- February 5, 2026
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Secluded, cavernous booths and oh so dim lighting. Dark, moody wood decor and a personal attendant ready to guide you through an hours-long dining experience. For 50 years, these have been some of the hallmarks of an evening at The Melting Pot: the go-to, fondue restaurant synonymous with romantic anniversaries, birthday dinners and special occasions.
But in 2026, the Melting Pot is boiling up something new.
The Tampa-based restaurant company announced plans for a Melting Pot Evolution before the pandemic put everything on hold. Now, the makeover is back on, with a system-wide remodel that should be completed this year — the largest scale remodel since the brand’s launch in 1975.
“It’s more open, it’s lighter, more energy, it’s more bar centric,” says Melting Pot Chief Business Officer Dan Stone. “It’s quite a bit different than probably what you remember when you think of the Melting Pot, but at the same time it’s not unrecognizable either.”
It’s a milestone that brings a multiyear initiative, which cost more than $20 million in interior and exterior renovations, to a close.
It's also a long way from 1975, when the first Melting Pot opened in Maitland, outside Orlando, with three menu items: Swiss cheese fondue, beef fondue and a chocolate fondue dessert. Current Melting Pot Chairman Bob Johnston and his brothers opened a Melting Pot in Tallahassee in 1979; in 1980 they opened another location in Tampa. Then, in 1985, dropped out of college and moved to Tampa to help run the whole business.
That scrappy start has now turned into a fondue funnel, with $201 million in revenue in 2024 and nearly 100 franchise locations. The average franchise unit volume in 2024 was $2.16 million, franchise documents show.
The new evolution, meanwhile, is the company’s attempt to breathe new life into the Melting Pot experience. Gone are the dimly lit booths. New is the more open concept seating and a fresher, modern interior centered on a show-stopping bar, Stone says.
“We’re known as a special occasion restaurant and we love that, but it sometimes works against us because some guests don’t want to dilute what they use our brand for,” Stone says. “They want a night at the Melting Pot to be something special, not just an average date night on a Tuesday. So we want to keep that balance between a sacred place for celebrations and an accessible place for people to come experience us in a different way that doesn’t take all night long, maybe just for a cocktail and a quick fondue with friends.”
The makeover seems to be working.
Despite tough economic conditions that saw the industry down in sales and low consumer spending, the Melting Pot celebrated a 2025 that saw not one closure and a record high net promoter score of 64.8 out of a range of 100 to -100. A net promoter score (NPS) is a widely used customer experience metric that measures loyalty and predicts business growth by gauging how likely customers are to recommend a company, product, or service to others. Average NPS scores for a restaurant typically fall between 30 and 50, Stone says. Typically, above 55 is excellent, and above 65 is best in class.
In addition, three new franchise restaurants and one corporate location opened across four different states in 2025 — setting a precedent the company hopes to emulate every year moving forward.
The new locations in Connecticut, Arkansas, New York and downtown St. Petersburg are already shattering national averages in key performance metrics, Stone says. The new St. Pete spot, at 699 Central Ave., is a good example: the average per-person check at the new St. Petersburg location is $70.50, the company says. That's 15.57% higher than the national year-to-date average of $61 per person, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Another key in the evolution is a boost on booze. The bar is front and center in St. Pete and other locations, transforming the Melting Pot experience from an hours-long evening to a happy hour drink and casual chocolate fondue. And with the bar no longer a hidden or non-existent feature, the St. Pete location's alcohol product mix is 23.7% — the highest in the Melting Pot System, the company says.
The new restaurants, Melting Pot officials add, all sit well above the National Restaurant Association average alcohol to food mix of 12.1%.
As The Melting Pot continues expanding across the country, this year also marks a significant effort to bring more restaurants to Canada.
It’s a goal the fondue factory set more than 15 years ago when it began opening restaurants in Edmonton but has abandoned in recent years. Now, with 94 fondue franchises in operation and more on the way, Stone says the company hopes to revisit its snowy cousin to the north.
In 2026, Melting Pot hopes to open locations in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
Canadians are, generally, more familiar with fondue, Stone says. After all, cheese fondue has its roots in French and Swiss culture and hot, melted do-it-yourself fondue dinners pair perfectly with Canada’s cool climate.
Stateside, the company is targeting expansion this year in Las Vegas; South Florida; San Jose; Providence, Rhode Island; Provo, Utah, Greensboro, North Carolina; Eugene, Oregon; Lancaster, Pennsylvania; and Houston and The Woodlands in Texas.
Shortly after John Crawford became the Melting Pot’s new CEO last spring, the restaurant began testing a revamped menu in select locations. It’s still the classic, four-course fondue-based meal customers expect, but with new twists like “double dippers” toppings to go on top of freshly-dipped cheesy or chocolatey bites, ranging from smoky bacon and everything bagel seasoning to chocolate chip cookie crumbles and pretzel bits. There are even vegan-friendly options.
The new menu will roll out nationally this spring, Stone says.
“We’re going to be launching some exciting new cheese dippers, chocolate dippers, new vegetables and we’re also working on heating the bread for the cheese,” Stone says.
Melting Pot will also soon unveil its “celebration menu” designed to make dining out easier for large parties. It features three tier options guests can choose for their party, instead of having each member order individually, and bottomless entree packages.
The Melting Pot is also reaching out into the world of retail with products you can order online on the Melting Pot website, through Omaha Steaks or buy in grocery stores. The Melting Pot ended 2025 with its own do-it-yourself cheese and chocolate fondue kits, dubbed Melting Pot at Home, selling in more than 2,500 grocery stores, including every Publix in the Southeast. The company now also sells its signature Melting Pot branded fondue bowl and skewers, but they aren’t needed to enjoy the Melting Pot at Home experience. You can make the restaurant’s signature cheese or chocolate fondue in a double broiler, on the stove or even in the microwave, Stone says.
In an interview last summer, Crawford, the new president and CEO, told the Business Observer that some franchise owners were worried that selling fondue outside the restaurants put them at an unnecessary competitive disadvantage. But those worries, company officials say, have proven unfounded.
“It's not meant to replace the in restaurant experience, but it's a way for you to bring fondue and enjoy the Melting Pot when it doesn't make sense for you to be in the restaurant — maybe on Christmas Day,” Stone says.
This year will also see the launch of some additional products, like the Melting Pot’s house dressing and its “curiyaki sauce” — the restaurant’s signature teriyaki sauce and curry sauce mixed together.
“So we're looking to continue to diversify product offerings to help create brand awareness for the brand and to continue to grow, both in guest traffic, but also in storefronts and customers,” Stone says.
Still, Stone says, some things will never change.
“We are an authority on cheese and chocolate fondue,” Stone says. “We do it better than anyone in the U.S. It's our superpower, and it's a big point of differentiation for us. So we do not have plans to try to be all things to all people. That’s not what Melting Pot is, and we like who we are.”
