Casual chains cater to kids as way to lure back families

With the recession putting an unprecedented squeeze on casual dining, the segment that came to life in the 1970s offering fern bars for singles is now pursuing that group’s progeny actively as it works to lure back lapsed customers.

Just as casual dinnerhouses have matured over time to eliminate veto votes through expanded menu offerings, many also have ramped up the food items and activities directed at children in an effort to win back traffic stolen long ago by quick-service chains like McDonald’s, which this month celebrates the 30th anniversary of its Happy Meal.

The growing focus on kids is coming at an opportune time, as children’s tastes evolve beyond burgers and chicken nuggets to more sophisticated items and casual-dining chains work to shore up sales that have been battered by the slowing economy over the past several years.

Meals ordered by children accounted for 1.3 billion visits to restaurants and $5.6 billion in sales in 2008, signaling a huge opportunity for restaurant operators, say officials at Port Washington, N.Y.-based market research firm The NPD Group.

Still, capitalizing on business from children has grown harder as families have reined in spending in response to the economic downturn. Traffic for parties with kids declined 3 percent in 2008, after being positive for more than three years prior, according to NPD. In contrast, traffic for adult-only parties was positive last year and for several years prior.

Further, in 2008 both quick-service and full-service restaurants experienced traffic losses—4 percent and 3 percent, respectively—in diners younger than 13. At full-service restaurants, 64 percent of traffic losses came from children younger than 6, and 36 percent from children 6 to 12 years old.

To help stem the traffic slippage, both chains and independents are making a concerted effort to reach out to consumers who want to dine with their children. From menu items that appeal to kids’ increasingly grown-up tastes, to special deals and a wealth of kid-focused activities, casual dinnerhouses are making sure they are players in the kid game.

Independent full-service restaurants in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., worked with Gourmet magazine this summer to launch their inaugural Kids Restaurant Weeks. The promotion featured a week of kid-friendly cuisine and fixed-price menus. In Washington, restaurants as varied as Art & Soul and Zola offered adult meals for $29, while kids ages 11 and under paid their age. For example, a 4-year-old would pay $4. Participating restaurants featured early dinner seatings from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and a portion of the proceeds went to charities.

Chris Tripoli, founder of À La Carte Foodservice Consulting Group in Houston, said most casual-dining operators see families as an important audience.

“Some chains do more than others,” however, he said, citing innovative programs such as that at Carrabba’s Italian Grill, where children are given a ball of dough, a pepperoni slice and some cheese so they can make their own pizza at the table and have it cooked in the kitchen.

A large number of chains are offering kids-eat-free nights. Among those recently listed on one of several websites touting such deals are Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Champps, Red Robin Gourmet Burger and T.G.I. Friday’s. Most deals are available for designated nights during a specified time period, and often the purchase of an adult entrée is required.

While kids-eat-free promotions are simple to deploy, some casual-dining operators have made sizable investments in providing a hospitality experience that makes the concepts memorable for families with kids.

One early adopter was Roy’s Restaurants. When Roy Yamaguchi founded the restaurant in 1988 he put a strong emphasis on “taking care of the keikis,” Hawaiian for “children,” says Leiala Whattoff, Roy’s vice president of training and development.

“He said these keikis could be our future guests or they could be our future employees,” Whattoff says. “So Roy’s developed a strong program to make the children enjoy the experience and to let the parents feel comfortable taking kids into our restaurants.”

Roy’s provides special training for the staff as well as special schedules for food-service and other services, such as DVD players with Disney movies and earphones, to keep children occupied and happy.

Some operators invest both in children’s immediate entertainment as well as the future of the community. The Old Spaghetti Factory units in Portland, Ore., which are owned by The Dussin Group, which also operates Dussini Mediterranean Bistro, Fenouil and Lucier, has for years sponsored a “Rewards of Reading” program. The units work with schools, libraries and community groups to give kids an incentive to reach reading goals. The program provides a free kids’ meal for every five books read, and the program has given away more than 100,000 meals to eager young readers.

“The ‘Rewards of Reading’ program motivates kids to keep reading throughout the school year and into the summer months,” says Chris Dussin, president of The Dussin Group. “For young artists, we recently held a nationwide contest to design our new kids’ meal pasta bowls.”

The Old Spaghetti Factory’s programs were cited among the best for families at full-service restaurants in a readers’ poll by Parents magazine. The magazine’s list last year also included:

Claim Jumper for its separate menus for younger and older kids.

