American suburban chain restaurants are in decline

what desert do you live in that doesn't even have a noodles and company?

I spent about $15 at a Mexican place on Friday, couple of tacos, a burrito... I'd never even think about going to Outback or some chain place.

Before that, maybe two weeks, my daughter and I went to the local very good Thai place for lunch. $35 or so including a tip. Excellent food. Again, Outback? Who would eat there?

I'd like to eat at the local Indian place during the week for lunch but the parking is insane.

This is a good thing, sucks for people w/ jobs who lost them but these corporate franchises are overpriced frozen garbage

>Hidden MSG

Fuck off

Because why should I waste time eating in a resturant when I can avoid shit service and just get takeout food?

Because young people have no sense of loyalty. They won't support local family runned businesses because they are more expensive. They'd rather shop at the Zombimart where the cashiers look like they want to kill themselves and everything is packaged and processed.

But hey. There's no point even arguing over this shit anymore. There's going to be tonnes of kids under the age of 25 replying to me spouting all kinds of shit and it's not really their fault. They never lived in a society where you knew all your neighbours and the local shopkeeper would greet you by name everytime you walked in. Times are changing and soon everything will be run by monopolies or by oligarchs.

>They won't support local family runned businesses because they are more expensive.

... really? I find that local joints are either cheaper or priced similarly to chains. Do you have examples of otherwise?

Chain restaurants are fucking retarded. Why would you eat at a place that has some kinda standardized menu that has had actual r&d teams just to figure out how to cut as many corners as possible?
Their food is NEVER as good as independent restaurants, so why eat there?

>corporate chain restaurants are dying
>because millennials like shitty corporate chains

Literally wat

>family runned

back under your rock, cletus

>gmo and msg
Who could conceivably care? This totally undermines legitimate concerns like transfat and antibiotics

Hi :)

Chain restaurants are the food equivalent of zombimart though

>OP: Why are chain places dying?
>You: Because Millennials don't like local, non-chain places
Fantastic assessment, Grandpa. Don't forget to complain about Millennials who stream television shows being 'Striminals" in response to a question nobody asked.

Respect your elders, even the dumb ones

>non of these corporate chains ran the fast food game in the 80's
>supermarkets didn't control all the food entering the town in the 80's

Just a coincidence that this all started to happen in 2000's? Get your head out of your ass.

Because they're expensive and the food's no better than fast food. I'd rather just cook my own meal, it's better and cheaper.

You realize the article is about how corporate chains are LOSING their market share, right?

Because if I'm going to eat out, I'm not choosing a shitty chain restaurant unless it's fast food.

Fuck no. If you're stupid and incapable of reading comprehension in the process of trying to demean or insult somebody else, you're getting told that you're stupid and incapable of reading comprehension, and that you shouldn't attempt to demean or insult somebody else as a result.

Christ you're thick. Pro-tip: We are talking about why chain places are NO LONGER doing well. Not WHY they are doing well.

You're right, user. Moe's is average for the most part. I love their sauces though.

>Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Ruby Tuesday, and Bonefish
These all serve awful food. No one who is a fan of good food eats at any of these places. They are for lazy people who don't give a fuck. Lazy people will go out when the economy is good because going out to eat is a fun thing to do. But as soon as money gets tight it's one of the first things people stop doing. And if they're still lazy they can get equally awful food cheaper at fast food/casual places. Really, what allure do these restaurants posses? Tacky decor? Overpriced low quality meals? Locations in shopping malls people don't go to anymore because Amazon?

...

You do not need to be so upset. Reading comprehension is an easy thing to improve.

You're the one whoms upset ;-)

Are RT franchises locally-owned by franchisees, or does corporate run them directly?

I've tried both and I find them to be about the same. I guess Chipotle has some different meats. Don't remember anything that stood out otherwise.

We only have a Moes so I don't get to compare often.

I wonder whom'std've posted this

Moe's has a few more options but somewhat less quality food than Chipotle. Also I get way more food at Moe's than my local Chipotles. Could vary from franchise to franchise.

I like Moe's because the line is shorter, and they have more options and more salsas -- and chips that, while not very good, are still not so horrendously salty as to be inedible, like Chipotle's. Also their tofu is pretty good, if you're into that sort of thing.

>Their food is NEVER as good as independent restaurants
Not true

Haha. It's okay,you can stop now :-)

Right, but as a general rule it is. They are inherently a worse platform for producing tasty food

Respect your elders user

I'm sure some independent restaurants manage to have worse food than chains but my experience has been that chains are a sure bet for disappointment, so better to chance it with an indy place.

Shh,you'll set him off again. We just got him to go to sleep ;-)

>That has led to more closures — Ruby Tuesday and Ignite Restaurant Group Inc., among others, have closed restaurants, as has the fast-casual chain Noodles and Co.
I think this has a lot to do with the fallout of the Great Recession. Not only did it cause a lot of financial ruin, but even after the recovery began in earnest many people did not see the growth and gains widely distributed geographically. The stagnation and psychological scarring associated with the collapse has probably made a permanent impact on the consumer base for a generation compared with how things were in 2000s, similar to those who grew up in the Great Depression (my grandparents were super frugal about grocery shopping or eating out and never let anything go to waste). Eaters learned to either eat out less/cook at home more, became accustomed to lower-end chains, or saved up to eat at high-end joints to make it "worth it" .

