time. The garnishes must be fresh.

With good workflow the components come together to make a good dish.

Keep track of ticket times during service rather than relying on estimates from menu planning. If there are bottlenecks with preparation of certain dishes or stations then make changes to the process, the equipment used or the recipe itself.

Fast service is never more important than the safe handling of food and the customer’s expectations of quality.

What Makes a Brunch Dish Worth Ordering Again?

This is because a good brunch dish does not have to be complex or huge in portion.

A good dish must deliver on the customer’s expectations and have enough character to warrant being ordered again.

The eggs need to be cooked to perfection as stated on the menu. The toast must still be hot and have the correct texture. The potatoes must be prepared correctly and not be soft when the customer wants crisp potatoes. The sauces must complement the main part of the dish and not overpower it.

Temperature, seasoning, portion size and timing all play a part in the experience.

Appearance is important, but it is the substance of the food that really matters. A customer may be drawn in by a photograph of a dish on a restaurant’s website but will return again and again for the consistent execution of that dish on the plate.

When I evaluate a restaurant dish, I look at it from two different perspectives: that of the customer and that of the kitchen.

A dish that looks great on the plate but takes too long to serve may need to be reworked. Alternatively, a dish that is easy to produce but does not live up to expectations of the customer must also be addressed.

Flavour, texture, consistency, practicality and cost must all be balanced for a dish to be good.

Does Brunch Need to Become Cheaper, Faster or Simpler?

Not necessarily in every restaurant.

A premium brunch restaurant would be about great hospitality, great ingredients and great atmosphere. A local cafe would be about great food at reasonable prices served quickly. A destination restaurant would be about a great experience that people plan to go for.

Not every restaurant needs to serve brunch the same way.

What matters is whether the experience lives up to expectations.

What is on offer for customers to pay more for than they would for breakfast? What is on offer to make things more convenient for customers? What kind of experience are you offering customers for them to come back for more?

Remember, value is not simply low price. It is the relationship between what customers pay and what they get in return.

More consistent cooking, correct portion sizes, clear menu descriptions, good service and dishes that are different from the norm are all factors that can improve value to customers.

A Practical Brunch Audit for Restaurant Owners

Before you make any changes to your brunch menu, it’s best to first review how your restaurant is currently doing.

1. Identify best sellers. Review sales of all dishes over a period of time, including busy and quiet services. Do not base decisions on one weekend.

2. Calculate ingredient costs. Use the actual portion size of the dish and the current price of ingredients from your supplier. Include the cost of sauces, garnishes and cooking fats in your calculations.

3. Measure preparation and ticket times. Which dishes create bottlenecks or require too much last minute work to be served in time?

4. Track waste. Record unused prepared ingredients, spoiled stock, overproduction and avoidable plate waste. Look for recurring causes for any of the above rather than just reducing the portion size of dishes to cut down on waste.

5. Customer Feedback. Review all customer comments regarding taste, temperature, waiting times, portion sizes, prices and service.

6. Test changes before you implement them. Trial a smaller menu, a new preparation method, or a new combination of ingredients and compare results with current practices.

7. Review financial results. Review sales, ingredient costs, waste and service results against each other. Remember that ingredient contribution is not the same as final business profit.

This is a much better way of making decisions than simply reading the headlines of the trend.

The analysis could reveal that a large menu needs to be reduced in size. It could also reveal that the current menu is adequate but that there are problems with the service. Or, there are a few dishes on the menu that need to be promoted more.

Let the restaurant’s evidence speak for itself.

The Opportunity for Chefs and Food Entrepreneurs

With changing expectations of customers, there are also opportunities for chefs with creativity and business acumen.

A restaurant can develop its identity based on a special regional dish, a great vegetarian dish, a special breakfast sandwich or even a special signature sauce. It can even offer different prices for different dishes without having to make every dish on the menu interchangeable.

A product that customers want to buy and that can be produced by the operation of the business is the principle behind the opportunities for food entrepreneurs at brunch.

This means considering ingredients, portion sizes, equipment, staff, preparation times and how to maintain quality during peak times.

The same principles apply when developing menus for cafes, hotels, casual dining restaurants and other foodservice operations.

Creativity is great for attention, but consistency is key for a dish to become a staple on the menu.

Chef RBS Verdict: Is Brunch Dying in America?

I would not declare brunch dead.

While there is some evidence that breakfast and brunch are important dining occasions for customers and are facing the same challenges of value, convenience, quality and cost that other meals are, there is no evidence that brunch as a whole is dying in America.

For the chef and restaurant owner the opportunity lies in understanding what customers want and delivering that experience.

Keep what’s good. Fix what’s not good. Make great food that can be consistently reproduced and that makes sense for the business.

A restaurant doesn’t need to have the biggest brunch menu in order to offer customers a great experience. What’s more important is that the restaurant has a clear identity, serves great food, offers great service and runs efficiently.

In terms of brunch, the future is not about offering more but about offering an experience that customers want to return to.

This is where culinary skill and sound restaurant management come together.

Frequently Asked Questions About Brunch

Is brunch dying in America?

Current industry research does not establish that brunch is dying nationwide. Breakfast and brunch habits are evolving, and restaurants need to understand changing customer preferences, pricing expectations and convenience needs.

Why might a restaurant change its brunch menu?

Restaurants can change their brunch menu for many reasons, including to improve the quality of the food, to reduce waste, to cut the cost of the ingredients, to simplify preparation of the dishes and to meet customer feedback.

Does a smaller brunch menu always make more money?

No. A smaller menu can simplify purchasing and kitchen operations, but profitability depends on customer demand, pricing, ingredient costs, labour, waste and execution.

How can a restaurant calculate brunch food cost?

Food cost percentage = Ingredient cost per portion ÷ Selling price × 100

What makes a brunch restaurant successful?

A successful brunch restaurant has a clear concept and serves food that customers want to eat, consistently prepared, at a price that customers are willing to pay, with great service and managed costs and service.

What should restaurant owners review before changing brunch?

Start with sales data, ingredient costs, preparation times, waste and customer feedback. Test changes on a small scale and compare results before making a permanent decision.

Sources and Further Reading

National Restaurant Association: State of the Restaurant Industry 2025

Mintel: US Restaurant Breakfast and Brunch Trends Report 2025

These sources can provide additional context on the restaurant industry as a whole and the breakfast/brunch industry specifically. They do not, however, provide evidence that brunch is dying across America.