Saturday, April 4, 2009
Restaurants Chain restaurants are in steep decline
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Sat, Apr 4, 2009 at 3:05 PM
Big chain restaurants are dropping like flies, according to the New York Times:
Now consumers are cutting back, and dining out is among the casualties. Finer restaurant chains have been hit hard, and so have the casual sit-down places that flooded suburban shopping centers and tourist districts across the country, aimed straight at middle American tastes.A few chains have boarded up already. Many others are going into survival mode, trying to renegotiate their loans, cutting staff, offering bargains to customers and closing less profitable restaurants. Analysts predict thousands more restaurants could close in the next year or two.
The pain is evident even amid the neon glitz of Times Square, which draws big crowds of tourists used to eating at places like Red Lobster and Applebee’s.
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
Our apple bee's is up in sales and we are only improving our sales out in the burbs
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Chain restaurants need to make more coupons available (like buy 1 meal, get one free) to get people to their restaurants. People will spend money, have fun, and contribute to the economy.
My last dining experience was at a TGI Friday's with my girlfriend earlier this week. We had a lovely dinner with some drinks at a reasonable price. The 2 for 1 coupon made it even more enticing.
The coupon comments remind me that I need to track down a phone number for Little Azio corporate. They mail me tons of coupons, all of which are labeled "dine-in only". My boyfriend and I almost always eat takeout at home. When he's not around, sometimes I'll get two takeout entrees and save the second for lunch the next day. I would eat at Azio (and other similar places) much more often if I could use the coupons. Otherwise, I have to save them for when I plan to eat with friends at a restaurant - and Little Azio isn't my top choice on those rare occasions.
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