Last month was my annual trip to the National Restaurant Show to check on the latest food and beverage trends, along with the state of the industry.

Joining 55,000 other attendees at McCormick Place to sample food/beverage products and learn about the current state of affairs, there was optimism to be seen at the show.

There remain ways to stay profitable, but it gets more complicated each year. The latest issue that food operators must contend with is diet drugs, such as GLP-1.

Consumers have drastically cut back on heavy, fried and sugary items as a way to cut weight. They are also opting for smaller portions and want more protein in their diet.

While it is a new challenge for restaurants to alter their method of delivery from kitchen to table, it is a much overdue change. Portion size was out of control, leading to obesity.

Data from the show indicated that 37% of Americans are eating less than a year ago. Generally speaking, foreign countries have never been as guilty as the United States for piling up plated food in such large quantities.

There is a glimmer of hope for the restaurateurs in that this change in attitudes among diners will lead to lower food costs. Finding the correct price point will be tricky, though.

For those not interested in dietary drugs and accustomed to larger portions, there could be blowback from smaller portions, especially if the price isn’t much different than before.

Navigating its client base is more of a concern in large urban areas than in rural areas like Ogle County. For example, research has shown pizza and burger joints have seen a decline in consumption among those on GLP-1 because of the fat content of those foods.

Around here, people still want their pizza, burgers and fries. Likewise, trendy foods like avocado toast, acai bowls and roasted Brussels sprouts that have hit the big cities haven’t made much of a dent here.

What is interesting about food trends is what was popular a year ago may have been a fad. That is noticeable every year at the National Restaurant Show.

Exhibitors are constantly touting the next hot thing, such as a couple years ago with plant-based burgers. That initial buzz eventually gave way to the realization that they were more of a chemical creation than a truly natural product.

One trend that is evident is people wanting healthy offerings and there is a movement afoot to bring back the type of food one’s grandmother would make – good, old-fashioned comfort food.

What’s old is new again. The difference is that a healthier version of it is desired.

A creative kitchen will find a way to make grandma’s cooking just as tasty with fewer calories. Certainly, there are many more flavors and ingredients to work with than before.

Besides comfort foods, people also want to try more global flavors, as evidenced by 44 countries represented at the food show among the 2,300 booths. Cracking into the big three of Chinese, Italian and Mexican remains difficult.

Making the biggest inroads have been Thai, Indian and Japanese, with Korean and Vietnamese also showing growth.

Restaurants not only compete among themselves, but also have seen an increase in competition from convenience stores and grocery stores. There has to be a sense of envy from a full-scale restaurant, with such high labor and food costs, to see the ease in which a Starbucks pumps out high-margin beverages with such ease.

Consumers have become more fixated with beverage consumption than ever before and that is where the highest profit has always been. Another healthier trend has been a decrease in alcohol consumption.

Establishments have gone to low or non-alcohol drinks as a means to increase business.

Besides beverages, area restaurants and bars have also seen another huge income generator in slot machines. That has changed the business model of the local food industry as much as anything.

Unlike a family restaurant or old-school supper club, where food is the focus with its higher expenses from labor, equipment, space, utilities, etc., a simpler pub-type venue with slot machine revenue is an easier and less risky operation.

Those wanting to enter the field of food and beverage management are more likely to enter into that type of arrangement rather than being burdened with running a full-scale restaurant.

Research has shown that labor continues to be the biggest challenge for an operator and that trend doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. The pool of younger workers has been at its lowest in decades.

One area of food service that has changed more than any other segment is that of gas station convenience stores. Compared to the old days of settling for a can of pop and chips when stopping for a fill-up, nearly all major gas station chains have indicated food service has become an integral part of their business.

Caseys, which has 3,000 stores and can be found in every town in Ogle County, has become the fifth-largest pizza chain in the country.