While casual dining showed some improvement in 2022, the segment ran out of post-pandemic steam in 2023, a trend that has accelerated in 2024.
Retrenchment has been pronounced this year, as 2024 has seen high-profile bankruptcy filings like that of Orlando, Fla.-based Red Lobster and closures of underperforming units as in the case of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and Outback Steakhouse.
But the warning signs were clear in 2023. Lower-income consumers were increasingly trading down into fast casual and quick service as they dealt with concerns about the economy, and that chewed a bit off the overall sales numbers.
Overall, full-service brands on the Top 500 grew sales by 5%. While that seems positive, it’s outpaced by the 7.1% average increase in consumer prices.
Olive Garden, owned by Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants, ranked as the biggest casual-dining brand on the Top 500, coming in at No. 17 with 908 units and sales of $5.112 billion.
Lexington, Ky.-based Texas Roadhouse bucked the trend of closures and saw solid traffic in 2023, ranked at No. 19 with 638 units and sales of $4.784 billion. That was strong enough for it to overtake Applebee’s as the No. 2 casual-dining brand in America.
Applebee’s landed at No. 23 with $4.357 billion in sales at a year-ended 1,536 units, and Chili’s Grill & Bar, a division of Dallas-based Brinker International, ranked No. 24 with sales of $4.023 billion at 1,230 units. Buffalo Wild Wings, a division of Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, ranked No. 25 with 2023 sales of $3.958 billion at 997 units.
Outback Steakhouse was at No. 33 in Technomic’s 2023 rankings, posting sales of $2.83 billion at 688 units.
The other casual-dining brands to be included in the Top 50 were LongHorn Steakhouse, The Cheesecake Factory, Red Lobster, and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.
All data courtesy Technomic Ignite Company data. Looking for more data? Click here to access the complete Technomic Top 500.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]