No single innovation has revolutionized the restaurant industry quite like the computer.

As computers have evolved, they’ve taken restaurants along for the ride.

Computers have turned cash registers into POS systems. They control oven temperature and help track inventory. They help managers do their jobs better.

“Computer systems of all kinds and sizes have made a huge difference in restaurants, from managing the business, printing receipts and lifting the baskets on a fryer to controlling the cooking on a combi oven,” said Foster Frable, founding partner of foodservice consulting firm Clevenger Frable LaValle.

The evolution of the Internet, much like the computer, has transformed how restaurants do business.

The Internet has revolutionized advertising. It enables online ordering. It helps restaurants talk directly to customers. Much of the software that runs restaurants is Internet-based.

Even cooking equipment and other machines are connected, enabling restaurants to adjust settings for many locations simultaneously, improving efficiency and consistency.

Thanks to the computer, point-of-sale systems have evolved.

The increasing sophistication of POS systems has helped restaurants become more sophisticated themselves.

POS systems make ordering quicker and easier. They help cut down on errors and improve inventory control. They support loyalty programs and online ordering.

Today, operators can oversee more units at a time thanks to POS systems. What’s more, restaurants haven’t even fully tapped into their functionality, particularly when it comes to gathering data.

“They gather so much data,” said Steve Crichlow, a restaurant industry consultant and longtime operator. He estimates that restaurants use only 40 percent of a POS system’s full capability.

For quick-service restaurants, perhaps no innovation has had as much of an impact as the drive-thru.

The drive-thru emerged in the 1970s at Wendy’s, Burger King and then McDonald’s. It quickly became a must-have in the segment.

The drive-thru enabled restaurants to cater to an increasing number of customers who demanded convenience. As commutes lengthened and more women entered the workforce, eating in the car became a common part of the workday in America.

Today, some quick-service chains see 70 percent of business from the drive-thru.

It’s difficult to overestimate the impact of smartphones on restaurants.

These pocket computers, cameras and phones have changed the way restaurants do business. They have also altered forever how customers interact with restaurants.

Restaurant managers use smartphones as vital communications tools. Workers can check their hours. Managers can see the day’s sales report.

Smartphones have the potential to put a POS device in every customer’s pocket via online ordering. Customers also use smartphones to advertise your restaurant on social media. Of course, there is a downside to this — potentially amplifying any mistakes your restaurant may make.

Ovens have been around for almost as long as humans.

But in recent years, commercial uses and computer technology have made them more advanced than ever.

Some standouts: The convection oven, which emerged in the 1960s, offered faster, more even cooking. At the same time, combination steam-convection ovens, or combi-ovens, allowed vegetables to steam and meat to roast at the same time.

Impinger ovens use a conveyor, radiant heat and jets of hot air to speed up heating. Such ovens have become popular in pizza chains that demand speed.

While we’re at it, we should note the clam grill, which helped chains like McDonald’s render the burger flipper obsolete.

Of all the equipment on this list, the microwave is one of the most controversial. After all, no one likes microwaved food.

Still, the microwave has enabled a generation of chains to pre-make individual portions of food and reheat them for use when needed. That can improve efficiency and let concepts offer more items that can’t be made easily on demand.

Microwaves also improve speed and save energy. They can go almost anywhere, don’t need a hood and don’t overheat the kitchen.

Exhaust hoods have been around for decades.

But, as Foster Frable of Clevenger Frable LaValle noted, in recent years, restaurants have added fire suppression systems.

The combination of grease and heat inside restaurant kitchens has long made fires a major hazard. There is no way the industry could have expanded so rapidly over the past 50 years without this innovation.

While kitchen fires haven’t been completely eliminated, these systems have greatly reduced that risk — and saved lives in the process.

Restaurants are going into smaller locations than ever, many of which cannot accommodate hoods needed to ventilate the cooking of burgers, steaks and chicken.

Enter ventless cooking equipment, such as fryers, which has enabled the expansion of restaurants into nontraditional locations.

“Ventless cooking equipment has really changed the industry,” Frable said.

The touchscreen Touchscreens are another technology restaurants have quickly adapted.
Some might point out kiosks, which are increasingly popular inside quick-service restaurants, or tabletop tablets seen in casual dining. But touchscreens are ubiquitous, particularly in POS systems that help workers take orders.