Book excerpt: The Next Frontier of Restaurant Management brings together the latest research in hospitality studies to offer students, hospitality executives, and restaurant managers the best practices for restaurant success. Alex M. Susskind and Mark Maynard draw on their experiences as a hospitality educator and a restaurant industry leader, respectively, to guide readers through innovative articles that address specific aspects of restaurant management: * Creating and preserving a healthy company culture * Developing and upholding standards of service * Successfully navigating guest complaints to promote loyalty * Creating a desirable (and profitable) ambiance * Harnessing technology to improve guest and employee experiences * Mentoring employees Maynard and Susskind detail the implementation of effective customer management and staff training, design elements such as seating and lighting, the innovative use of data to improve the guest experience, and both consumer-oriented and operation-based technologies. They conclude with a discussion of the human factor that is the foundation of the hospitality industry and the importance of a healthy workplace culture. As Susskind and Maynard show, successful restaurants don't happen by accident.