4 ms·

Even without private equity's meddling, Red Lobster would have been in a rough spot. Family dining as a segment (lower end restaurants, but with table service)

Even without private equity's meddling, Red Lobster would have been in a rough spot. Family dining as a segment (lower end restaurants, but with table service) is being squeezed aggressively. Compared to Gen X and before, Millennials on average are valuing food quality over service experience, ballooning the fast casual (order at the counter, but nicer than fast food) segment. This is squeezing family dining from below, meanwhile their branding as ubiquitous and affordable prevents them from raising prices too much without bumping up against the fine dining segment (and who wants to bring a date to Olive Garden?).

asdfman123 2y ago
It's not even about quality. Honestly, much of it is just that megachains aren't cool. I'm not above eating at Red Lobster but if I have to pick where I'm going to spend my money it's hardly going to be the first choice.
kube-system 2y ago
I don't even really think it's food quality alone that is the issue. It's the total package doesn't match preferences. I think many millennials would be fine with Red Lobster quality food, if it were quick enough for lunch. But the format is slow, sit-down service. And the atmosphere in these restaurants is not what millennials are looking for to relax or entertain.
- ghaff 2y ago
  That's actually sort of been a sort of a revolution with things like fast casual burgers and a lot of food in airports (at least those that serve upscale cities). A lot of people don't really want at least somewhat extended sitdown. They want fairly decent food that's served quickly. Individual preferences vary obviously but I'll basically never eat at McDonalds but some of the burger places like Shake Shack and In-and-Out hit the spot now and then.
  - kube-system 2y ago
    There's multiple reasons why people visit a restaurant and with different needs. I think the rise of fast casual is coincident with the rise in people visiting a restaurant when it isn't a treat. When someone is looking to just grab a quick bowl, they don't care as much about atmosphere or service, their priority is something quick, easy, and good value. But then when these same people go out to dinner when it is a special occasion, they're looking for something measurably better quality and better experience than the fast casual they had three times for lunch that week. It's the mediocre sit-down places that are caught in the middle. In the 90s these types of places were good enough to be considered a friday night treat. Because people weren't eating out during the middle of the week as much.
    - ghaff 2y ago
      >quick, easy, and good value And for many, especially perhaps people out of their twenties, they want something at a level above the traditional fast food chains. But I basically agree. If I have to I'll go to a standard dinner chain either because there aren't other options where I am or I'm dragged there by friends. But I'd never do it around home and would try to do my best to find other options when traveling--although, on the road, some brand recognition of this isn't awful may be a trigger.
underlipton 2y ago
Millennials don't have families and can barely afford the transportation to get to these places, let alone the cost of a decent meal there. The ones that can aren't satisfied with a cookie-cutter franchise experience. But, that's assuming that the more well-off generations aren't going. I dunno if that's the case; things other than revenue can be squeezing RL.
- OkayPhysicist 2y ago
  Damn near everybody who has a family right now is a Millennial. Millennials are 30-45 years old
  - underlipton 2y ago
    Sorry. What I meant to imply was, "Millennials don't have families [at a rate relative to preceding generations.]" Millennial families are less numerous and smaller.
    - wil421 2y ago
      Am I reading /Millennial or HN? Not sure we need to beat the horse to death about societal problems again. I just came for the cheddar biscuit talk.
SoftTalker 3y ago
And speaking of food quality, restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster are just terrible. I'd rather get a fast-food fish sandwich, or fish and chips at the local brewpub, than eat anything at Red Lobster.
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  And it's not a secret. Fettucine Alfredo? They open the plastic packet from Sysco, microwave for the appropriate amount of time, same with the sauce, put it on a plate... $18.
  - Zenzero 2y ago
    You're spot on. I haven't been to any sort of Red Lobster owned property in years. The last time I went to Olive garden it was completely transparent how the microwaved Sysco food is the norm now. I sat there thinking how AI could have just bought the same thing from the frozen aisle at half the price and not had to deal with sitting in a dirty Olive garden.
    - cityofdelusion 2y ago
      It’s not limited to these big chains at all — the vast, vast majority of restaurants in the States are at the mercy of Sysco. The restaurant industry is absolutely brutal right now. They are barely profitable and the best restaurants survive from underpaid family labor or under-the-table undocumented immigrants. Rent costs are insanely high, labor isn’t there and is bottom of the barrel, and non Sysco food costs too much. The average person still expects a $8 burger and fries when the cost to make it is $10 minimum. The whole industry is on the verge of collapse, and we’ve had a ton of restaurant closures over in my neck of the woods since Covid. These aren’t Red Lobsters closing but beloved local places. Anyone that has worked food in the last couple years knows how bad it really is.
      - Zenzero 2y ago
        I believe it. It seems to be a natural consequence of the wealth imbalance in the US. There is an obscene amount of money looking to be placed at the top, but nowhere great to put it. At the bottom all of the industries that relied on disposable income are struggling. The bottom will continue to fall out piece by piece until we reach a new equilibrium.

