Casual upscale dining, in particular, seems to have filled some of the void left by fine dining. Noting the success of the casual upscale segment, many fine-dining operators have made changes.
Due to the competitive market, many fine dining restaurants have made the decision to move to meet the market demand for a more relaxed atmosphere and more reasonable prices. Kevin Taylor, the operator of the Zenith American Grill in Denver, closed a very successful four-diamond restaurant and opened more casual restaurants, including Jo Jo and Nicois. The largest share of off-premises sales is takeaway, accounting for almost two-thirds of traffic (visits) and volume.
Initially, drive-through service was introduced as part of an existing quick-service restaurant, and it continues to be an important use of the drive-through. However, since its introduction, it has become an integral part of the QSR service strategy. However, the drive-through came into its own with the introduction of the double drive-through.
For the reasons just stated, many delivery chains specialize in this.
The menu prices are slightly higher than QSR and the food usually has a greater emphasis on freshness. In Figure 3.1, the different types of restaurants are compared in terms of their price level and the dining experience provided. The dining experience includes the services and amenities provided, as well as factors such as the time available, the importance of convenience (such as in place), the degree to which the meal is useful (i.e., a biological event) and the degree in which it is linked to other activities.
Utility meals (a hurried lunch during the workday) where convenience and speed are essential will be at one end of the dining experience scale. A special occasion, perhaps a wedding anniversary, where a couple might drive 50 miles to visit a unique restaurant and dine for two or three hours, would be on the other side. With this overview in mind, let us now turn our attention to a more detailed consideration of the basic restaurant groups identified.
Factors affecting the meal experience include time available, importance of comfort, utility as opposed to social events, and degree of subordination to other activities.
More recently, the international company has optimized much of its food production equipment, allowing for a greater range of menu offerings tailored to the respective region of the world. McDonald's is just one example of a number of established quick-service companies undergoing remodeling/renovation plans for their restaurants. Although the menu is still quite simple, the hamburger-only menu of the past has been replaced by a much larger variety.
McDonald's has faced difficult internal and external challenges at times, including crowded markets, wealthy competitors seeking to take away its customers, and disgruntled franchisees. McDonald's began to turn things around after the turn of the century, as evidenced by an increase in same-store sales, a measure of success. With more than $55 billion in annual global sales and more new menu items, including specialty coffees and smoothies, McDonald's is now the world's best-selling foodservice brand, with more than three times the sales of the next largest brand.8 (Second largest is Subway - see Industry Note 3.1.).
We can therefore safely say that the original concept and subsequent evolution of McDonald's have been a resounding success.
Subway and Entrepreneurship
The presence of quick service companies in any market, regardless of size, is a key characteristic of quick service and one of the key factors that have supported its growth over the past fifty years. This simple operating formula results in fast service and has earned its name from fast service. The quick service segment is dominated by chains, which introduces an interesting note of complexity into what seems like a fairly simple operation.
One of the positive aspects of the quick service evolution was the improved physical plant and decor of the unit. The quick service business is concentrated in the breakfast and lunch day parts and, to a lesser extent, in the snack periods. The other side of successful distribution of a firm. is the convenience of the consumer.9 Distribution points are proving to be a major vehicle for the continued growth of quick service and are discussed further in Chapter 6. THE FUTURE OF QUICK SERVICE.
Regardless of the age of the customers, when speed or price are particularly important, express service is the easiest choice.
Baby boomers played a major role in creating the demand for high-speed service when they were children, and in gradually scaling it up as they entered their teens and twenties in the years just before and after 1970. This translates into an increased demand for full -service restaurants and “newer” restaurants. segments, such as the fast-casual segment. For this reason alone, newer niche segments like fast casual seem to be an appropriate response.
The beginnings of fast casual date back to the 1950s in the United Kingdom, when bakeries offered a kind of self-service restaurant. Customers have become accustomed to preparing food and dining in a more ornate dining area than typically seen in fast-food restaurants. Similarly, fast casual shops became popular in France in the 1980s when they combined counter service with open kitchen preparation.
