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People don't like the familiar that much. See the popularity of food trucks. Part of that is our restaurant culture (and food regulations) has made for very few

People don't like the familiar that much. See the popularity of food trucks. Part of that is our restaurant culture (and food regulations) has made for very few "small" operations, and it raises the risk to try things (because well, once you're in a restaurant you can only have that food). If you go to asia there will be food courts in malls with 20, 30 stalls each with a different person cooking different food, all with big photos. PLUS all the big restaurants. We get... panda express and taco bell. On every corner. Its almost dystopian.

lotsofpulp 7y ago
The success of chain restaurants clearly shows people like the familiar. Food trucks are popular in a few cities in areas with young people, and maybe they will grow in popularity, but I don't see them outside of areas with high density of young people. Restaurants don't have a high barrier to entry, but they are low margin businesses with high risk and low quality of life. You need a certain population density of restaurant-going population (younger people usually) to sustain a variety of restaurants. Population density of Asia isn't comparable to most of the US, plus the US has stricter food regulations, plus people in the US have better options than working at a restaurant, so the labor is costlier, hence the food is costlier, hence eating out as often as Asia might not be possible. My original point, however, was to dispute the claim that chain restaurants make it harder for others to compete. I can't think of a single thing chain restaurants do or can do to prevent competition, except maybe with liquor licenses, but there's no one stopping small Asian style shops from opening up other than higher costs of doing business in the US and insufficient demand.
Qwertystop 7y ago
Are food trucks not "the familiar"? In my experience, if there's a food truck, I can find it in the same place at the same time, either daily or weekly, all year round (unless it's seasonal, i.e. catering to college students or not something people want much of in winter). I currently go to a food truck once a week or so because it provides a hot lunch, of reliably decent quality, both faster and cheaper than nearby sandwich places. Other food trucks I've seen at other places and other times of my life have followed similar patterns, and if I've gone to them it's for similar reasons.

lotsofpulp 7y ago

The success of chain restaurants clearly shows people like the familiar. Food trucks are popular in a few cities in areas with young people, and maybe they will grow in popularity, but I don't see them outside of areas with high density of young people. Restaurants don't have a high barrier to entry, but they are low margin businesses with high risk and low quality of life. You need a certain population density of restaurant-going population (younger people usually) to sustain a variety of restaurants. Population density of Asia isn't comparable to most of the US, plus the US has stricter food regulations, plus people in the US have better options than working at a restaurant, so the labor is costlier, hence the food is costlier, hence eating out as often as Asia might not be possible. My original point, however, was to dispute the claim that chain restaurants make it harder for others to compete. I can't think of a single thing chain restaurants do or can do to prevent competition, except maybe with liquor licenses, but there's no one stopping small Asian style shops from opening up other than higher costs of doing business in the US and insufficient demand.

Qwertystop 7y ago

Are food trucks not "the familiar"? In my experience, if there's a food truck, I can find it in the same place at the same time, either daily or weekly, all year round (unless it's seasonal, i.e. catering to college students or not something people want much of in winter). I currently go to a food truck once a week or so because it provides a hot lunch, of reliably decent quality, both faster and cheaper than nearby sandwich places. Other food trucks I've seen at other places and other times of my life have followed similar patterns, and if I've gone to them it's for similar reasons.