Food & Beverage

How Tony Roma's is using fast-casual strategies to reinvent itself

CEO Mina Haque explains how the 54-year-old brand is adapting to changing consumer habits without abandoning its casual-dining roots.

Photo: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock

August 5, 2026 by Amy Sorter — Writer and Editor, Connect Media

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Mina Haque, Tony Roma's

For more than five decades, Tony Roma's built its reputation on generous portions, expansive dining rooms and leisurely meals that served as a backdrop for birthdays, anniversaries and first dates.

Today's diners, however, are attracted to the convenience, speed and streamlined experiences associated with fast-casual restaurants.

To meet this preference, Tony Roma's has been rethinking everything from its menu and restaurant design to its technology investments. Dubbed Tony Roma's 2.0, the strategy aims to make the brand more relevant to younger consumers while preserving the food and experiences that longtime customers remember.

The approach reflects a broader shift across the restaurant industry. Casual-dining brands continue to face pressure from changing consumer habits. Rather than compete by becoming something entirely new, Tony Roma's is borrowing some of fast casual's operational playbook while holding onto the brand equity it has built over five decades.

"We're not changing who we are," CEO Mina Haque told FastCasual. "Where we can make an improvement is with the experience and its delivery."

Menu simplification

One of the biggest changes is the menu. At its peak, Tony Roma's offered more than 90 items.

Over time, the company recognized that a sprawling menu complicated kitchen operations and slowed service. Today, the core menu features about 25 appetizers, entrees and desserts, allowing units to operate more efficiently while making ordering easier for guests.

But some staples are still around.

"They're the stars, and they're here for the next 54 years," Haque said of the chain's signature baby back ribs and onion loaf.

The offerings continue to evolve as consumer preferences change. Mocktails, including the Apple Cider Mocktail, Mint & Fruit Dream and Virgin Romarita, meet the demand for nonalcoholic beverage options.

The company is also testing limited-time offerings to gauge customer interest before making permanent additions. One example is its Thai Vegetable Potstickers, which were served during this year's South Asian Oscar Party before expanding to select restaurant locations.

The goal, Haque said, is to broaden the menu without losing the identity that made Tony Roma's successful.

"This is an example of the menu evolution that we're incorporating outside of the casual dining fare," she said. "Whether it means Thai potstickers or cauliflower ribs."

Behind the scenes, a proprietary grill system helps support another fast-casual concept: speed. The equipment allows kitchen teams to prepare ribs and burgers in under 6 minutes, helping shorten ticket times while maintaining consistency. Some locations have also adopted open-kitchen layouts to create a more interactive dining experience.

Modernizing restaurant operations

Tony Roma's is also exploring technologies designed to improve efficiency and reduce labor demands without replacing restaurant employees.

The company recently partnered with Bear Robotics to pilot autonomous robots that transport food from the kitchen to dining tables and assist with bussing. The technology is currently being tested in Durham, North Carolina, and Carson, California. Haque said that the tests are measuring the operational impact before committing to a broader rollout.

At the same time, the chain is evaluating artificial intelligence tools that can help managers forecast inventory needs, streamline ordering and reduce food waste.

"We still need the human oversight," Haque said. "But it will inform the managers in a better way about ordering and preventing waste."

While many restaurant operators are rapidly adopting AI, Haque said Tony Roma's is taking a measured approach, focusing on technologies that solve operational problems rather than implementing new tools simply because they're the latest trend.

"I want to have AI and robotics," she said. "I also want to have market-specific solutions for my franchise or operating partners."

The Bones & Burgers experiment

Perhaps the most visible change involves the physical real estate.

One of the brand's first foray into smaller-format efforts was the December 2022 opening of Bones & Burgers in Tampa, Florida's International Plaza Mall. The 700 square-foot space was a departure from Tony Roma's typical 10,000 square-foot restaurants. The scaled-back menu includes baby back ribs, burgers and salads. Haque said that the corporate-owned unit was launched to determine if the model would work, before rolling it out to franchisees. While Haque didn't disclose the AUV, she said that the experiment was a mixed success.

"The food performed. But guests kept telling us that they wanted to see Tony Roma's on the sign," she said. "We're open to evolving the format under Tony Roma's Express, the same compact, fast-casual model carrying a name with more than five decades of equity behind it. We're looking for operators with access to nontraditional venues where the Express model thrives, including malls, entertainment districts, campuses and travel hubs."

These days, the company offers 3,000 square-foot models. Smaller footprints can mean lower development costs and more opportunities for faster expansion and more flexible site selection. They also align more closely with operating models many franchise prospects already know through fast-casual brands.

The smaller units, combined with technology investments and a simpler menu, are intended to create a more efficient operation without sacrificing the guest experience.

"The footprints follow the site, not the other way around," Haque said.

A recent stint as a food-truck vendor during three World Cupl matches in Dallas helped Tony Roma's solidify its smaller-space operations.

"Performing at that volume and speed on the world's biggest stage validated our compact format," Haque said.

"Coming out of that success, we're developing two permanent trailers in the DFW and downtown Dallas areas."

Building on a familiar brand

Unlike emerging fast-casual concepts that must build awareness from scratch, Tony Roma's enters its next chapter with decades of consumer recognition behind it. The company is using its home state of Texas as a springboard, targeting Las Vegas and New York for corporate locations. Tony Roma's is seeking multi-unit operators with fast-casual or QSR experience to help drive expansion efforts..

For Haque, the objective isn't to reinvent Tony Roma's so much as reinterpret it for today's diners. Signature ribs remain at the center of the menu, but the experience surrounding them, including streamlined operations, modern technology and smaller unit sizes, continues evolving to meet changing consumer expectations.

"Change isn't going to happen that drastically," Haque said.

"But we plan to improve the experience and the delivery of that experience."

The company's path forward isn't focused on chasing every restaurant trend. It's about combining the familiarity of a legacy brand with the convenience and operational efficiency today's customers increasingly expect.

Want to hear more?

Haque will join the Fast Casual Executive Summit as a panelist on "Happy Hour with Fast Casual CEOs" on Oct. 6. Register here. The other CEOs include:

• John Dillon, CEO, la Madeleine.
• Elisia Flores, CEO, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue.
• Brandon Solano, CEO, RAVE Restaurant Group.
• Ashish Tulsian, co-founder & CEO, Restroworks.

About Amy Sorter

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Amy W. Sorter is an award-winning journalist, copywriter and content producer. Sorter has generated quality articles, blogs and thought leadership pieces for multiple industries during her many decades as a writer. Her byline has appeared in local and national publications including the American Business Journal, Connect CRE, Bankrate, CURE Magazine and the Dallas Morning News.

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