NEW YORK Outback Steakhouse, Famous Dave’s and McCormick & Schmick’s. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
Restaurant operators attending the NASDAQ OMX Food & Restaurant Industry Forum, which also was sponsored by the National Restaurant Association, said casual-dining chains must adjust to a new normal in which lower total sales might be customary, but high-frequency core customers will help drive margins. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
In addition, casual-dining restaurants will have to find ways to differentiate themselves from the pack through innovative menu items, atmosphere or pricing. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
“The future will require differentiation,” said Bill Freeman, chief executive of McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants Inc., which operates 93 restaurants. “Those with true, long-term success will find a niche and make a connection with the consumer. [But] when you get all that together, there still must be value for the consumer.” —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
Freeman said value is not based solely on price, but on the experience as well. While McCormick & Schmick’s offers certain items priced between $7.95 and $13.95, which it deems its value items, the chain has not gone down the discounting path to lure customers. Freeman said it is imperative not to devalue the brand during negative times. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
At Famous Dave’s, survival also means not feeding into a panicked frenzy, said Chris O’Donnell, chief executive of parent company Famous Dave’s of America Inc. He cited such examples as deep discounting and decisions that would alter the consumer’s perception of the brand. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
“We will design some tactics to meet today’s environment, but we will never go down that panic route,” he said. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
Famous Dave’s, which has 176 corporate or franchised locations, is spending the down time focusing on the sharpening of its brand through improved barbeque flavors, online ordering to meet changing consumer needs and training to help improve customer service. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
“Casual-dining needs to be flexible, innovative and nimble to catch up with the consumer,” O’Donnell said. “We have to be better than this…and it’s a fun challenge.” —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
Before any long-term changes can gain traction, however, restaurant operators say they must remain focused on their current business so core customers will not defect. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
“Maximizing our share of casual-dining core customers is critical during both down and up trends,” said Dirk Montgomery, chief financial officer of OSI Restaurants LLC, the parent company of Outback Steakhouse and other casual-dining chains. “In past cycles customers have traded down but then returned, so the question is what will the new sales level be to sustain performance?” —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
Montgomery said OSI’s 1,700 restaurants are focused on strategies that will increase their share of stomachs among consumers who frequent casual-dining chains, rather than taking the more difficult path of trying to recruit new users. He added that recent research shows frequent casual-dining users intend to increase spending on dining out as the economy improves. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
In a effort to meet the tastes of core customers while at the same time offering more value for lapsed customers, Outback Steakhouse, for example, will leave core menu items unchanged but will experiment with “offerings around the edges” of the menu, Montgomery said. —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from
“We’re trying to find that sweet spot,” he said, “where you are offering more value, but not going down that slippery slope of discounting.”— [email protected] —Talk of casual dining’s demise has been greatly exaggerated, according to top executives from