Therefore these "upscale" chains have lost a lot of consumers who've become less impulsive. This coupled with the internet enabling common knowledge that these restaurants were just reheating and serving dishes had them lose of lot of the cachet they might've enjoyed back in the 90s even in small-towns courtesy of their dining environment and price range

Then there's the escalating rents, rising awareness/compensation of awful low-wage labor practices at these places especially in the "back house", on-going nutrition/obesity concerns, and it's my theory that we're seeing a collapse of the middle-higher end of the restaurant industry. Would-be clients are either gravitating to the cheaper chains, delivery services like Blue Apron, or going waaaaaay up-market to local establishments that provide something special in the service and menu.

Even McDonald's sales have been in decline which suggests to me that gas stations, grocery delis like Publix/Costco, food trucks, and other non-traditional places are starting to eat into conventional restaurant market-share.

So what sorts of gimmicks will these restaurants start pushing to try and regain market share?

Seems like they've been pushing "platters" of different menu items more and more. The "shotgun blast" theory of food provision, I guess.

Lmao, comparing the recession that wasn't even that bad to the great depression. Most people barely felt the impact

Chains generally get a lot of their stuff pre-made and frozen from suppliers like Sysco, or their own distribution networks. Then they just re-heat and serve.

It generally creates a floor below which quality won't drop (unless they botch the reheating), but also a ceiling above which things will never rise. And that ceiling is determined by how much corporate is willing to spend on ingredients. And corporate has been deciding to spend less...

It's all about income inequality and the decline of the middle class. The new poor can't afford these places any more.

bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-20/just-how-bad-was-the-2009-global-recession-really-really-bad
>The global recession that followed the financial crisis was the most severe in half a century, an unusually synchronized shock that paralyzed trade and left 23 million more people out of work.

>“The 2009 episode was the most severe of the four global recessions of the past half century and the only one during which world output contracted outright -- truly deserving of the ‘Great Recession’ label,” write Ayhan Kose, director of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group, and Marco Terrones, deputy division chief at the IMF’s research department.

They've gotten rid of all their best stuff.

I finally gave up when they got rid of the Indo Peanut Sautee and probably won't be back.

this is food for families

families can barely afford to eat these days

at least the few families that still exist, the majority of 20-30 somethings aren't making families anymore, most kids have single parents

basically we fucked our country and this is the result of it all.

>being loyal to a corporation
>ever

Haha get fucked, oh and your favorite franchise/business as well.

I only go to chains like Outback, Chili's, Red Lobster, etc when I get gift cards with my cashback program on my credit card. Otherwise, there's a hell of a lot of better places that are local and higher quality that I can choose.

Stats and real life impact are two different things

This is why I stopped eating at chain places over a decade ago.

Ffffffffffffffffuck your're are mother

Everyone wants to go to super-legit hole-in-the-wall places now, like those featured in cooking/food channel shows like Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

Even if none of the places in those shows are in your area, you can always use Yelp as a last resort.

Chain restaurants are too similar and overpriced.

Applebee's, Chiles, TGIFs, BWW, Outback and other shit are all the same.

Why not support a smaller local place with different food for cheaper if not similar prices?

millennials don't have any fucking money

I lived in NYC for a few years, and I'm pretty sure that that particular desert didn't have a Noodles and Company.

Pretty sure they do.

I checked just now and in fact they don't.

>got rid of the Indo Peanut Sautee
This is what did it for me, as well. Best damn thing on the menu, and they get rid of it.

>whoms upset

I would say Chipotle is higher quality than Moe's, but it's fucking meat, cheese, and veggies in a tortilla so who the fuck cares.

There's a reason Taco Bell thrives, although desu I think they are awful because while others do cook on premise, TB has often been framed as "just add hot water" food.

we had one in Albany, NY but it shut down.

hipster garbage trash desu senpai

According to the map there's one in Garden City. I kind of like it myself, but I recognize that it's just shitty pasta.

they got rid of it? fuck. I don't eat Noodles but a couple times a year or so, and I feel like every time I go back it's worse. My first time eating it was maybe 10 or so years ago.

>10 years ago
Are you in the Denver area?

In my area literally all of the suburban chains are dead. Fast food still thrives due to import labor and convenience but the idea of a sit down chain is absolutely dead.

That's not to say people are cooking though, as grocer prepared foods are clearly expanding quickly. Within the last two years we've had two new supermarkets specializing in prepared foods and they are absolutely packed at meal hours. The police come to direct traffic its so bad.

I have no idea why this is but I would guess that it's cheaper and more convenient. No need to deal with a restaurant wait (just pop shit in the oven for 15 minutes and go do something else) and cheaper because fuck tipping.

