Casual dining fights for survivalCasual dining fights for survival

Tilted Kilt has reported positive same-store sales for most of its 12-year history. After same-store sales fell more than 5 percent, president Ron Lynch said, “It’s kind of shocking.” Photo: Mike Mozart/Flickr

Dining out isn’t actually dining out. Not anymore. Think about it. Over the years, consumers have increasingly gone to restaurants to get food that they can eat at home, or at their desk, or in their car on the way to work.

“The old notion of sitting down for dinner at six and be there for an hour at the restaurant is disappearing in the minds of a lot of consumers,” said Victor Fernandez, executive director of insights and knowledge for TDn2K, which publishes the Black Box Intelligence monthly same-store sales index.

So imagine operating a restaurant chain that depends on consumers sitting down and spending some time over lunch or dinner, and you have the fundamental problem afflicting the casual-dining restaurant business.

The segment has...