This is part of the Nation’s Restaurant News annual Top 100 report, a proprietary ranking of the foodservice industry’s largest restaurant chains and parent companies.
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Aggressive remodeling programs, menu upgrades, social media campaigns and a growing public interest in breakfast have helped many of the legacy brands that make up the Family-Dining segment display renewed vigor. Average sales growth among the seven Family-Dining brands within the Top 100 hit 4 percent in the Latest Year.
“I think family dining in general has stepped up to be more reactive and proactive to the needs of the guests,” said John Dillon, chief marketing officer of Denny’s Corp.
Denny’s rebounded in number of net units in the Latest Year, adding three for a total of 1,599, after losing three units in the Preceding Year. The company saw systemwide sales grow by just under 5 percent.
Top Family-Dining performer Waffle House saw sales growth just under 9 percent as it opened 51 units, for a total of 1,891 locations — the most in the segment.
IHOP remained the biggest Family-Dining chain in terms of sales. The chain had a total of $3.2 billion in U.S. sales in the Latest Year, a 7.6-percent increase from the Preceding Year, and opened a net 25 units, for a total of 1,604 restaurants.
Both IHOP president Darren Rebelez and Dillon of Denny’s said their brands had streamlined their menus to make them easier to navigate, and also pointed to remodeling and marketing efforts as keys to their success.
Rebelez said IHOP’s social media efforts resulted in more than a million Instagram photos tagged with #IHOP or #IHOPlove, which he said made it the most Instagrammed family-dining chain to date.
“Other marketing successes over the past year include the launch of our grassroots ‘Breakfastarian’ movement that galvanized the all-day breakfast-loving community,” he said.
IHOP leveraged its social engagement with menu innovations that played into the all-day-breakfast theme. Items such as chicken Florentine crêpes built on the success of chicken and waffles first introduced as a limited-time offer in 2011.
The chain also redesigned its logo, removing the word “restaurant” that was displayed in an arch that reminded some guests of a frown and replacing it with a red semicircle that resembles a smile.
The new logo “really is reflective of the tone of the brand,” Rebelez said.
Denny’s continued to roll out engaging digital campaigns, such as the animated web series The Grand Slams. Launched in the fall of 2014, the webisodes star breakfast items such as an egg, bacon, sausage and pancakes in a series of in-store adventures.
Dillon said his goal is not merely for the chain to have “relevance” with its customers, but “significance, where we’re actually part of their conversation on a daily basis.”
“We’ve definitely seen some dividends from some of those efforts,” he said.
Both brands also have remodels underway with more contemporary updates to their carpeting, color accents and light fixtures.
IHOP is still in the early stages of remodeling, with 25 percent planned to be completed this year. Those upgrades include high-top communal tables, charging stations and wifi. Denny’s is less than 40 percent done with remodeling, and is focusing on a more up-to-date version of “America’s Diner,” Dillon said.
Both restaurants have upgraded their menus with items such as double-dipped French toast at IHOP (dipped once in vanilla batter, and then again in a coating of cornflakes and oats), and wild salmon at Denny’s.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store also made moves to stay top-of-mind in consumers’ eyes, and saw systemwide sales grow 5.9 percent as it opened a net four units, for a total of 637 locations. Cracker Barrel remained the second largest Family-Dining chain in terms of annual sales, at $2.8 billion.
Cracker Barrel began upgrading its equipment at new locations and expanded its Wholesome Fixin’s line of lighter items.
Of the smaller Top 100 Family-Dining chains, Perkins Restaurant & Bakery enjoyed a modest 2.3-percent growth in sales. Golden Corral’s sales were essentially flat — an improvement from the 3.4 percent decline the previous year. And Bob Evans Restaurants continued to struggle, with total sales dipping 1.9 percent. It ended the year with 40 fewer restaurants than the Preceding Year.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
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