I live in the southwest but I grew up in Minnesota. One popped up in the suburb I grew up in maybe 11-12 years ago?

When people want to go out for a lunch, they don't want to wait for a waiter to relay the order, refill drinks, or come back with the check. Fast casual really just means faster than a traditional sit down restaurant. I also don't want a fucking steak for lunch, or some reheated appetizers for $15.

As for dinner, I don't think you could get out of a TGIFridays or outback for under $20. I know they're pushing the $10 price point now, but most people know the portions are small and the food just isn't great. Not to mention your cocktail or beer is another $5+, and you have to tip for it all. Someone else in the thread pointed out; the food is made in a lab to be as cheap as possible for greatest profit, frozen and rapidly prepared by the cook in the back who is likely just heating it up in an oven.

Also, some of these restaurants are fuckin huge with tens of thousands of dollars of 'decor' that nobody even notices anyway. All thats got to be factored into the price of the meal.

work at sprouts, ran to taco bell for lunch. TB is its own food, Chipotle tries to be Mexican food and it's not.

If you live in a big/medium city in the metro area, you'll find tons of hole-in-the-wall restaurants that are much better than chain restaurants, that will charge you anywhere from $10-15 for a plate of reheated food, whereas the hole-in-the-wall fast-casual place with interesting menu items and a smaller, higher quality menu will usually charge you less.

The last chain restaurant I went to was The Capital Grille about a month ago. I don't remember the last time I've visited a Chili's, or BWW, or anything like that.,

Buffalo Wild Wings wont go away, they show all the games and pay per view fights.

I tried Moe's once at lunch time.
The lines were kinda long and the staff was rude.

The names of the food are the worst. Joey bag of donuts? Homewrecker? What the fuck? I just want a fucking burrito with chicken.
>Everything else including how the food tasted was not memorable
>It's like a slightly more expensive poorer quality chipotle

Good. Chain places aren't really terrible, but I prefer local. Local places are nice because they're usually cheaper, they're all different from one another so I can find the "perfect" 6 dollar burger or ramen, and they usually have more interesting food on the menu.

Nobody has any fucking money to go out to eat with

The restaurant industry has been sliding into the shitter for years because of this problem, and it's a problem with no real solution that wouldn't cause unrest on a massive scale. Probably at this point unrest on a massive scale is a solution in and of itself though.

Blame the boomers

Yeah, everything is fucked and it's the corporate conglomerates profits we should be worrying about

>The restaurant industry has been sliding into the shitter for years because of this problem,
I'd cast it differently. I'd say people with shit taste had too much extra money for so long that a specialized industry grew up to cater to them. And now that day is over. Sad for the folks who can't afford to eat out so much anymore, but better for American cuisine in general, because there's less embarrassing shit to have to defend.

>closes 43 restaurants
wow that's barely 1 in ever state and not even 1% of their total resturants

This. I live in the Tampa Bay Area where Bloomin Brands is HQ'd and it is impossible to go to any of their restaurants here on weekend during regular dinner hours without having to wait an hour for a table.

The stores that are closing are probably in fringe areas that can barely support a McDonald's, let alone a chain table service place.

It's because I can prepare food from scratch that will be better than whatever I can get in those chains, and I can do it for cheaper, and when you include wait times and driving, the actual time commitment is pretty much the same.

So really, unless a restaurant is either faster, cheaper, or better than what I can make at home, I don't go.

I don't eat breakfast or lunch, so there is no real need for fast food, otherwise I'd probably swing by chipotle or something.

For dinner, I look forward to it and plan it, and as I said, it's typically better (and much cheaper) than at a chain restaurant. So I only skip out on that to go to really good restaurants once in a while.

They changed the quality of there meat and seafood it used to be fresh lobster and now it's frozen there steak is shit the meat tastes like it's been preserved in salt

The traditional family unit has been destroyed.

There are no happy or functional families to attend restaurants like this any more.

I have a wife and two kids and we go to these places, but it is primarily older couples who are newly retired or just sent their last kid out of the house to college who eat there. We don't cook because we both work and cooking after you've worked all day is a pain-in-the-ass.

Last time I went to Fridays there was so much salt in the meal that I felt weird until the next day. Fuck that!

Also the French onion soup and cajun shrimp and chicken pasta gets worse every time I go.

I would rather make my own food. Pic related.

>The traditional family unit has been destroyed.
That might be a good thing, since most of the people that unit produced were retards.

Good. If you can't support a family don't start one.

This seems obvious to me, nobody's going there for lunch or quick meals anymore because you have higher quality, faster counter-serve food now in the $8-16 price range.

>left 23 million more people out of work.

Slagging economy and staggering prices are whats killing these places

millennials are poor as shit and baby boomers are dying out, next question

their niche has always been 'events'. families eating out, employees, etc. so it would make sense to play to that niche and not compete with fast food chains by having fun spreads

waitresses in bikinis!

Yeah, because they spend it all on weed and video games.