Sources, methods and limits
Every finding carries its source. Here is what that means.
What a MenuSpy report reads, how excerpts are checked, what we leave out on purpose, and where a dated research snapshot stops being useful.
What the report reads
Restaurant menu pages and first-party ordering pages (Toast, Square, Clover and the like), organizer and venue event listings, state and county agency pages for wages, taxes and licensing, and local news publishers. A finding names the page it came from and quotes the matched excerpt.
How excerpts are checked
The research pipeline looks for the quoted text on the source page. A finding is marked as matched when the excerpt is found and as needing a check when it is not. Both are shown. A matched excerpt confirms the quote, not every interpretation of it.
What we leave out on purpose
Delivery-app prices are excluded or labelled because they carry markups. Undated aggregator menus are excluded. A trend needs two independent local publishers; one article is listed as a single signal. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap; the gap is listed in Coverage and limits.
Where a snapshot stops
The report is dated. Menus, event calendars and rules change after the observation date. It is not a sales forecast, legal advice, a zoning answer or a lender-ready feasibility study. The planning priorities are suggestions to test against your own numbers.
Reference material behind our public copy
The guides and comparison pages on this site cite the industry research and internal documentation listed below. A claim that cannot be tied to one of these sources is narrowed, rewritten or removed.
If a claim cannot be tied to one of these sources, it should be treated as unsupported and either narrowed, rewritten, or removed.
External Research
These sources support industry context, review behavior, and Google business-profile capabilities.
Industry Statistics
National Restaurant Association
Industry statistics and market context published by the National Restaurant Association.
- General restaurant industry context
- Public-facing statements about restaurant competition and margin pressure
- Directional claims about why pricing discipline matters
Food Services and Drinking Places: NAICS 722
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Federal labor, earnings, employment, and industry reference data for food services and drinking places.
- Claims that restaurant operations are labor-intensive
- Workforce and earnings context for restaurant operators
- General labor-market framing in public content
Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
BrightLocal
Consumer research on how often people read reviews and how reviews affect business choice.
- Claims about review-reading behavior
- Claims about positive reviews influencing business choice
- Claims about the importance of review recency and responses
Google Business Profile
Google's overview of Business Profile capabilities across Search and Maps, including reviews, menus, orders, and profile management.
- Claims about Google Search and Maps presence
- Claims about restaurant business information available publicly through Google
- Claims about menus, reviews, hours, and related profile fields
MenuSpy Documentation
These pages support product claims about pricing, security, workflows, data collection, and feature availability.
MenuSpy Pricing
MenuSpy
Current plans, feature availability, limits, and public pricing language.
- Plan names and prices
- Competitor limits by plan
- Current trial and loyalty feature packaging
MenuSpy Help & Support
MenuSpy
Public FAQ covering onboarding flow, workflow expectations, and common product questions.
- Setup and onboarding descriptions
- Refresh and review workflow statements
- High-level product usage claims
MenuSpy Documentation
MenuSpy
Public documentation for feature walkthroughs, exports, and workflow explanations.
- Feature walkthroughs
- Export and reporting claims
- Educational product descriptions
About MenuSpy
MenuSpy
Public methodology and positioning page describing public-data collection and product scope.
- Data collection and methodology statements
- Product positioning and brand framing
- Public-source competitor data claims
MenuSpy Security
MenuSpy
Public security overview covering encryption, hosting, and data-handling language.
- Security and encryption claims
- Hosting and infrastructure references
- Public data-handling statements