Are Chain Restaurants an Idea Whose Time Has Passed?

[Kaos]

Time was there was little better family outing than a trip that ended at one of America's major chain restaurants. 

O'Charley's. Chili's. Applebees. Red Lobster. TGIFridays. Shoney's. Ruby Tuesday. iHop (or Howard Johnson's) for breakfast. Later additions like Longhorn's, Texas Roadhouse, Logan's, Olive Garden, Wild Wings, Outback and others added to the mix.

Lately, though, more of those seem to be shuttering than thriving. iHop disappeared years ago from here. So, too, did Shoney's. O'Charley's in Mobile and Daphne abruptly closed with no notice to staff.  Yesterday the Red Lobster in Mobile closed. Again with no notice to staff, just "bye."  The Chili's in Mobile suffers from a dingy interior and indifferent staff. I haven't darkened the door of an Applebees for years because of the same.

I remember when buffet chains used to dot the landscape.  Ryan's/Quincy's. Piccadilly. Morrisons. Western Sizzlin'. Various Chinese buffets under a variety of localized names. Those have all but vanished now. Only Golden Corral hangs on and the last time I was in one of those it was DIS-GUS-TING.

Is it changing tastes? Is it a product of less patience in a digital world? Or is it just mis-management?  I'll admit that my last experience with all of these places -- Shoneys, Applebees, Chilis, Outback, TGIF, Red Lobster, iHop, Ruby Tuesday -- had the same "never go back" markers. Dirty interiors. Filthy carpet. Unappetizing food choices. Slovenly staff. Poor service. Unclean dishes. Poorly prepared microwave quality food. I've recently encountered the same with Outback, Logans, and Olive Garden. No intention of going back to those places.

Is the day of the restaurant chain over?  Will they, too, become dinosaurs like the buffets have?

[wesfau2]

It's hedge fund ownership.  They squeeze everything for max profit, quality falters and the business fades.

[Snakebite]

Agree with Wes. Over time, quality has dropped. Back in the 90’s & early 2000’s? Those places were the bomb. These days, I prefer the locally owned eateries on the rare occasion that we go out to eat. Chains (dine in) are going the way of Blockbuster/Movie Gallery, pay phones, & old school arcades.

I would say movie theaters, but that might just be my little family. Last movie I went to see in theaters was Avengers: Infinity War when it came out as a special premier at a work function. I need to take my kiddo to one once she learns to sit still and quiet for a couple hours to see if it still carries the same magic… more so for her than for me.

I do miss those experiences, especially from my childhood. The sad truth? Even if I went to those places, it wouldn’t cure the itch because of how far they have all fallen.

[Snaggletiger]

I don’t think the chains are fazing out.  Here in little ole Dothan, we’ve had them all, from Applebee’s to Outback to Texas Longhorn etc.  We’ve had a few drop by the wayside, like O’Charley’s and TGIFridays.  For the most part, they’re still here. 

The problem is two-fold.  Here in the Wiregrass, we have waaayyy too many restaurants for it to be sustainable for everybody.  Some are just simply not going to make it from a numbers standpoint.  The other is overall service.  I don’t care who you are, whether it’s a national chain, or the mom and pop diner down the street.  If you don’t make it a good experience from a service and food perspective, you will lose business.  Way too much competition, and the prices are too high all around.  So, if you don’t keep your game stepped up, and up to date, you’re not going to make it. Doesn’t matter if you’re a chain.

There are some here,  like Outback, Logan’s, Cracker Barrell, Olive Garden, Texas Longhorn…if you don’t get there early, just grab a buzzer and enjoy a smoke or six, if that’s your thing. You’re going to be there a while.  Others, like O’Charley’s and TGIFridays closed their doors.  Never updated.  Never had anything special that made you want to come.  Too much competition, so they closed. 

Bottom line is, with the prices everybody is charging, you have to be on your game and make people want to come back.  If that’s not important to you, you won’t stay in business.

[GH2001]

Assuming you mean, full service rest chains, yes. Wes actually nailed it dead on. I hate when we agree. Wait, I like it. Wait....I don't know. QSRs will probably never die because it's relatively cheap and its fast/convenient. But for FSR, no one wants to pay for that anymore with the return you get now (crappy food, crappy service, bad interiors, high prices).

Last time I went to Red Lobster was just atrocious. I didn't want to go but had a nice gift card. I think Thai Union Group  owns them and a few others. All equally plastic cookie cutter. Darden Group may be the worst of them all.

[Snakebite]

Assuming you mean, full service rest chains, yes. Wes actually nailed it dead on. I hate when we agree. Wait, I like it. Wait....I don't know. QSRs will probably never die because it's relatively cheap and its fast/convenient. But for FSR, no one wants to pay for that anymore with the return you get now (crappy food, crappy service, bad interiors, high prices).

Last time I went to Red Lobster was just atrocious. I didn't want to go but had a nice gift card. I think Thai Union Group  owns them and a few others. All equally plastic cookie cutter. Darden Group may be the worst of them all.

This guy knows. He’s stayed at a Holiday Inn a time or 2.

Let’s all have a moment of silence for how wrong Snags was.