asdfman123 2y ago

It's not even about quality. Honestly, much of it is just that megachains aren't cool. I'm not above eating at Red Lobster but if I have to pick where I'm going to spend my money it's hardly going to be the first choice.

kube-system 2y ago

I don't even really think it's food quality alone that is the issue. It's the total package doesn't match preferences. I think many millennials would be fine with Red Lobster quality food, if it were quick enough for lunch. But the format is slow, sit-down service. And the atmosphere in these restaurants is not what millennials are looking for to relax or entertain.

ghaff 2y ago
That's actually sort of been a sort of a revolution with things like fast casual burgers and a lot of food in airports (at least those that serve upscale cities). A lot of people don't really want at least somewhat extended sitdown. They want fairly decent food that's served quickly. Individual preferences vary obviously but I'll basically never eat at McDonalds but some of the burger places like Shake Shack and In-and-Out hit the spot now and then.
- kube-system 2y ago
  There's multiple reasons why people visit a restaurant and with different needs. I think the rise of fast casual is coincident with the rise in people visiting a restaurant when it isn't a treat. When someone is looking to just grab a quick bowl, they don't care as much about atmosphere or service, their priority is something quick, easy, and good value. But then when these same people go out to dinner when it is a special occasion, they're looking for something measurably better quality and better experience than the fast casual they had three times for lunch that week. It's the mediocre sit-down places that are caught in the middle. In the 90s these types of places were good enough to be considered a friday night treat. Because people weren't eating out during the middle of the week as much.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    >quick, easy, and good value And for many, especially perhaps people out of their twenties, they want something at a level above the traditional fast food chains. But I basically agree. If I have to I'll go to a standard dinner chain either because there aren't other options where I am or I'm dragged there by friends. But I'd never do it around home and would try to do my best to find other options when traveling--although, on the road, some brand recognition of this isn't awful may be a trigger.

underlipton 2y ago

Millennials don't have families and can barely afford the transportation to get to these places, let alone the cost of a decent meal there. The ones that can aren't satisfied with a cookie-cutter franchise experience. But, that's assuming that the more well-off generations aren't going. I dunno if that's the case; things other than revenue can be squeezing RL.

OkayPhysicist 2y ago
Damn near everybody who has a family right now is a Millennial. Millennials are 30-45 years old
- underlipton 2y ago
  Sorry. What I meant to imply was, "Millennials don't have families [at a rate relative to preceding generations.]" Millennial families are less numerous and smaller.
  - wil421 2y ago
    Am I reading /Millennial or HN? Not sure we need to beat the horse to death about societal problems again. I just came for the cheddar biscuit talk.

SoftTalker 3y ago

And speaking of food quality, restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster are just terrible. I'd rather get a fast-food fish sandwich, or fish and chips at the local brewpub, than eat anything at Red Lobster.

FireBeyond 2y ago
And it's not a secret. Fettucine Alfredo? They open the plastic packet from Sysco, microwave for the appropriate amount of time, same with the sauce, put it on a plate... $18.
- Zenzero 2y ago
  You're spot on. I haven't been to any sort of Red Lobster owned property in years. The last time I went to Olive garden it was completely transparent how the microwaved Sysco food is the norm now. I sat there thinking how AI could have just bought the same thing from the frozen aisle at half the price and not had to deal with sitting in a dirty Olive garden.
  - cityofdelusion 2y ago
    It’s not limited to these big chains at all — the vast, vast majority of restaurants in the States are at the mercy of Sysco. The restaurant industry is absolutely brutal right now. They are barely profitable and the best restaurants survive from underpaid family labor or under-the-table undocumented immigrants. Rent costs are insanely high, labor isn’t there and is bottom of the barrel, and non Sysco food costs too much. The average person still expects a $8 burger and fries when the cost to make it is $10 minimum. The whole industry is on the verge of collapse, and we’ve had a ton of restaurant closures over in my neck of the woods since Covid. These aren’t Red Lobsters closing but beloved local places. Anyone that has worked food in the last couple years knows how bad it really is.
    - Zenzero 2y ago
      I believe it. It seems to be a natural consequence of the wealth imbalance in the US. There is an obscene amount of money looking to be placed at the top, but nowhere great to put it. At the bottom all of the industries that relied on disposable income are struggling. The bottom will continue to fall out piece by piece until we reach a new equilibrium.