Saturday Data: Dining Out Choices and Changes

“They’re going back to the roots of their business, which is Middle America,” said Brian Vaccaro, an analyst for Raymond James. “They want this to be a go-to place for Americans on a Friday or Saturday night — maybe not in urban markets where you’ve got a lot of restaurants and higher incomes, but certainly in many parts of the country.”

                                                                                     From a Washington Post story via MSN

     The chain of casual restaurants admits it has tried too hard to be a cool place for Millennials, a demo that is steamrolling its way through society the way the Boomer generation did, forcing corporations to bend to their will.

Neilson research studied their eating habits:

Millennials seek convenience and on-the-go options

• 58% of Millennials eat out at least once a week, and more than half (52%) prefer to eat at quick service restaurants.
• 44% eat snacks as a meal replacement.
• While only 16% of Millennials say they eat most of their dinners on the go or with friends, this is a fourfold increase compared to older generations like Baby Boomers.

Anyway, Applebee's is reversing course at what I am sure is great cost. They'll be closing about 100 locations. There are three in Montgomery, a city that is trying hard to convince the Millennials to stay here instead of fleeing to Atlanta or New York.

We'll watch to see if any of the three local Applebee's is on the closing list when it comes out. (Though their decision may not be one to emulate, after all they failed to create a space that was Millennial-friendly enough.)



[Saturday Data is a regular feature of www.timlennox.com, celebrating 10 years online this Fall.]