Source : THE AGE NEWS
More than ever, convenience is driving how Australians eat.
New data shows that we are just as likely to get dinner to go as we are to dine in at a restaurant – ordering takeaway three times a month and home delivery twice a month, according to the 2026 State of the Hospitality Industry Report. And the trend shows no signs of slowing.
Takeaway is driving the fastest growth in Australia’s food service market, projected to expand at nearly 12 per cent annually through to 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence. This has affected the hospitality industry’s dine-in revenue, which has fallen to just 20 per cent, down from 31 per cent the year before.
To make up the difference, many restaurants have introduced takeaway alongside dining room service, while others have branched out into ready-made meals and retail food lines, hosting events or chef partnerships, not as a side-hustle, but as an essential secondary revenue stream.
What all this means for diners, as well as Melbourne restaurateurs and food-business operators, will be discussed tonight from 6pm at the sold-out Good Food Symposium, presented by Lightspeed. Held at Hyde Melbourne Place, the discussion sees five industry experts talk about how they’re responding to the changes, and what it means to the future of dining.
The panellists
The event is hosted by Good Food writer Dani Valent and will include panellists Shannon Martinez, the owner-chef behind pioneering plant-based restaurant Smith & Daughters and cafe-deli Smith & Deli in Collingwood and the Melbourne CBD and Marco Finanzio, owner of Umberto Espresso Bar and Gigi Rooftop in Thornbury.
They’re joined by the Istanbul-born chef and co-owner of Balaclava’s Tulum and Kismet, Coskun Uysal, and owner-chef of cafes Tori’s and Humble Rays, Sutinee “Tinee” Suntivatana. Rounding out the panel is Rob Stone, senior director of APAC hospitality at Lightspeed.
What is the Good Food Hospitality Symposium?
The symposium is a free, ticketed event that brings together the hospitality community for a solutions-focused panel discussion. It’s an ongoing Good Food initiative that was developed in response to the daunting number of cafe, bar and restaurant closures we first saw in 2024, but which continue to plague the industry.
