Brian Malarkey, chef/partner of the San Diego area restaurants Searsucker and Burlap, was among those doing cooking demonstrations on the show floor

Pricing advice, how to manage your restaurant’s digital reputation and being a better leader were key insights at the annual Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo, a three-day trade show hosted by the California Restaurant Association that ended Tuesday.

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the show drew thousands of foodservice professionals to the San Diego Convention Center to peruse roughly 650 exhibitors, watch cooking demonstrations, attend educational sessions and get ideas about how to better run their businesses.

For the third consecutive year, the Expo featured the Expo Comida Latina, a trade show featuring Hispanic and Asian foods and beverages.

The show also coincided with the CRA’s annual board meeting, at which Harald Herrmann, chief executive of Yard House restaurants, was named this year’s chairman of the association’s board.

View a slideshow from the show floor

Economy, restaurant business brightening

While the mood was upbeat on the show floor, the topic of higher commodity prices was a recurring theme among speakers at the various educational sessions.

Melissa Wilson, a principal of the research firm Technomic Inc., told attendees at one session that consumers are noticing rising prices in grocery stores more than restaurants, and that there’s room for higher menu pricing, despite the choppy economic environment.

According to Technomic data, 33 percent of consumers said they thought grocery prices are significantly higher, while only 16 percent said the same about restaurant pricing.

And when asked why they thought restaurant prices were going up, consumers blamed the higher cost of gas and ingredients. Only 9 percent said they thought restaurant operators just “wanted to make more money.”

While consumer confidence remains low and Americans continue to be “spooked” by news ranging from rising gas prices to hurricanes along the East Coast, “the worst is over,” Wilson said.

However, the pervasive “deal environment” among restaurants that developed last year has continued, she said. With commodity prices rising, restaurant operators are forced to raise prices.

Wilson noted that consumers appear to be okay with that.

Technomic surveys indicate that consumers missed dining out during the recession, Wilson said.

“They missed being waited on. They missed the ability to take the family out and everyone ordering something different,” she said. “They missed the experience element of dining out, not just the food.”

For restaurant operators, that means improving the customer experience is one thing to focus on post-recession, Wilson said.