The world of restaurants and senior living dining venues is moving ever-closer together. With the arrival of the baby boomers, they are starting to converge.
In 2025, more senior living operators are adapting their culinary services to fit the preferences of the incoming generation of older adults, the baby boomers, who are bringing tastes for fresher, flavorful and more global cuisine. Senior living companies are exploring new methods of hiring leaders, developing menus and implementing new technology to aid staff in providing a dining experience for residents.
All of this was on display during Senior Housing News’ DISHED conference held earlier this week in Atlanta in conjunction with QSR Evolution Conference from SHN sister publication QSR Magazine.
“The scale of culinary is adapting to be more like a restaurant, but our mindset also as directors has to be more of a restaurant operator,” said Priority Life Care Corporate Director of Culinary Experience Brian Gallo.
This move away from the “scoop-and-serve” mentality of senior living dining is not entirely new in 2025, and operators have long stressed the need to bring more restaurant experiences to residents. But this shift is accelerating this year as operators sharpen their culinary models staring down 2026.
An acceleration of culinary creativity means the competitive stakes are higher than ever, and operators that fail to deliver dining that feels indistinguishable from a restaurant experience may risk falling out of favor with the industry’s next class of residents.
The way forward could lie in the approach of companies like fast-food chicken sandwich restaurant chain Chick-fil-A.
During a keynote at the QSR Evolution Conference, Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy recalled the Atlanta-based company’s “second-mile service” customer service philosophy of going “two miles” even when only asked for one. In other words, Cathy said that consistently exceeding customer expectations can build relationships and loyalty.
Although Cathy’s comments were directed toward an audience of quick-service restaurateurs, I believe they also apply to senior living operators.
Just as Chick-fil-A leans on exceeding customer expectations to grow its business model, senior living providers also have an opportunity to do the same. But they must recognize that food service is as much about people as it is about food on the plate. Training staff to channel this hospitality-first mindset in every interaction can transform dining from a functional service into a core element of operations that improve a community’s reputation, and with it, resident satisfaction.
In this week’s SHN+ Update, I analyze panel discussions at DISHED, trace the industry’s push towards hospitality-first dining models and offer the following takeaways:
- How operators are making the shift to hospitality and restaurant dining
- Trends guiding the shift towards hospitality in dining
- Where senior living dining is headed in 2026 and beyond
‘Restaurant-style’ not enough
Senior living operators are keen to tout “restaurant-style” offerings in their communities, but more companies are designing and operating spaces that function as actual, working restaurants, not just spaces modeled after them.
Today’s senior living residents are accustomed to regularly dining out before they move into a community, so it’s only natural that they expect that same level of freedom and quality to carry over in the community they choose.
Senior living culinary service offerings have sometimes struggled to overcome a perception of having a “scoop-and-serve” mentality where operators provide cafeteria-style dining for residents at a set time, according to LCS Regional Director of Dining Services Matt Garnett.
But those days are quickly coming to an end as operators rely on multiple dining venues, grab-and-go options and personalized menus to improve resident satisfaction.
Residents themselves are often comparing what they eat in a senior living community to meals they’ve had elsewhere at restaurants. For example, LCS’ community in Chicago, The Clare, competes with some truly top-flight restaurants in the city’s downtown area.
“We need to do a better job of being progressive,” Garnett said during DISHED. “We need to push the envelope, we need to be creative and we need to create a restaurant-style model that’s an experience, not simply a way for residents to come in and get fed.”
It’s clear that this shift in senior living dining towards hospitality must also include bringing healthy menu options and more choices to residents. Variety in dining is “the biggest thing” that operators can do to improve their dining to compete with today’s restaurants, Garnett said.
Instead of seeking to be good enough, senior living communities can match or even exceed what restaurants do in the outside world. Already, some operators sell their food on delivery apps like DoorDash under brand names that don’t immediately evoke senior living.
“We need to be competitive with restaurants in downtown spaces like Naples, Florida or Chicago,” Garnett said. “It’s more about the experience now.”
That also means more vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, along with small-plate options and menus with more choice and variety, he added.
Expanding menu options to cover vegetarian, gluten-free and global flavors shows residents that their unique preferences and dietary needs are seen and valued. I believe this can build trust and loyalty in the same way a favorite neighborhood restaurant earns repeat diners.
This shift towards hospitality comes at a time when the customer base continues to evolve, with Atria Senior Living Vice President of Culinary John Hetzel noting that the “boomers are coming” and demand new dishes and expanded options in dining from plant-based menus to healthy options.
“We have to be able to keep up with that,” Hetzel said during the conference. “Someone in Kansas City wants to eat a different meal than someone in New York City, so we build flexibility into our program.”
This flexibility comes in the form of bringing “authentic flavors and tastes” into menu development, relying on international cuisine and fusion dishes that pair healthy options with comfort fare.
Atria is in the coming 12 months preparing to launch a partnership with Wholesome Crave, a plant-based food company, to expand healthier options at its communities.