Mimi’s Café for its free appetizer plate filled with Cheerios, oranges and crackers.

Uno Chicago Grill for providing aprons when kids want to make their own flatbread pizza and for offering apples to children on their way out at some locations.

Chili’s Grill & Bar for expanding its healthful side dishes.

Red Robin for an avian mascot that makes special appearances and a children’s menu.

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro for its family-style service, which appeals to parents, and its kid-friendly chopsticks.

The 35-unit Roy’s Restaurants chain, a division of Tampa, Fla.-based OSI Restaurant Partners LLC, offers a three-course children’s menu for $13, Whattoff says.

“As soon as the child is seated at the table, the first thing that will come out is a crudités and quesadilla plate,” Whattoff says. “We want them to get excited and happy immediately. There is no waiting.”

Roy’s offers five children’s entrées, and the restaurant’s chefs will also cook anything to suit the child.

“If the parents approve the timing, while they are enjoying their appetizer course, we try to have the entrée available for the child,” she says.

The third course is a sundae, which sometimes includes a tour through the pastry department, Whattoff says.

“That really captures the attention of the child while the parents are enjoying their entrée,” she says. “We’re trying to make [the meal] pleasurable for the parents and fun and exciting for the kids as well.”

She says that Roy’s takes special care in training staff how to time the orders and how to address the children. Waiters are instructed to make sure to use the child’s name throughout the dinner.

“When we bring out the dessert, we write their name in chocolate on the sundae and present it to the child,” Whattoff says. “They love seeing their name in chocolate.”

Each of the restaurants has books available for children to read and DVD players with headphones.

“If a child is really, really restless and really doesn’t want to sit down,” Whattoff says, “we’ve found that watching a Disney movie really calms them down and, with parents’ approval, it can settle them down. We try to do what we can to make it enjoyable for both sides of the party.”

Roy’s also uses the connection with children to build repeat business. Staff members find out the date of the young patron’s birthday, so they may be invited in for a special birthday deal.

“On their birthday, we send them a card and invite them to celebrate their birthday with us and enjoy a complimentary dinner for them and one of their friends,” Whattoff says.

She notes that managers can do wonders in improving the children’s experience.

“We have a manager in Orlando who understands kids,” she says. “It’s close to Disney World, so it gets a lot of children. He asks kids if they want to see his water park, and then takes them on a tour of the dishwashing area in the back of the house.”

Because nutrition remains a top concern for many parents, Legal Sea Foods of Boston has created a very adult-feeling children’s menu.

“You look at what the children want, what experience is like overall,” says Rich Vellante, executive chef at the 30-unit chain. “I have children, so we looked at what was the most important thing. We felt that when we go out to eat, two things really matter: One is the nutrition and wholesomeness of it. We give every child with every meal a vegetable and a protein.

“Another thing is to introduce them to the dining experience,” he continues. “We give them a smaller version of what mom and dad might have with the grilled fish of the day. We give them an option of lobster or fried fish. We wanted to make sure they were not just an afterthought.”

Legal Sea Foods’ program has been built upon during the past eight years, Vellante says.

“We’re looking at putting on an organic-style pizza with organic flours and cheeses,” he says.

The benefits for the chain are multiple, Vellante says.

“Obviously, you get children introduced to seafood at a younger age,” he says. “When I go out to a Legal Sea Foods with my own children, for example, now I have to order two dozen oysters. My children—who are 14 and 10 now—love oysters.”

Vellante adds, “It always lets the parents feel very comfortable in taking their children to restaurants where they can have a fun time, enjoy themselves and also have a nutritious meal.”

Legal’s most popular children’s dishes vary depending on the age group, he says.

“Chicken fingers are always popular, and children are familiar with them,” Vellante says, noting the chain uses a hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken in that dish.

Another popular item is the half of a steamed lobster, which the kitchens have prepared by taking the meat out of the shell and putting it back in for ease of eating.

On the horizon, Vellante says, “we plan to continue in the same direction: wholesome food with a variety of flavors and choices.”

He says he anticipates that efforts to source ingredients locally will increase for both children’s and adult fare.

Most important, Vellante notes, is that the efforts to make children’s menus and experiences positive help to build tomorrow’s customer base.

“Getting children to be comfortable and allowing the parents to enjoy their meal is what it’s about,” he says.— [email protected]