Full-service restaurants establish new growth strategies

The full-service restaurant segment—and casual dining in particular—has faced numerous challenges over the past several years, but cautious optimism is emerging as some turnaround efforts gain traction. Technomic’s “2018 Future of FSR Consumer Trend Report” finds that while the segment isn’t out of the woods, increased emphasis on value, off-premise sales, alcohol, and memorable away-from-home experiences are helping the category move in the right direction.

“Following a year in which the total unit count for Top 500 casual-dining chains declined 1.5%, some brands are starting to see positive signs at the unit level,” said Charles Winship, senior research analyst at Technomic. “As the segment’s turnaround continues, efforts will turn to cultivating sustainable, long-term growth strategies that avoid the issues that led to casual dining’s downturn to begin with, such as weak value propositions, an oversupply of restaurants, and failing to evolve with consumers’ dining habits.”

Key takeaways from the report include:

• 53% of consumers say they visit traditional casual-dining restaurants at least once a month
• 38% of family-style consumers say they’re more likely to visit a chain than an independent
• 51% of upscale casual-dining restaurant consumers say they visit these restaurants to celebrate special occasions

Report