“The idea is that we give chefs the tools to be successful so they don’t have to work too hard at it,” Hetzel added.
But it’s not so much about having a vegetable entree on the menu, it’s important that operators also create “thoughtfully prepared” dishes to accommodate vegan-type diets that “are being asked for” at communities nationwide, according to Discovery Senior Living Vice President of Culinary John Vogelmeier.
“We’re looking at things like clean ingredients, clean labels,” Vogelmeier said during a panel discussion at DISHED. “The residents are asking for these things and it’s our job to not only provide that, but also be at the forefront.”
Vogelmeier said operators must change their mindset and get leaders to “change the way they think” about how they approach dining services. For example, Discovery has implemented pop-up dining events like summer barbecues with themed events or adding a day in which food trucks visit a community to make dining “a fun event.”
Senior living operators cannot rely on outdated dining practices and expect to increase census or improve customer satisfaction. Operators must innovate and rethink their dining models to function more like a restaurant and less like a cafeteria, or risk irking residents that leads to lower customer satisfaction.
“We treat our dining rooms like restaurants,” said Northbridge Companies Director of Procurement Matt Tremblay. “We hire restaurant chefs. Our culinary directors come from the restaurant business.”
Northbridge has used guest meals, where family or friends of current residents at Northbridge communities dine together. Doing so has created a new revenue stream within the dining segment and improved resident satisfaction, Tremblay added.
At the end of the day, I think a hospitality-first senior living dining program can set a community apart in a crowded market, improve customer satisfaction and ultimately influence occupancy growth. Communities that invest in this restaurant-style model are serving more than just meals, they are serving an identity that resonates with today’s and tomorrow’s customers, similar to how Chick-fil-A approaches its dining efforts.
Balancing generational tastes, pushing toward hospitality
Operators must cater to both older residents that grew up on traditional and seasonal fare while also meeting the expectations of younger, incoming older adults who are health-conscious and adventurous. This is a tough balance that can only be achieved through accurate cost control, staff communication and a shift in mindset when preparing menus. Attempting to balance these two tastes in dining is a challenge that all operators must face.
The Springs Living, based in McMinnville, Oregon, is working to “balance these two markets” of residents through providing more choices on menus for residents to choose from, according to Food and Beverage Director Jake Johnson.
“We want to make sure we can balance that comfort food that changes every day along with something that’s more elevated and more like restaurant-style dining,” Johnson said during DISHED.
This balance is where hospitality becomes a differentiator. Comfort food alone won’t impress the next wave of senior living residents, but too-adventurous menus could alienate other customers. Framing dining as a restaurant experience where familiarity and new dishes are presented simultaneously will allow operators to meet both ends of this generational spectrum.
To achieve this, Johnson relies on The Springs Living chefs to offer more leafy greens, vegetable-based entrees and options that meet the needs of customers today as variety in senior living dining is a constant that “always pops up.” This requires operators to consistently change menus, bring in new items to clientele that are the same day-in and day-out.
Constant change mirrors the Chick-fil-A hospitality approach where rotating menu items provide diners something new to come back for. Adopting this restaurant cadence shows to residents their community is keeping pace with modern dining expectations rather than remaining stagnant.
Cathy said Chick-fil-A restaurants aim to automate aspects of operations “behind the scenes” while enhancing the “overall interaction” with customers.
“We can teach them how to make a Chick-fil-A sandwich, but they have to come to the table with really strong leadership skills,” Cathy said. “We really want to make sure they know what they’re getting into as well as how hard this business is.”
In the months ahead, Johnson envisions a senior living dining experience that is focused around healthy options and more towards an “allergy-free program,” writing menus that are “all inclusive for everybody.”
Carrying this mindset into senior living reinforces the need for operators to think more like a restaurateur.
Some operators with smaller footprints are already reaping the benefits of creating these personalized dining options for residents. Dallas, Texas-based The Sage Oak, with its small-home assisted living and memory care model, relies on chefs to create experiences that are highly personal to a resident’s past travel or life experiences, according to Sage Oak Executive Chef Larry Atwater.
“Menus will be completely personalized and maybe throw in elevated comfort foods with some international dishes brought to you by private chefs in open kitchens,” Atwater said during a DISHED panel.
Ahead for successful operators in 2026, Vogelmeier said, is focusing on wellness and nutrition within menus and dining programs. Discovery is working on a new program that will launch next year to include some concepts that refocuses dining around wellness and nutrition in a nod toward “Blue Zones” where older adults live longer than other places, he added.
Looking ahead, Garnett noted that operators should consider dining repositioning projects, overhauling traditional dining hall spaces into divided and distinct options that include bistros, wine bars and rooftop pubs.
“The days of the 150-seat main dining room are behind us,” Garnett said during the panel.
Communities that embrace this shift will not only meet current resident needs, but also win over the next generation of older adults who expect dining to be vibrant, inclusive and memorable–just like any quality restaurant. Operators that cling to old ways risk being left behind in a sector where hospitality is becoming a key part of a senior living provider’s value proposition.
