Nation's Restaurant News On the Go Newsletter #55
Nation's Restaurant News
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What America’s favorite chains says about the American consumer
Joanna Fantozzi here, senior editor at Nation's Restaurant News. If you think about the chain restaurants that people spend most of their hard-earned cash on, what comes to mind? Perhaps a certain siren-logoed coffee chain, or the familiar golden arches. But when it comes to America’s favorite chains—the places they hold near and dear to their hearts, even if those places are not reflected in their credit card statements — you might be surprised at some of the answers.
If you haven’t already, we recommend checking out NRN’s first report on America’s Favorite Chains in partnership with Technomic, where we dive into this data in more detail.
From there, you’ll learn that Americans love celebrating special occasions at their favorite restaurants, which explains why steakhouses — especially Ruth’s Chris — appear more on this list than coffee, burgers, and pizza. Consumers also love being health-conscious—or at least appearing that they are — a sentiment represented by the popularity of Tropical Smoothie Café (appearing a whopping five times on the list) and Smoothie King (the number one QSR brand among Millennials).
But you won’t find many of the biggest names in the restaurant industry. Instead, the importance of the “cool factor” has led to some of the trendier and younger brands to be top of mind, and top of this survey, like Dutch Bros Coffee, First Watch, and Cooper’s Hawk. In fact, the largest chain on this list is actually Chick-fil-A.
To find out more and read insights from NRN’s editors and Technomic, keep reading.
America’s 10 favorite restaurant chains
It’s no secret that Americans love to eat out. But which restaurant chains are their favorites?
For Technomic’s America’s Favorite Chains survey, the data company set out to answer that very question.
This gallery features the 10 restaurants with the highest overall scores, but also breaks down each brand by the factors consumers are surveyed about: service and hospitality, unit appearance and ambiance, food and beverage, convenience and takeout, and value.
What America’s favorite restaurant chains say about America
What makes people really love a restaurant brand? Not just “what brand do they most frequent?” because inevitably the McDonald’s and Starbucks of the world would be at the top of the list purely as the winners of a numbers game. Rather, what makes people put that restaurant at the top of their mental list of favorite places to eat?
Technomic’s 2023 data for America’s Favorite Chains offers a detailed, and sometimes surprising, glimpse into the psyche and stomachs of the American consumer. Both high and low price points dominated the list: brands that reflect budget-conscious consumption trends, as well as chains that offer pricier in-person experiences that consumers could not easily get anywhere else. In fact, America’s top 10 favorite chains list is dominated by smoothies (Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Smoothie King) and steak (Ruth’s Chris Steak House, LongHorn Steakhouse, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, and The Capital Grille).
How restaurants Ruth’s Chris and Dutch Bros became America’s Favorite Chains
Apparently, Americans really love their steak. And their coffee.
Neither should be a surprise on their own, of course. The U.S. is the largest consumer of beef in the world, while coffee is our second-most consumed beverage behind water. To further illustrate this point, consider that 63% of Americans have a cup of coffee every morning, while nearly two out of three Americans would choose beef as their last meal.
Perhaps that explains why two restaurant companies in two wildly different categories have emerged in the top three of America’s Favorite Chains, according to new data released from Technomic Ignite. Ruth’s Chris, a fine-dining steakhouse founded by Ruth Fertel in 1965 in New Orleans, garnered the highest accumulative score according to consumers, with 64.8%.
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Coffee chain Dutch Bros, started in 1992 as a pushcart concept in Oregon, was third with a score of 60.3%. Dutch Bros was 0.1 percentage point behind No. 2, Seasons 52 (Ruth’s Chris’ sister brand at Darden), and 0.5 percentage points ahead of No. 4, steakhouse concept Fleming’s Prime.
Jersey Mike’s tests voice A.I. phone ordering
Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems Inc. is testing in 50 restaurants artificial intelligence technology that answers menu questions and takes orders, the companies said this week.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based SoundHound AI Inc. announced it was working with Manasquan, N.J.-based Jersey Mike’s to introduce the conversational voice assistant.
“Optimized for natural human speech, Jersey Mike’s customers won’t have to modify their language or interact awkwardly with the software – they can just speak naturally as they would to another person,” SoundHound said in a press release.
The technology also can take multiple orders at one time, as well.
Restaurant brands are targeting at-home consumers with meal kits
Here at Nation’s Restaurant News, we like to keep a strong pulse on data points and often believe that three such data points sometimes make a trend. Of course, “trend” can be used flippantly when it comes to this monolithic industry, so “moment” or “fad” could work in most instances.
That said, one such fad that has generated three data points of late is “at-home meal kits,” introduced by quick-service and casual dining giants alike.
Consider Taco Bell, which recently introduced two Cravings Kits to make Crunchwrap Supremes or Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas at home. The kits are each available for $7 and exclusively at Walmart stores or on Walmart.com.
Then, there’s The Melting Pot, a nearly 50-year-old fondue concept that is just now adding a do-it-yourself fondue kit delivered straight to customers’ homes. “Melting Pot at Home” includes the option to add Omaha Steaks dippers – including tenderloin tips, shrimp, boneless chicken, boneless pork chops, meatballs and kielbasa sausages – as well as a classic fondue option and an aged cheddar and gouda fondue.
And finally White Castle; no stranger to quirky campaigns, the company is now offering a “Love Kit,” billed as a “new at-home Valentine’s Day experience.” The kit includes Sliders, a scented candles and “Craventines” cards to “recreate the White Castle dining experience at home.”
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