50 'great ideas' from restaurants

Not only are these ideas imaginative and inspiring, they work hard to improve business and drive trends. Originally published in Restaurant Business magazine, they are easy to steal for noncommercial as well.

1. Noodles to go

2. Grocery bag? Check!

3. Preopening for locals

4. Coffee in the fast lane

5. Virtual pie case

6. Self-serve brews at the bar

7. Extra-meaty steak basting

8. On the (coffee) rocks

9. It takes a village to raise a wing joint

10. Bespoke oysters

11. CSA takes to the seas

12. Recycling an idea: Scraps on the menu

13. A good match

14. Fishing floats

15. Walls of poetry

16. Serving bowls

17. Milk crate lights

18. Cheese grater lights

19. Wine-barrel ring lights

20. Whisk lights

21. Tapping the bitters trend

22. Sriracha at the pump

23. A saucy game of dice

24. New ways to use trays

25. Crowdsourcing the sports bar

26. A way to keep warm

27. Dessert-drink pairings take flight

28. Homegrown menus

29. Communal comments

30. Pizza via text

31. Barstool built for two

32. Paleo promotion

33. The state of the plate

34. Customizable walls

35. Set house rules for social posts

36. House cocktails in a bottle

37. Putting beer on the map

38. Cocktails in the cards

39. Set your glass here

40. Mix-and-match cocktails

41. Cue up the QR

42. Real-time feedback

43. Tipping the cooks

44. These fries have eyes

45. Paper and crayons 2.0

46. Chef's log

47. A bowl of pie

48. Scents of place

49. Countdown to Happy Hour

50. Trash tips for customers

Click here to view all 50 ideas.