In the United States, fast casual has evolved to include made-to-order foods, often with more fresh ingredients and more cooking done on the individual unit than seen in quick service.
Plates, sandwiches and salads are the mainstay of the menu, all beautifully but simply served. In addition, many chains offer children's programs that may include a free meal on a certain night of the week. This means that customers are only willing to spend a certain part of their disposable income on food outside the home.
Much of the activity that has occurred in this segment recently has been the result of mergers and acquisitions as opposed to expansion. However, the segment faces many of the same challenges we discussed in relation to family restaurants. The distribution system, among other things, eliminates some of the bottlenecks that can occur as a result of lining up customers along traditional cafeteria lines.
One of the largest operators of this style of restaurant is Buffets, Inc., which operates the Old Country Buffet, Hometown Buffet, and Country Buffet brands, among other concepts.
It should also be noted that the seafood segment continues to include a number of independent restaurant operators, some of which are among the busiest independent restaurants in the United States, including Joe's Stone Crab (Miami), Bob Chinn's Crab House (Wheeling, Illinois), Atlanta Fish Market (Atlanta) and Anthony's Pier 4 (Boston). One such example is Semolina's, a chain of pasta restaurants clustered in the southern United States whose menu focuses on international pasta dishes. Another type of restaurants that can be included in the category of specialties are breweries, which present a combination of food and beer produced in their own facility.
Beer is still a popular drink and accounts for many of the alcoholic drinks that accompany meals. According to the Association of Brewers, in 2009, the number of brewpubs in the United States almost reached, while the dollar growth of craft breweries was about 9 percent. In total, there are about 1,500 breweries (including brewpubs, microbreweries, local craft breweries, and large breweries) in the United States.
EAT RTA I N M E NT.” For the specialty restaurants discussed earlier, the focus of the guests' experience is the food, often enhanced by a relatable atmosphere.
Quark’s Restaurant Serves Earthlings Too
The danger of obsolescence is a real problem for these high-investment operations unless the food and service are excellent—.
Culinary Preparation
As a result, one of the main attractions of the largest shopping centers is their food service facilities. In fact, the food court concept has been adopted in a variety of other settings, such as hotels, casinos, hospitals, airports, and highway food service. The composition of mall food service is quite similar to the restaurant industry as a whole, with QSRs accounting for the majority of customer traffic and medium-sized restaurants for a smaller amount.
Shopping center locations have been growing faster than other catering services for several years. Food service is an integral and essential part of the North American way of life. The most dynamic part of the food market is the off-premise segment, which consists of take-out, transport and delivery.
Even wider distribution is made possible by the development of PODs, slimmed-down units. that can provide food service at a host's location, following a strategy of intercept marketing and a philosophy of maximum customer convenience.
Key Words and Concepts
Fast casual restaurants are a hybrid of QSR and midscale; they promise higher quality food, often considered fresher and healthier than QSRs, and include partial table service with enhanced dining room atmosphere. Mid-scale restaurants use a simplified menu and production system that resembles quick service, but these operations offer table service. Family restaurants are in a difficult competitive position, caught in the middle between quick-service and casual restaurants.
Eatertainment', activities that combine food with various types of entertainment, are relatively new on the scene and their long-term viability is questionable.
Review Questions
How do the dining market and the eating market differ?
What kinds of restaurants are included in the dining market and the eating market?
What are the growth concepts in the dining market and the eating market?
Do you agree or disagree that quick service is a part of the American lifestyle?
What is the outlook for fast-casual restaurants?
How are midscale restaurants different from QSRs? How are they similar?
What are the risks inherent in “eatertainment”?
What are the prospects for fine dining?
What larger businesses do restaurants serve?
Internet Exercises
Background Information: When Dave Thomas opened the first restaurant "Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers", he created something new and different in the restaurant industry. Background: McDonald's is the world's leading grocer with more than 31,000 restaurants in 119 countries serving 47 million customers every day. It is one of the most well-known brands in the world and has a leading share in the fast-casual restaurant segment of the global brand in the casual dining market in almost all countries in which it operates.
Exercise: All three of the above restaurants are “burger joints,” but they differ in many ways.
Notes
