Google just rewired how it recommends restaurants, and a lot of local search advice is already out of date. Here's what actually changed, and how your Google Business Profile can keep working for you instead of against you. 

Guests are searching for their next meal before they ever type your name. Here's how independent restaurants show up first, on Google, on maps, and now in AI search too. 

Menufy surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers about how they find, evaluate, and choose restaurants. The results put hard numbers on something most owners already sense: guests are quietly walking away before they ever place an order, and the gaps costing you those orders are fixable. Here's exactly where it's happening and what to do about it.